SUV of the Year

Pros Real SUV styling Well-tuned CVT Surprisingly spacious interior Cons Some cheap interior materials Four-star NHTSA safety rating Start with the styling, where the 2021 Seltos gets right what so many affordable SUVs miss—it looks like an SUV and not a tall hatchback. Even if you don’t like the pops of character provided by eye-catching details inside and out, the Seltos resembles a larger SUV than it actually is. That impression continues inside, where the Seltos delighted us with its spacious, reclinable rear seats. The outstanding package is marred only slightly by the occasional cheap materials the driver and passengers will find across the trim lineup. But that’s expected on an SUV with a price tag ranging from about $23,000 to $30,000. What you don’t expect, howev...

Pros Honda-like practicality Roomy back seat Improved interior quality Cons Platinum ride quality Loud engine Good but not great dynamics Nissan’s best-selling vehicle could soon be notable for more than just the amount of cash on the hood. After seven long model years, the redesigned 2021 Nissan Rogue re-enters the compact SUV scene more relevant than it’s been in a long time. Nissan, we missed you. The box-checking Rogue hits at the heart of the segment with smart, practical touches. A large back seat and wide-opening rear doors are just the start. The Nissan manages to offer a spacious cargo area while shrinking in length by 1.5 inches, making it that much easier to park. A new cargo spot below the center console could be useful, and like the class leaders, its rear seats fo...

Pros Incredible ride Fabulous design Great inline-six engine Cons Some interior cheapness Tiny third row Build quality concerns Perhaps as a result of being deprived of the Land Rover Defender in America since 1998, we were unsure what to expect with this new one. A few of our staff members have some experience with the old one and features editor Christian Seabaugh got to drive the new version 500-miles across Namibia (insert jealously induced expletive here), but by and large the big silver truck with the fanny pack hanging off the side was a stranger. It was much better than we expected. “Shock of all shocks,” says senior editor Scott Evans said. “The off-road truck with the giant knobby tires rides really well over all the rough pavement. All the travel in the suspens...

Pros Comfy seats Quick bursts of power Good hybrid brakes Cons Frustrating capacitive controls Can’t tow Excessive tire noise When the luxurious Lexus RX is out of reach, Toyota might have the next best thing. The 2021 Toyota Venza wraps the RAV4 Hybrid‘s powertrain in a longer and more premium package, providing buyers in the midsize SUV market a fresh option with a specific focus. You won’t find any fancy off-road driving modes inside the Venza, which does have standard electric AWD, thanks to its rear-mounted motor. And the Toyota isn’t rated to tow, either. Instead, the Venza aims to be the best high-riding school-run cruiser in its class. Oh yeah, and because it’s a hybrid, it’s more efficient than its Chevrolet Blazer, Ford Edge, and Honda Passport...

Pros Elegant interior Class-leading tech Unabashed style Cons Chevy parts here and there Retrograde fuel economy The Cadillac Escalade didn’t invent the concept of the luxury full-size SUV, but it’s been so dominant for so long you’d be forgiven for thinking so. Even as the competition caught and surpassed it, the biggest Caddy remained a staple of red carpet premieres, music videos, and valet lots. Now, though, the boss is back. The 2021 Cadillac Escalade takes every criticism leveled at both itself and the Cadillac brand head-on and comes away with barely a scratch. We can’t begin anywhere but the interior. For years, we’ve begged GM to give Cadillac the budget and freedom to design world-class interiors, and the most we’ve received is high-quality mat...

Pro Original approach to luxury Jaw-dropping interior Incredible value Con Harsh ride Underpowered 2.5T Unintuitive infotainment system When we picked the Genesis G70 as our 2019 Car of the Year, we turned a lot of heads from Sindelfingen to Nagoya. “Is it really that good?” were the first whispers, followed by “What do you know about the SUV?” Well, we now know a lot. The Genesis GV80 comes to the U.S. in two gas-burning configurations: a 300-hp 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-four and a 375-hp 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6. The GV80 2.5T is available in rear- and all-wheel drive (AWD) and starts just under $50,000. The higher-performance 3.5T model commands $10,000 more and comes only with AWD. Both engines spin the wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission electr...

Pros Massive interior Racy silhouette Four-year/50K-mile warranty Cons Subpar interior materials Overpriced Poor ride quality Don’t get too excited, but let’s climb into the back seat of the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The rear space astonishes. Your jaw might actually drop when you experience the cavernous second row, regardless of how the front seats are adjusted. Wow. If only we could give bonus points for this VW’s spaciousness for passengers and cargo. But we can’t—there’s more to the midsize two-row SUV segment than just interior packaging, and that’s why the Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t meet our standards. Even the styling—which is arguably more important in a premium-priced midsize SUV than a more affordable compact—is a mixed bag. From the ...