Drive Car of the Year 2024 – Best Medium SUV Under $50K
Find out what cars are eligible for the Drive Car of the Year 2024 – Best Medium SUV Under $50K 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 Medium SUV Under $50K
More Australians shop for their next new vehicle in the medium SUV market: it’s where more than 223,000 new cars have found homes so far this year, well above any other vehicle segment. This is why the 2024 Drive Car of the Year Best Medium SUV Under $50K is important, and the balance of affordability, value, space and practicality is crucial.
To satisfy the 2024 Drive Car of the Year Best Medium SUV Under $50K award, the winning SUV must deliver the best mix of equipment, safety and efficiency at a sharp price, all in a versatile and practical wagon body.
Like many other segments, this is about new car buyers wanting fuss-free family motoring with a balance of features for the price. It’s a tall order, and the pressure is on as the winner is the one that will stand tall in Australia’s biggest car segment.
This category was hotly contested last year, the Nissan X-Trail dethroning 2022’s champion, the Kia Sportage, which in turn dethroned our 2021 champ, the Toyota RAV4 the year before.
The appealing Mitsubishi Outlander pushed the X-Trail all the way last year but fell achingly short of victory. Since then it has not changed, so it won’t be back just yet.
So, as our reigning champ, the Nissan X-Trail returns to defend its title from a rich and varied array of newcomers.
One of the few giving a seven-seat option here, the current king of this group, the Nissan X-Trail, cemented its position last year with comprehensive safety, a thoughtful, stylish cabin and decent fuel economy and driving dynamics. Is that enough for the Nissan to win again?
There are two new arrivals from Honda in this bracket, with the CR-V and the ZR-V sure to make a splash in this year’s awards.
The new CR-V is another contender with a seven-seater option, and its increased size, high-quality interior and improved safety tech will build a strong case for this new medium SUV player.
Positioned just below the CR-V is Honda’s new ZR-V. Quiet, refined, agile and easy to drive, this new Honda is competitively priced and very fuel-efficient.
Chinese brand Chery is making a return to this segment after a long break with the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro, while from a well-established Indian brand comes the value-orientated new Mahindra XUV700.
The new Tiggo Pro promises much in standard hardware at a low price to tempt those looking for great value, while the Mahindra XUV700, trades heavily on its value proposition as the most affordable seven-seat SUV in the country.
Then there’s the first fully electric model to be considered in this segment – the BYD Atto 3. The BYD Atto 3 won the Best EV Under $70K class in 2023 but was not given the chance to contest the more mainstream Medium SUV segment. This year, because we’re normalising EVs, it gets that chance.
It’ll be interesting to see if the BYD’s blend of price, comfort, roominess and performance will be enough to make it a winner over more traditional powertrain competitors.
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.
From launch timing information we have been given, the upcoming SsangYong Torres is not going to make it in time but will have its chance next year.
We also ruled out the GWM Haval H6 Lux hybrid variant that was added to the range early in 2023 because it’s just a cheaper and less well-equipped mechanical mirror of the Jolion that already contested Drive Car of the Year in 2022. Here is the list of eligible cars, drawn from the FCAI’s Medium SUV category. It’s worth noting that in some cases, the vehicle’s price range extends beyond the category ceiling. In these cases, only the models priced below the cap are eligible.
| 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. |
| BYD Atto 3 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Honda CR-V Honda ZR-V Mahindra XUV700 Nissan X-Trail | Unchanged: Ford Escape GWM Haval H6 Hyundai Tucson Kia Niro Kia Sportage Mazda CX-5 MG HS MG HS +EV Mitsubishi Outlander Renault Koleos Skoda Karoq Ssangyong Korando Subaru Forester Toyota RAV4 Volkswagen Tiguan Not here in time: SsangYong Torres |
What are the next steps?
The winner of the 2024 Drive Car of the Year Best Medium SUV Under $50K will be announced in February 2024.
Before then, we will announce the finalists, all of which deliver fuss-free mid-size motoring for young families and active urbanites with an eye on value. One thing is certain: this category promises to be one of the toughest confronting our 11 experienced judges.
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