Australian 4WD & SUV Buyer's Guide

Australia’s premier motoring journalist, Joshua Dowling is the National Motoring Editor of News Corp Australia and a World Car of the Year judge. Joshua is renowned for his consumer-first approach and you can also find his roadtests on Carsguide.com.

In our tests on the following pages we have used symbols to give you a quick indication of the strengths of each vehicle and star ratings to indicate in more detail how each stacks up in its class. Here’s what the symbols and stars mean: Our piggyban

In the Australian 4WD & SUV Buyer’s Guide, we include trade-in values for every model in our Showroom section. These are provided to us by Redbook, Australia’s leading authority on used-car, 4WD and SUV values. Each model we test includes three- and

Today’s Audi Q5 might seem barely changed since the original in 2009, but there’s exciting new stuff underneath its almost the same skin. Kicking off from $65,900 for the 2.0-litre TDI diesel quattro and $73,211 for the 2.0-litre TFSI petrol quattro

Ford’s Kuga was recently renamed the Escape, the badge it carries in most other world markets. The 2017 range opens with the 110kW 1.5-litre turbopetrol/six-speed manual/ front-wheel-drive Ambiente, priced at $28,490. The six-speed auto is $29,990. A

Holden’s 4x4 Colorado range opens with the 2.8-litre fourcylinder turbodiesel/six-speed manual LS single cab chassis, priced at $37,490. LS Space cab chassis is $40,990, Crew cab chassis is $43,490 and Crew cab pickup is priced at $44,990. LT Crew ca

The Hyundai Santa Fe Series II features seven seats in all models. The lineup opens with the front-wheel-drive 199kW 3.3-litre V6 petrol/six-speed automatic Active X at $40,990. Active, with a 138kW 2.4-litre petrol four/six-speed auto/allwheel drive

The Mercedes GLA SUV range starts at $43,900 for the 90kW 1.6-litre turbopetrol front-wheel-drive GLA180. The 100kW 2.1-litre turbodiesel front-wheel-drive GLA220d is $51,200. Opt for the sportier performance and all-wheeldrive grip of the 155kW 2.0-

Evolution is the name of the game for Australia’s most popular SUV. Starting from $28,690, the front-wheel drive Mazda CX-5 Maxx has the best safety specification of any base model in this class, with autonomous emergency braking front and rear as st

Up front, the heated, leather-upholstered driver’s seat is properly bolstered and supportive, the driving position can be adjusted to suit anybody and vision is clear around the car. Subaru persists in using three screens to display the same infotain

Here’s a cargo compartment that makes the luggage space of most small premium SUVs look stupidly skimpy. In round figures, the rear-seat-up storage capacity of the Golf Alltrack is 40 per cent more than the Mercedes-Benz GLA, 30 per cent bigger than

In its sophistication, comfort, refinement, efficiency and dynamics, the fifth Discovery has moved closer to luxury German SUVs such as the X5 and Audi’s Q7. Yet it also extends the unique Land Rover off-road envelope, with optional Terrain Response

Kia’s Sorento is comparable in size with Toyota’s Kluger and the Nissan Pathfinder, with vast interior space for seven. Petrol-powered models are front-wheel drive. The range opens with the 199kW 3.3-litre V6/six-speed automatic Si at $40,990; SLi pe

The CX-3 gives Mazda an offering in the hotly contested compact SUV segment. With a choice of two fourcylinder engines — 77kW/250Nm 1.5-litre turbodiesel or 109kW/ 192Nm 2.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol — the CX-3 is up against more than 20 conte

Mazda’s CX-9 range starts at $42,490 for the 170kW 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbopetrol/six-speed automatic/ front-wheel-drive Sport. CX9 Touring, with the same drivetrain, is $48,490. All-wheel-drive models include the GT at $61,390 and the Azami at

The Mercedes GLS Class is an often overlooked and underrated luxury 4WD. It’s a well-designed, spacious sevenseater and unlike BMW’s X5 and Audi’s Q7, the GL is also equipped to go off-road. Think of it as Germany’s answer to the Range Rover. The 190

Like Toyota’s Fortuner, Mitsubishi’s Pajero Sport is built on a one-tonner ute chassis — in this case the Triton — topped with a stylish, bespoke body to create a family wagon that, unlike the SUVs that now dominate the market, also has considerable

The Kodiaq, like other Skodas, is basically a rebadged VW — in this case the long-wheelbase, seven-seater Tiguan Allspace, due in 2018. There’s only one Kodiaq model for now, priced at $42,990. When you’re carrying kids around, you want a wagon that

The $30,240 base Forester 2.0i-L uses a 100kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a six-speed manual. The 126kW 2.5-litre petrol Forester 2.5i-L, starting from $33,240, has a continuously variable auto (CVT) transmission as standard. It’s also

The petrol-powered range opens with the familiar 2.5-litre four-cylinder/CVT transmission Outback 2.5i at $36,240, or in Premium specification at $42,240. Outback 3.6R, with a 3.6-litre flat six/CVT drivetrain, is $48,740. Outback diesel models use t

All models run the 130kW 2.8-litre turbodiesel used in SR HiLux models, matched to sixspeed manual and automatic transmissions and a part-time, dual-range 4x4 drivetrain with a standard locking rear diff. So it’s a serious bushcapable Toyota 4x4 stra