Australian 4WD & SUV Buyer's Guide

In this issue of the magazine, you will notice that some of the most recent models tested do not have a star rating from the Federal Government’s Green Vehicle Guide. That’s because somebody in the Department of Infrastructure and Transport decided a

Our piggybank indicates a 4WD or SUV that we think represents good value for money against the others in its class. It may not necessarily be the cheapest, but taking into account factors such as standard equipment, safety, the way it drives, resale

The star rating for safety is from Australian ANCAP or European NCAP crash tests and the Green Vehicle Guide stars are as per the vehicle’s rating in the Green Vehicle Guide itself. Other star ratings, including the overall star rating, reflect how

• Prices are supplied by manufacturers and do not include on-road charges, which vary from state to state. Note that advertised prices must now include all on-road costs. • The best way to get a good deal on a new car is to do your research, test dri

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 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

Audi’s Q5 has been a Goldilocks family-freighter choice for many parents around the world and it leads the mid-size premium SUV field. The Q5 2.0 TFSi turbopetrol quattro is $63,210. As we went to press, Audi had stopped selling the 2.0-litre TDI tur

The Ranger 4x4 lineup opens with the 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel XL six-speed manual single cab-chassis at $38,790. The 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbodiesel XL manual cab-chassis is $41,290. XL Plus is $46,480. Double cab-chassis models start

BMW’s X3, introduced in early 2011, is now much closer in size to the X5 and unless you need seven seats, it’s a great-value alternative. The X3 lineup opens with the xDrive 20i, priced at a very attractive $61,100. It runs BMW’s 2.0-litre direct-inj

The VFII reinforces the Holden ute’s position as the world’s most sophisticated, capable and safe pickup truck, a unique vehicle that, when Holden ceases local manufacture in 2017, will surely become a collectable — as evidenced by extremely strong r

Holden’s Colorado 7 is a seven-seater wagon built on the Colorado one-tonner chassis, so compared with an SUV it has design and engineering limitations. However, when it comes to off-road and towing, it’s a class above. The same vehicle with a differ

The Hyundai Santa Fe Series II features seven seats in all models. The lineup opens with the front-wheel-drive 138kW 2.4-litre direct-injection four-cylinder petrol/six-speed manual Active at $38,490. The six-speed auto is $40,990. The 147kW 2.2-litr

D-Max 4x4 models start at $33,900 for the single-cab-chassis EX five-speed manual. Space cab-chassis base model is the SX, at $39,600. Crew cab-chassis SX is $42,100. The crew cab ute starts at $42,800 for the SX, the space cab ute LS-U is $44,000 an

Kia’s Sorento is a significantly bigger wagon than its predecessor, comparable 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 V

Mazda’s CX5 shot straight to the top of the class sales charts on its introduction in 2012. It’s built to the best “Made in Japan” quality standards, has rock-solid resale values, a strong safety résumé, plenty of standard equipment, and a choice of

The BT50 4×4 range, powered exclusively by a 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbodiesel, opens with the single-cab chassis XT six-speed manual (with no auto option) at $36,850. The Freestyle XT cab chassis, in manual only with a rear-hinged back door arrang

Rather than a new Mercedes-Benz, what we have here is a new Mercedes-Benz name. There’s little more than a simple badge swap involved in the transition from M Class to GLE. The basic virtues of the line-up — comfort, capable handling, formidable safe

The Triton 4x4 range, powered by a 133kW/430Nm 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine, opens with the GLX single cab chassis six-speed manual at $32,490. The GLX Club cab chassis is $35,290. Double cabs start with the GLX at $36,990; a five-speed

The new XC90 is one of the biggest things out of Sweden since ABBA. This almost five-metre-long and more than two-metre-wide seven-seater is the first truly all-new model from Volvo since it was bought by Chinese company Geely almost five years ago.

The Cherokee range starts at $36,000 for the front-wheel-drive (FWD) 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol Sport. At $42,000, the Longitude (called Latitude in northern hemisphere markets), swaps the four-cylinder for a 3.2-litre V6 petrol and adds four-whe

The Discovery 4 range opens with the 3.0 TDV6 at $68,940. The 3.0 SDV6 SE is $84,040 and the HSE is $95,340. The 3.0-litre supercharged SCV6 petrol SE is $84,040 and the HSE is $95,340. • The Discovery is made in England. • It uses separate body-on-f

The CX-3 gives Mazda an offering in the hotly contested compact SUV segment. With a choice of two four-cylinder 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

The Mercedes GLA SUV range starts at $48,300 for the 100kW 2.1-litre turbodiesel front-wheel-drive GLA200 CDI. Opt for the sportier performance and all-wheel-drive grip of the 155kW 2.0-litre turbopetrol GLA250 and the price rises to $58,600. The 265

The Mercedes GLS Class is an often overlooked and underrated luxury 4WD. It’s a well-designed, spacious seven-seater 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 19

Mercedes-Benz was the last mainstream German maker to join the booming medium-sized luxury SUV segment. As the last in, it needs to be best dressed. That it certainly is. The GLC, so named because it is based on the Mercedes-Benz C Class sedan (which

Anthropologists know it refers to a nomadic people of Middle Eastern origin but Nissan hopes Qashqai (pronounced “kash-kai”) becomes the byword for compact SUVs in Australia. Like the successful Dualis it replaced, the five-seater crossover is design

The base Nissan X-Trail ST, at $27,990, is front-wheel drive (dubbed 2WD) and uses a 106kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine available only with a six-speed manual gearbox. The $30,490 ST gains the gutsy 126kW 2.5-litre unit that has served the s

The base Forester 2.0iL, priced at $29,990, uses a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a six-speed manual. The 2.5-litre petrol Forester 2.5iL has a continuously variable automatic (CVT) transmission as standard, at $32,990. It’s also availabl

Subaru cut prices on its fifth-generation Outback by up to $10,000. The Outback has always been one of the best mid-sized SUVs on the market, so big discounts and more equipment on the 2016 model have made it a compelling proposition, especially agai

The 3.0-litre twin turbodiesel TDV6 Vogue is $181,595. The 3.0-litre supercharged petrol V6 Vogue is $191,810. The 4.4-litre V8 turbodiesel SDV8 Vogue is $202,615, the Vogue SE is $224,835 and the Autobiography is $242,710. The 5.0-litre supercharged

Think of Toyota’s Fortuner as a seven-seater HiLux wagon and you’re on the money. All models run the 130kW 2.8-litre turbodiesel used in SR HiLux models, matched to six-speed manual and automatic transmissions and a part-time, dual-range 4x4 drivetra