TMR Best Buy 2016 – Top 5 Large SUVs: Kia Sorento, Toyota Kluger, Ford Territory, Hyundai Santa Fe, Subaru Outback

Last year sales of medium SUV models overtook the large SUV category by just 4000 units. While the large sector grew by 9.3 percent, sales of medium soared by 15.7 percent compared with 2014.

Put those two sets of figures together and what they show is that Australians still love their SUVs. And they still buy lots of large ones despite the growth in the medium sector. The large SUV class totalled 139,734 units in 2015, making it the third most popular segment overall behind small cars and those pesky, rapidly growing, medium SUVs.

Our ‘top 5’ picks represent 39 percent of sales volume in this segment. Read on to find out why…

Kia Sorento

Price Range: $40,990 (Si V6 FWD) - $55,990 (Platinum diesel AWD)
Engine: 199kW/318Nm 3.3 petrol V6, 147kW/441Nm 2.2 turbo diesel 4cyl
Transmission: 6sp automatic

Kia provides something for almost every family in the latest Sorento range, but breadth of choice is only part of this class-leading vehicle’s appeal.

The lighter, front-drive V6 kicks off from an affordable $41k with seven seats as standard, and it’s a quick (if thirsty) performer. Finding another $4000 buys the frugal turbo-diesel and all-wheel-drive capability for mild off-roading.

It’s the middle-specification sub-$50k SLi versions that represent the best balance of price and equipment, although the $56k diesel-only Platinum is alluring because it’s absolutely loaded with features.

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