Suv guides

Small SUVs barged into the market completely changing the automotive landscape and the expectations of fellow drivers. Suddenly, the performance and driving enjoyment that were rather high on the imaginary list of features that customers religiously craved for gave up place to cargo space and connectivity. Now, I am here to rank 13 small SUVs from worst to best. Trying to be as objective as possible, I have compared several main features trying to get a clearer picture. I am comparing the size, engine, cargo capacity, price, and connectivity. The 13 SUVs ranked here do make the bulk of all small SUV segment. Not one of them is longer than 177 inches, and all but one have a wheelbase shorter than 106 inches.

Interestingly enough, some of the most recognizable names that built up the small SUV kingdom aren’t here anymore. SUVs like the Toyota RAV4, the Honda CR-V, or the Mazda CX-5, somehow do not feel as little as they did a decade ago. Plus, all of them overshoot my length/wheelbase limit.

It’s no secret that with the copious amounts of torque they carry, electric vehicles are considered some of the fastest-accelerating cars in the world, faster even than most of their non-EV counterparts. The eight cars on this list are proof of that. These are some of the fastest electric cars on the road today, so if you happen to see one on the road, try not to look at them the wrong way, unless you want to see first-hand just how fast they can go.

I am in love with the new Land Rover Defender. But at first, I was not. I was disappointed with its move towards an unibody chassis, and I have resented all the "soft-touches" Land Rover prepped for it. But I have changed my mind.

True, it is a mommy automobile, and a kids-to-school mover, but it is the best mommy automobile and kids transportation device I have ever seen. It’s tough, robust, well-engineered, rugged, and seriously capable. Plus, Land Rover offers it with 170 accessories, like roof racks, tow hitches, steel wheels, a rinse system, an armrest cooler, and a front bench-style seat. Find me another car that offers all of that. There’s no way you can. But!

There is a big "but" here. The 2020 Land Rover Defender is seriously expensive. It starts at $50,925 (plus destination charges) in the U.S. That’s huge. That is the price of the base BMW X4 xDrive30i. Take a deep dive in the configurator and you can spec it out at more than 100 grand. That is absurd.

In 2012, the Land Rover Defender started at $22,000 in Australia. Then again, the only thing that’s left from the old Defender on the new one is the name. Nothing else. This is a wholly new car. I only hope that Land Rover invested heavily in quality control. If it manages to ace reliability and dependability surveys with the new Defender, I’d say that the price may even be justified.

Here are several cool quirks and features that set this Defender apart from any other car in the world.

Small luxury SUVs haven’t been around that long. In a way, they represent a niche within a niche (the broader pool of SUVs and crossovers), created by carmakers such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, in their hunt for more income. The purpose of a small luxury SUV is to offer the plush comfort and technological bells and whistles of their larger peers, in a package that’s less expensive yet doesn’t compromise too much on the overall driving experience, assembly, and the quality of the materials used inside the cabin.

The Ford Explorer has been around for almost 30 years. In that time, the SUV segment has evolved in ways no one could’ve dreamed of. Through it all, the Explorer has remained one of the segment’s backbones, a pillar from which the SUV world has stood on for close to three decades. The Explorer’s life reads like a Hollywood script, too. It started off with a bang, establishing itself as one of the most popular SUVs on the market. That success lasted for more than a decade before the Explorer lost its way as other SUVs arrived. Sales eventually cratered, leaving Ford desperate to recapture the magic the Explorer had when it became the breakout hit of the early ’90s. The return to form eventually took place as the SUV segment in the U.S. exploded. With the Explorer now entrenched as one of the most popular SUVs in the market, Ford’s banking on the sixth-generation model to keep that momentum. Whether it does so or not remains to be seen, but the all-new Explorer appears fully equipped to take on that challenge.

Once upon a time, the term “luxury SUV” described models that you could barely count on one hand. Today, the term “luxury SUV” describes a thriving ecosystem of some of the finest and most premium sport utility vehicles in the market. The growing popularity of SUVs has ignited interest in these models, resulting in the kind of demand that many thought was impossible as recently as a decade ago. And as more exotic brands — hello, Aston Martin, and Ferrari — enter the ring, the luxury SUV market is only going to get bigger and far more diverse than it already is today. But that’s a story for another time. For now, these are the seven most luxurious SUVs you can buy in the market today.

