Best SUVs and Crossover SUVs of 2012: Page 2
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Alternatives to our Best SUVs and Crossover SUVs of the Year abound, particularly if you wish to address a specific need, such as the best SUV for city driving or for towing. Check out these worthy alternatives to our Best SUVs and Crossovers of 2012:
The best small SUV of 2012 is the Subaru Forester. This crossover takes up as much garage space as a compact car yet carries four adults in surprising comfort and beats some midsize SUVs with 68.3 cubic feet of cargo volume. It rewards on the road, too, with 170-horsepower (21/27/23 mpg) and 224-horse turbo (19/24/21) models. AWD is standard. Base-price range: $21,370-$30,670.
The best midsize SUV of 2012 is the Ford Explorer. Redesigned in 2011 from body-on-frame to a crossover and into a highly versatile SUV. Three-row seating is standard. Handling is responsive. Ford’s V-6-strength EcoBoost turbo four-cylinder (20/28/23 mpg) is available with front-wheel drive; AWDs get a V-6 (17/23/19 mpg) and terrain-sensing electronics. Base-price range: $28,995-$40,565.
The best large SUV of 2012 is the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class. Tow 7,500 pounds, clear 10.9 inches of ground, seat seven in comfort, haul 83 cubic feet of cargo – this full-size crossover does most anything a big body-on-frame SUV will. It just does it with more finesse. Two V-8s are on tap but our pick is the 400 pound-feet-of-torque, 17/21/19-mpg diesel V-6. Base-price range: $62,445-$86,175.
The best city SUV of 2012 is the Volvo XC60. A great urban SUV must be roomy, maneuver easily, ride comfortably, and provide fine outward visibility. Traffic-slicing turbo power is a plus. So is unplowed-street-defeating AWD, up to 19/25/21 mpg, and the ability to stop itself to avoids a rear-end collision. That describes the 2012 Volvo XC60 crossover. Base price range: $33,775-$48,475.
The best family SUV of 2012 is the Chevrolet Traverse. No one would confuse this roomy crossover with a minivan but that’s the role it plays. Traverse carries four adults and four kids or up to 116 cubic-feet of cargo. It handles well and has a nicely matched 281-horsepower V-6 that rates a pleasant 17/24/19 with front-wheel drive, 16/23/19 with AWD. Base price range: $30,240-$41,615.
The best fuel-efficient SUV of 2012 is the Kia Sorento: This handsome and increasingly popular midsize crossover from South Korea’s Kia offers two four-cylinder engines and a V-6. Pick of the litter is a direct-fuel-injection 2.4-liter four with 191 horsepower, 181 pound-feet of torque and hard-to-beat ratings of 22/32/25 mpg front-drive, 21/28/23 mpg with AWD. Base-price range: $22,050-$35,650.
The best off-road SUV of 2012 is the Jeep Wrangler. Other SUVs deploy electronic traction tricks to uncanny effect but only Wrangler puts within affordable reach the ability to crawl over, climb up, and muck through the worst off-road challenges. Every Wrangler is a bull and Rubicon versions are all-time greats. These 2012 Jeeps have a terrific new V-6, too. Base-price range: $22,845-$34,370.
The best luxury SUV of 2012 is the Land Rover Range Rover. Its leather-and-wood cabin isolates five passengers from everything remotely unpleasant. Its 375-horsepower V-8 is more than sufficient, the 510-horse supercharged V-8 nearly stupefying. Styling is Seville Row. But Range Rover wouldn’t be our best luxury SUV if it wasn’t also unstoppable off-road. Base price range: $80,275-$95,670.
The best inexpensive SUV of 2012 is the Kia Sportage. A number of compact crossovers start around $22,000 with AWD. Kia’s includes more standard features than most and something rare: a design with attitude. A roomy cabin and capable engines – including a ripping 260-horsepower turbo four – are onboard, too. Typical model rates 22/32/25 mpg. Base-price range: $19,300-$29,200.
The best towing SUV of 2012 is the Ford Expedition. This job calls for a full-size body-on-frame SUV with a big V-8. Think Chevrolet Tahoe, Toyota Sequoia, Nissan Armada. Those bruisers can tow 8,200-9,600 pounds. We pick Expedition because it was first in class with the safety of trailer sway control, comes in two lengths, and can pull 9,200 pounds. Base-price range: $37,300-$53,100.