Irish Times best buys: Premium SUVs

The old XC90, introduced way back in 2003, was a long-standing favourite with suburban upper-middle class families who bought it for its undemonstrative Volvo-ness as much as the fact that it was an SUV at all. This new model takes that and runs with it, creating a car which is every inch the classical Volvo (comfortable, roomy, relatively eco-friendly) but which creates its own vortex of intense desirability. You'd bat away the advances even of a BMW X5 or Mercedes GLE to have one of these… The most basic D4 190hp diesel with front-wheel drive is probably the most sensible XC90 (after all, who's ever going to take one of these off-road?) but the headline-grabbing is done by the plugin hybrid T8 which combines 400hp with emissions of just 49g/km and a claimed 130mpg (more like 35mpg in daily driving by the way…). The interior is the XC90's trump card though - spacious enough for seven, gorgeous touch-screen control system and seats so comfy you'd happily sell your house and move in.

Best buy: XC90 D4 FWD Inscription from €70,950. Prices start at €64,950.

PCP packages start from €635 a month.

Read the review: Volvo's XC90 breaks the mould

All the other cars in this segment are pretenders. The Land Cruiser is the real thing. Is it pretty? No. Does it have a modern, cutting-edge 'Glass Cockpit' like the Audi or the Volvo? No. Can it traverse pretty much any part of the globe not currently covered in water of greater than about a metre in depth, without breaking whatever the automotive equivalent of a sweat is? Yes. Yes it can. And you can buy an optional snorkel if you want to driver through deeper water by the way. No, it's not sophisticated in the way that its rivals are, but it's the car that goes in with a tow-rope when the spangly Germans and Swedes have become stuck. It's rugged beyond all belief, has a cabin that mixes great seats and lots of space with hose-out toughness and it will never, ever, in a million years, even in the face of a direct nuclear strike, give up. Love it.

Best buy: Land Cruiser LWB Business 2.8 D4D from €57,495. Prices start at €40,395.

PCP packages start from €POA a month.

While it looks nowhere near as distinctive as the old Q7, this new model is something of a massive step forward over its predecessor. Not least in the weight department, where a drop of more than 300kg (depending on the model) means that the massive, seven-seat Q7 can pull a fast-one when it comes to emissions and fuel consumption. You really can tax a Q7 for just €390 a year if you do your shopping carefully. Careful shopping will also be needed if you’re not to swell the price out of all proportion from its already-chunky €72,975 starting price, but you’ve got to have the ‘Virtual Cockpit’ digital instruments which put the sat-nav, in wide-screen and hi-def, right in front of you in the instrument binnacle. Handling is fine for one so big, and the adaptive air suspension (a €3k+ option!) makes for pillow-soft journeys. 3.0 TDI V6 is all you’ll ever need but we want a V8 TDI SQ7, with its 900Nm of torque, for Christmas please.

Best buy: Q7 3.0 TDI 218hp S-Line from €79,025*. Prices start at €72,125.

PCP packages start from €689 a month.

(Actually we really want the SQ7, thanks…)

Quite apart from being the first ever Jaguar SUV, the F-Pace does a rather neat job of straddling the divide between larger and smaller SUVs. In fact, if you're willing to live with minimal equipment and rear-wheel drive, you can have an F-Pace on the driveway for barely more than that cost of a mid-spec Hyundai Santa Fe… Adding four-wheel drive and some tasty options (Jaguar has clearly been learning from its German competition) will balloon that price upwards, rapidly and even a relatively under-equipped 2.0 D 180hp with 4WD will set you back north of €60,000, and a V6 diesel even more. Thankfully, it's the (slightly) more affordable 2.0 diesel that's the better-balanced car to drive, and the F-Pace is truly excellent to drive, not to mention downright gorgeous. It lacks a seven seat option (so far…) but its massive boot and spacious rear seat makes it a wily competitor to the others here.

Best buy: F-Pace 2.0D 180 AWD Auto SE from €50,910. Prices start at €44,100.

PCP packages start from €POA a month.

Buying Used?

BMW’s current X5 is a vehicle far more posh and sophisticated than its predecessor, but the old X5 still cuts a sharp silhouette on the main street, and is still a rewarding and invigorating car to drive. There were myriad engine options, stretching all the way to the mighty (if somewhat unnecessary) X5M with its turbo V8 engine, but the standard 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel is all you’ll really need. Turbos blow, and the electrics can be fragile (especially anything to do with the infotainment and phone system) and you need to check carefully for damage by previous owners who thought it was a proper 4x4. The optional seven-seat layout is desirable, as is the muscular M-Sport bodykit and don’t dare buy one that doesn’t come with a full and comprehensive service history.

Best buy: 2011 X5 3.0d M-Sport seven-seats for circa €41,000