We’ve all heard by now that Aston Martin will build an SUV. In fact, the upcoming DBX - that’s the name Gaydon chose for its first-ever high-riding vehicle - has revealed some of its intricacies, but even so, there’s still more of what we don’t know than what we actually know about it.

The DBX comes as a surprise move from Aston Martin and although you might not see it like that since every carmaker is churning out high-riding vehicles these days, the company’s CEO was very adamant that the company won’t build such a car because SUVs are boxes and boxes aren’t beautiful. The statement dates back to 2015 when Andy Palmer seemed to wage a war on SUVs, saying that “our [Aston Martin’s] DNA doesn’t allow us to go there” and “you cannot make a beautiful SUV, it’s impossible.” Oh, well, little did we know.

Ferrari will build an SUV. I am not joking, the company made an announcement. It will be called the Ferrari Purosangue. That’s the official name of the Ferrari SUV. Ok, Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri implicitly said that he does not want to hear “that word” in the same sentence with the word Ferrari. “That word” being SUV. Ok, Camilleri, I will not do it. Ever. The new Ferrari... truck… will be the most amazing piece of technology ever attempted with the “that word” layout. Luckily, we do know a thing or two about the new Purosangue.

Digression: Is the word crossover any better? Maybe, but I feel it sounds too soft for the status of a Ferrari. The Honda CR-V is a crossover for crying out loud.

The new Purosangue may take a layout similar to what we have been accustomed to with the onslaught of performance SUVs, yet the Italians promised to make it a proper thoroughbred. Incidentally (not really), Purosangue translated from Italian actually means thoroughbred. Is it just me, or the name Ferrari Thoroughbred (in English) wouldn’t sound bad at all? We have a Superfast and we like it, don’t we? Enough with the strange ideas. Purosangue it is.

Christopher Smith of Motor1 explained how to pronounce it:

“PUR-o-SAN-gue. There are four syllables, with emphasis on PUR and SAN. Phonetically speaking, start with PUR, as in a cat purring. From there just say a soft O as in oh, then SAN with a long A sound like saahn, and finish with GUE, which sounds like way but starting with a g – gway. PURR - oh - SAAHN - gway. See? It’s totally easy.”

OK? OK!

Off-roading is no easy job. Let’s get that straight right off the bat. But since practice makes perfect, we though we’d give you a head start with a handful of expert-provided tips and tricks that will keep you on top of your game off the beaten path.

It doesn’t even matter what kind of off-roader you’re taking on your weekend adventures. It doesn’t have to be a Jeep and it can certainly be your vintage Land Rover Defender that your father used to take for the occasional mud bath. But if you want to make the best out of your weekend into the wild and avoid nasty situations as well as keep your vehicle in tip-top shape, then these tips and tricks are worth remembering and applying.

Land Rover finally revealed the new Defender at the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show. The Defender was one of the most hardcore off-roaders before people started perceiving it as a premium SUV and not as a pure off-roader. It disappeared into oblivion in 2016 only to return three years later, reinvigorated. The new Defender is a lot more tough and back on track to being a true off-roader once again.

However, Land Rover has introduced it with all bells and whistles one can ask for and a lot of accessories to customize it as per you need. In fact, the accessories on offer have created a lot of buzz and they will be available right from the launch of the SUV. Just to be clear, there are 170 accessories and theme packs available for the Defender. We’ve chosen our pick and here are 10 accessories we found super cool and useful that you must consider if you plan on buying a Defender when it launches. Also note that we’re not going to mention the four default theme packs that Land Rover already has on offer.

I read a lot of Bronco stuff in my research for this article and let me tell you right away that we are in for the ride of our lives. Ford has some balls and, if we are lucky, it will probably give us just what we wanted - a retro looking 2020 Ford Bronco with live axles, three doors, a cool “no-roof” mechanism, a modern engine, and a freaking spare tire slapped at the back. A gazillion rumors have surfaced over the past few years about the new Bronco, but the last teaser picture revealed a lot.

The Bronco always was a cool vehicle. All the way from 1966, but it wasn’t until that OJ Simpson situation that it reached the status of an automotive icon like no other. Interestingly enough, we’ve had to wait a quarter of a century for Ford to reveal an all-new Bronco, a vehicle that will be a staple of American off-roading culture and the first one in a long time to attack the likes of the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

This is what we know about the 2020 Ford Bronco.

