The commercial rise of the sports utility vehicle (SUV) over the past 25 years has been so vast that it has forever changed the way cars are designed.
And despite their flaws, we have to admit that the very best SUVs provide comfort and convenience, space and versatility and chunky-cornered design appeal.
The market segments have mushroomed in popularity and continue to grow. Now you will find small SUVs, family SUVs, sports SUVs, luxury SUVs, hybrid SUVs and electric SUVs, and even that isn't an exhaustive list.
This article is a broad one, encompassing everything between the Suzuki Jimny and the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
While it's hard to narrow the field down to 10 cars, our team of road testers – who have collectively driven every model on sale – have done just that.
And at the top of the list lies the Citroën C5 Aircross. Its overall value, ride comfort and space make it extremely versatile and a car that would suit a great many people.
Those who are looking for more dynamism, space or off-roading ability should keep reading this list to discover what we recommend.
Best for: ride comfort
A great many of us just expect top-level ride comfort from a high-riding SUV. Given the natural advantages that these cars have, by virtue of their weight and long-travel suspension, it’s perhaps surprising how few make a real selling point of an isolated, comfortable ride. But there are a few – and not all of them are expensive, luxury-market pariahs.
The Citroën C5 Aircross, for example, stands out among its rivals for supple ride comfort - just as you’d hope a Citroën family car would. Fairly gently rated suspension naturally soaks up bigger inputs from an uneven road surface without the need for more expensive technologies, although the car does use Citroën’s comfort-boosting hydraulic suspension bump stops as guard for the extremes of wheel travel.
The C5 Aircross is at its most supple and comfortable in its simpler, lighter-engined forms – think a conventional petrol or a hybrid, rather than a plug-in hybrid.
However, if you have a bigger budget to splash and would prefer an electric SUV, both the BMW iX and Lexus RZ also stand out as plush-riding SUVs of different sizes.
Read our Citroën C5 Aircross review
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