Uwe Fischer
Full-size SUVs aren’t as common as they used to be when Excursions and Suburbans were the lords of America’s highways and byways with their massive engines and even more massive passenger capacities and tow ratings. Now, in a world where fuel efficiency and vehicle emissions are king, midsize and compact SUVs tend to rule the road.
Still, there’s nothing quite like a big, luxurious full-size SUV and we’re betting some of you are not only feeling the same way but actually in the market to buy one. Here are the very best full-size luxury SUVs that you can buy today.
—Best Overall: Range Rover
—Best Customization: Jeep Grand Wagoneer
—Best Powertrain Options: BMW X7
—Best Value: Lexus LX
—Best Looking: Lincoln Navigator
—Best for Comfort: Cadillac Escalade
—Best for a Quiet Ride: Mercedes GLS
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Best Overall: Land Rover Range Rover
Image Credit: Land Rover The Range Rover is the grandaddy of all luxury SUVs, and the current full-size Range Rover is nothing short of gorgeous. It’s easily the prettiest and probably the most traditionally luxurious of the vehicles on our list and, despite longstanding concerns about reliability and resale value, there’s a reason people keep buying them.
The current Range Rover is available in either a long wheelbase or short wheelbase body with up to seven seats and in a whole heap of powertrain configurations including a mild-hybrid V8 with either 522 horsepower or 606 hp, as well as a plug-in hybrid and a fully electric version, both forthcoming.
Like previous Range Rovers, this one is all about customization offering tons of paint color options and interior finishes, so depending on how weird you feel like getting, you can really let your freak flag fly with the configurator. Pricing for the short-wheelbase SE model starts at $109,375.
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Best for Customization: Jeep Grand Wagoneer
Image Credit: Stellantis Jeep’s flagship SUV is an interesting beast. It puts Jeep’s focus on off-roading prowess on the back burner in favor of establishing a new lexicon for American luxury. Where Cadillac or Lincoln offer sleek, modern interiors, the Grand Wag is unabashedly old school, much to its credit.
With a staggering amount of wood trim paired with thoughtful almost mid-century-like design touches and one of the best stereo systems you can find in anything short of a Bentley (thanks McIntosh!), it’s a very stylish way to transport a huge family or a couple of executives and their luggage.
When it launched, the Grand Wagoneer was offered with the 6.4-liter Hemi V8 and that was fine but now you can get it with the turbocharged Hurricane inline-six and despite being super down on displacement, the easily accessible torque and more refined and quiet nature suits the big SUV to a tee. If you want Jeep’s biggest and best, be prepared to fork over $93,945 for the base model.
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Best for Powertrain Options: BMW X7
Image Credit: Uwe Fischer Come close and let us tell you a secret: the X7 might be the best thing that BMW currently makes. I know that’s sacrilege when talking about one of the most loved manufacturers of sports sedans and coupes in the world, but the X7 is just that good. This big Bavarian behemoth offers everything you’d want in a full-size luxury SUV. It’s handsome, sports a very nice interior making it a great place to spend time, and has engine options that make the X7 almost frighteningly quick for what it is.
But wait, it gets better. The creme de la creme of the X7 range, aka the Alpina XB7, will do the sprint to 60 in under four seconds, has more buttery soft leather in its interior than a Bottega Veneta factory, and a body kit that makes the already pretty X7 look just as mean as anything. Add in the cachet of having an Alpina and you’re breathing rarified air, friend.
The base X7 xDrive40i starts at $84,495 but the Alpina goes for almost twice as much.
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Best Value: Lexus LX
Image Credit: Lexus The Lexus LX may not offer the kind of posh elegance of a Range Rover or the autobahn burning power of a BMW X7 but it does offer legendary Lexus build quality with serious off-road chops.
Lexus’ replacement for its long-serving LX 570 model ditches the naturally aspirated V8 for a twin-turbocharged V6 as well as a comprehensive refresh of interior technology and style. Things that haven’t changed are Lexus’ lovely leather, great seats, unflappable fit and finish and somewhat polarizing style.
Given that the LX is based on the super-rugged 300-series Toyota Land Cruiser, you can expect it to get you just about anywhere in bad weather and offer up decades of reliable service. Pricing for the LX 600 starts at $94,415.
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Best for Comfort: Cadillac Escalade
Image Credit: Cadillac Sure, a regular Tahoe or Suburban may be pretty nice, but if you want the best luxury that GM can offer, you go with the Escalade. There’s a reason that it was the inspiration for untold numbers of rap songs from the early aughts and why it’s still a standard bearer for its class: it’s really comfortable and really imposing on the road.
The current fifth-generation Escalade kind of does everything well. It’s attractive and understated on the exterior, so it can be as anonymous or as flashy as you want. The inside offers super comfortable seats, beautiful appointments and one of the best-looking dash layouts in all of SUV-dom. It also has a pair killer selection of available engines with our favorite being the 3.0-liter Duramax inline-six diesel for the torque and efficiency it offers. The 6.2-liter gas engine is nothing to sneeze at either.
Pricing for the 2024 Escalade starts at $83,890 for the rear-wheel drive 6.2-liter model, but add another benjamin for the diesel.
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Best for a Quiet Ride: Mercedes-Benz GLS
Image Credit: Mercedes Mercedes’ GLS occupied a sort of weird place in the company’s lineup for a long time. It was huge and a little awkward, expensive but built in Alabama and less capable in the dirt than the much smaller but considerably more expensive G-Class. Now though, the secret is out and people realize just how good a platform it is. Even Mercedes has gone so far as to offer it as a wildly expensive Maybach model.
Part of what makes the GLS so pleasant, other than the typical Mercedes stuff like great interiors, excellent tech, and handsome styling, is the fact that it’s much less compromised for everyday use than the G-Class. The GLS doesn’t need three locking differentials, because most malls aren’t at the end of a rock crawl or the Paris Dakar. It’s focused on being elegant, comfortable, and carrying a lot of people and their stuff.
The GLS 450 starts at $88,150 and comes with Mercedes’ excellent mild-hybrid turbo inline-six engine. If your pockets are full to bursting with SUV-buying money, you can go for the 603-horsepower GLS 63 AMG model that starts at $147,000. If even that’s too pedestrian for you, the GLS 600 Maybach will set you back $175,500.
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Best Looking: Lincoln Navigator
Image Credit: Lincoln Not a lot of people remember that it was the Lincoln Navigator and not the Cadillac Escalade that kicked off the American luxury SUV craze in the late 1990s, but it was, and it made a huge splash in 1998 with its first generation. Now, in its fourth generation, it’s still driving people wild with a sharply styled exterior and a drop-dead gorgeous interior offered in unique color combinations and packed with luxury and convenience tech.
The 2024 Navigator can be had in standard or long wheelbase variants, all of which are powered by the excellent 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 and ten-speed automatic transmission that we’re familiar with in so many other FoMoCo products. It’s also got the awesome BlueCruise hands-free driving system, which puts it a cut above some of the other offerings on the list.
So, if you want a big beautiful SUV with the option of getting a blue or green leather interior, then the Navigator is a classic choice. Pricing starts at $85,905 for the base Premiere trim.