On the River Thames, in the heart of London, and on the deck of a 105-meter ship known as St. Helena, Alejandro Agag, Formula E Founder and CEO, announced a new electric SUV race series called the Extreme E. This is a whole new motorsport project that will take electric race cars to the most remote places on Earth. Continental Tires, the Founding Partner of Extreme E, provides full support to the project and it will, naturally, supply tires for the electric race SUVs. The outline of the Extreme E race event includes up to 12 teams, with super powerful electric off-roaders that will travel the world on a former Royal Mail ship and race at the most lonesome and secluded destinations.

It is an epic global mission that will showcase electric SUVs and their off-road proves in racing format, and, even more importantly, raise awareness of climate change with equal gist. The transport ship St. Helena will be home to electric SUVs that are at the very frontier of what the automotive world can achieve. Apart from cars and tech, St. Helena’s quarters will host teams, engineers, and crew involved with the Extreme E project. This ship will basically transport racing enthusiasts and their beloved SUVs to the most awesome racing venues where they’ll have a ton of fun. Let that sink in a bit. No pun intended.

For that fact alone, I can only say that this is, ladies and gentlemen, “the biggest adventure of our time.” Those are the same exact words that Agag proudly chanted during the Extreme E introduction.

All of this is so overwhelming that I am left speechless. And, as if this weren’t enough, the experience will be available via digital streaming service. I mean. Perfect! This is #cargasm in making.

Ford seems to be investing heavily in the upcoming Bronco. It looks like the Blue Oval is expecting the Bronco to be a runaway success, and to make sure that happens, the automaker is leaving no stone unturned. Ford has declared war on the Wrangler, plans to introduce a Raptor version, and now, has filed for multiple trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, that could hint at different trim levels, special editions, or even concepts. If everything goes according to plan, the new Ford Bronco could become the most badass SUV on the market.

BMW just revealed the new 2020 BMW X6 as one of the most ostentatious vehicles in the world. This SAC (Sports Activity Coupe) continues in the footsteps of its predecessors who found their way to more than 443,000 owners. As one of the most successful vehicles in the BMW lineup, the latest 2020 BMW X6 builds on the newest line of Beemers taking all the dynamic talents from smaller models and combining it with the tech and styling we have familiarized with after the introduction of the latest 8 Series car.

I give you here some rather unusual quirks and facts of the new 2020 BMW X6.

I started my research on this topic by entering three words in the google search bar - “Two Door SUVs” - and the first result that came out is a story authored by Doug DeMuro titled “Every Single Two-Door SUV Has Failed.” I feel that the guy is right. Like 100 percent right. Especially after reading a freaking list of two-door SUVs that actually existed and that still exist in this world of ours. While DeMuro really did provide an extensive list mentioning 29 different two-door SUVs, I managed to find a few more of them, that, of course, failed. Now, I will not list all of them, but I will mention five interesting two-door SUVs that we may have forgotten about. I am writing about them only to show you that modern two-door SUV interpretations are probably doomed and destined to fail.

Why will they fail?

Probably because they do not offer the utility and convenience of four-door SUVs and because SUVs aren’t made for fun adventure seekers anymore. Ever since people with kids decided they want to remain cool despite having three child seats in the back, a backpack full of diapers and wet wipes for all the wrong reasons, SUVs started their sales ascent. Now, they are so well endowed with convenience, that four-door SUVs are devouring everything else - sedans, minivans, and hatchbacks. With that, two-door SUVs became even more niche.

Without further ado on this sad proposition, I am giving you five two-door SUVs you may have forgotten about.

At its Charged Event in Northern California, Audi revealed its first all-electric SUV - the 2020 Audi E-Tron. As the newest electric vehicle on the market, the Audi E-Tron brought a wealth of new equipment, and some of it is truly cutting edge. Among the latest invasion of electric SUVs (the EQ C, the I-Pace, the iX3), the Audi E-Tron, despite its conservative appearance, surprisingly seems to be the most advanced of the lot. I will list here 15 facts and features that make the newest Audi electric SUV the most advanced, and possibly the most appealing, electric SUV on the market.

The Mercedes-Benz EQC against anything Tesla.

Tesla is not all though. The EQC will enter the ring against the I-Pace, against the Audi E-tron Quattro, and against the upcoming BMW iX3. That is the playground for the expensive, yet, it seems, highly popular electric SUVs. Can’t even imagine what kind of bloodshed we should expect to see in the near future. Regardless of this, these are the most important facts about the Mercedes-Benz EQC.