Top 10 best sports SUVs 2018

This is the performance SUV whose chassis was signed off by the man who brought you the handling of the celebrated Ferrari 458 Speciale. It also has a turbo V6 engine derived from a V8 from Maranello, and itself is from a maker of some of Europe’s most revered sports saloons and coupes, which is back to form after something of a hiatus.

Some promising signs, then – and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t squander them. Though it isn’t built with the apparent precision and integrity of some of its opponents, the Stelvio drives with fine vertical body control, rapier steering response that belies its mass and body profile, and with surprisingly forgiving handling adjustability that you just wouldn’t expect of something so tall.

It’s a big car to drive as instinctively as a small one, and eyebrow-raisingly fast with it. Having hit the super saloon nail dead centre and perfect with the Giulia Quadrifoglio, Turin has followed up to equally stirring effect here.

If you fancy a sporty SUV that can handle the occasional trip off-road, then the Porsche Macan will feel a natural fit.

The Turbo is the best at offering sports car thrills with SUV practicality. Its rivals, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, Audi SQ5 and Maserati Levante, are hot on its heels, but none are as well-rounded as the Porsche.

That it can actually venture off road while providing supercar performance on road is evidence of its wide-ranging abilities. It’s far from a bargain, but if you like your performance cars of the SUV kind, you’ll grab yourself a lot of car for the money.

The SQ7 graduates Audi’s to new heights, with a diesel V8 better suited for the car’s trick chassis than any equivalent petrol engine might have been.

The diesel prerogative does at least keep the SQ7 at arm’s length from powerhouse SUVs such as the Range Rover Sport SVR and Porsche Cayenne Turbo, which is for the best.

Because even with the right option boxes ticked, the Audi is no dynamic rival for either. But it’s quieter, cheaper and more efficient. It’s also more easy-going and comfortable than either. It feels more usable, too.   

This is the quickest, in the real world sense, SUV money can buy. But understand first that the quickest SUV isn’t necessarily the most enjoyable to drive.

We can think of plenty of fast, desirable, practical and luxurious family cars that would conjure up more lasting affection from their owners. That being said, people like fast SUVs and non is faster than this.

That it comes with Porsche quality, including a beautifully laid out interior and a smart chassis set-up to help hide its mass, makes it all the more desirable – even if it isn’t to everyone’s taste. 

Other SUVs are more luxurious and even better to drive at speed, but the Levante offers a broad spread of talents, backed up by a certain degree of style – the latter of which few can match.

It’s not cheap, ranking ahead of even the Porsche Cayenne S, which is a mightily impressive machine. But the Italian is arguably more desirable, not least because it’ll likely remain rarer.

It’s also fractionally cheaper than a Range Rover Sport with its much less powerful 334bhp supercharged V6. If you’re sold on the exclusivity and romance of the Maserati badge, the Levante S will be hard to ignore.  

BMW’s X5 M feels like the efforts of engineers who have had to watch as their rivals at Porsche seized the sporting initiative with the Macan and current Cayenne – before aiming one almighty haymaker of their own.

That’s why the latest X5 M is a big step forward on its predecessor. It can corner with the same confidence as any Cayenne – and even some super-saloons. It is similarly uncompromising in other ways, from cabin design to rolling comfort.

However, this hardcore performance focus robs the car of any playfulness or character. Ultimately, there are more enjoyable ways to combine the last word in speed, capability, luxury and desirability.

The GLC 63 Coupe’s biggest enemy is its five-door sibling, because that car offers the same performance from the same intoxicating V8 engine.

But, if you’re smitten by the swoopy, divisive, styling of the coupé, it’s desirability will be almost unmatchable. It’s packed with the quality you’d expect from Mercedes-AMG, and also beats the Porsche Macan Turbo to 62mph by half a second Although it can’t match that car’s dynamic abilities.

However, its retention of an evocative petrol V8 in a mid-sized performance SUV, when some rivals have turned to six-pots, will be enough to draw some to the GLC 63 Coupé.