Drive Car of the Year 2024 – Best Luxury SUV under $150k
Find out what cars are eligible for the Drive Car of the Year 2024 – Best Luxury SUV under $150k category
Over the next few weeks, we'll be explaining all the categories and contenders for Drive Car of the Year 2024. Testing is currently underway, with the final winners to be announced early next year.
Drive Car of the Year 2024
Now in its 18th year, the annual Drive Car of the Year awards program continues to be the Australian new car buyer’s most trusted advisor.
At Drive, we test drive more than 200 new cars every year, evaluating each against its innate promise to sort the best from the rest. We divide the 400-plus new passenger cars, SUVs, 4WDs and utes into 19 price-banded categories focused on the end-user, then analyse the strengths and weaknesses of every car to find the cream of the automotive crop.
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Drive Car of the Year 2024 is a go!
Drive Car of the Year 2024: Best Luxury SUV under $150k
For many, the SUV has become the go-to vehicle, from the small run-about to the hulking off-roader and tow hauler. While all these types have to some degree been equal parts fashionable and practical for their owners, there are buyers who want an SUV that offers a high degree of luxury and technology and are prepared to pay for it.
That’s where the Drive Car of the Year Best Luxury SUV Under $150K comes in. This award is an updated version of last year’s Best Medium Luxury SUV, now open to any medium or large SUVs with luxury leanings under our price cap.
These are all premium vehicles that need to look the part with high-quality of cabin materials and thick paint and to some degree, a jewel-like detail finish. Plenty of room for a family and given these SUVs roll into the six-figure prices, the best in technology and safety as well as creature comforts is a given.
Last year’s winner was the Jaguar F-Pace with the Lexus NX as runner-up. This year the Jaguar returns to face strong competition with multiple high-class offerings from storied premium brands.
Even though there’s a Who’s Who of premium vehicle manufacturers in this list, there are also brands stepping up into more expensive territory such as Jeep and Mazda, as well as new brands we’ve never seen before such as Ineos.
SUVs to watch out for here include the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Lexus RZ, Maserati Grecale, Mazda CX-90, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Porsche Cayenne and Range Rover Sport.
Which cars are eligible for this category?
Drive’s rules require that, for a car to be eligible, it must:
- Be all-new or significantly updated,
- Be on sale by December 31, 2023, and
- Retail examples be made available for Drive to road test before that cut-off date.
That means that many entirely suitable and very appealing luxury SUVs won’t make the cut. They have been judged already, with their strengths not quite outstanding enough to pull them to the top. Likewise, there is a luxury SUV that will not be judged simply because it won’t arrive in time; that is, the Polestar 3.
| Eligible | Ineligible |
| - Cars that are all-new or significantly updated since they last contested Drive Car of the Year. - New categories are open to all cars that fit category requirements. - Last year’s winner is an automatic inclusion. | - These cars meet category requirements but have not changed since they previously contested Drive Car of the Year and are not a carry-over winner. |
| Alfa Romeo Stelvio Audi Q7 Audi Q8 BMW iX BMW iX3 BMW X5 BMW X6 Genesis GV80 Ineos Grenadier Jaguar F-Pace Jaguar I-Pace Jeep Grand Cherokee Kia EV6 Kia EV9 Land Rover Defender Land Rover Range Rover Velar Lexus RX Lexus RZ Maserati Grecale Maserati Levante Mazda CX-60 Mazda CX-90 Mercedes-Benz EQB Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class Porsche Cayenne Range Rover Sport Tesla Model Y Volkswagen Touareg Volvo XC90 | Unchanged: Audi Q5 BMW X3 BMW X4 Alpina XD3 Audi SQ5 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Genesis GV70 Jeep Wrangler Volvo XC60 Kia Sorento Land Rover Discovery Sport Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Lexus NX Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class Nissan Pathfinder Peugeot 3008 Porsche Macan Toyota Kluger Toyota Prado Not here in time: Polestar 3 |
What are the next steps?
The winner of the 2024 Drive Car of the Year Best Luxury SUV under $150k will be announced in February 2024.
Before then, we will announce the finalists, all of which deliver on the buyer’s expectations of performance, practicality and prestige in a well-rounded package. One thing is certain: this category promises to be one of the toughest confronting our 11 experienced judges.
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