The best family SUVs - driven, rated and ranked

Best for: Space

The EV9 looks like it just landed from a sci-fi movie set. People stare at it on the street; they seek you out in shops and cafes to talk excitedly about it and to ask what it’s like. And yet it handles the tediousness of family life elegantly and serenely. 

It's smooth, quiet and brilliantly easy to operate and will officially do up to 349 miles on a charge. Our testing suggests the big-battery versions should crack 300 miles in real-life conditions, but you can supplement this quickly with 220kW rapid charging. 

But the real plus point of the electric powertrain is in its packaging. It enables the EV9 to make the most out of its gargantuan proportions.

It’s available with six or seven seats, and either way the third row is roomy enough for adults. Four of the five rear seats get their own cupholders and USB-C charging ports, as well as Isofix child-seat anchorages. The rearmost pair stow and deploy electrically and are easy to access.

Furthermore, the boot is big enough for a reasonable amount of shopping cargo with all seats in place. While in five-seat mode, the loading space is extremely generous. There's even a front boot, which is perfect for keeping the charging cables in.

Best for: Style

While the previous generation Peugeot 5008 was a rather frumpy, unsightly SUV, the new model is significantly more stylish and enticing. 

It sports a much sharper look in 2025 as well as a host of practicality upgrades and creature comforts. Front space is sizable, while passengers up to 6ft tall should be comfortable in the back. Add in a third row of seats, and you’ll be shifting the whole family around in style. 

Boot space is competitive for the class, with 348 litres on offer with all three seats up. This increases drastically to 916 litres. That’s more than the ultra-spacious Santa Fe, the Skoda Kodiaq or the Dacia Jogger. Impressive. 

The 5008 is propelled by mild hybrid power (a BIK-busting plug-in hybrid is on the way) with 134bhp and 170lb ft, which pushes it on to a reasonable 0-62mph sprint of 11.3sec. There’s an electric option too, named the E-5008 which claims up to 410 miles of range. 

Best for: Luxury feel

The Discovery Sport may well be the entry-level Land Rover, but that doesn't mean it's short on the brand's trademark capability, comfort or charm.

Since 2019 it has sat on the same PTA platform as the Range Rover Evoque, but it hasn't lost out on any of the characteristics that we liked about the original version. It's still higher-riding than many of its opponents and affords better visibility.

True to the Land Rover brand, the four-wheel-drive versions will also go further off-road than most owners will ever need. However, it also handles in an impressively tidy fashion, with accurate steering, good body control and surprising agility.

Its practical interior is available with seven seats for those who need them. The current versions have plenty of premium appeal and benefit from the latest Pivi Pro infotainment system, which help give it a similar feel to the firm's upper-crust Range Rover offerings.

Most of the petrol and diesel engines have 48V mild-hybrid assistance, but the particularly slick P300e plug-in hybrid is the standout version, thanks to its well-engineered integration that allows a smooth transition between petrol and electric.

If you want a family SUV with more versatility and off-road ruggedness than the class average, the Discovery Sport delivers that with very few compromises. Still one of the best 4x4s by far.

Best for: Interior ambience

From a value-for-money, bargain-basement brand to a genuine premium player, Hyundai's head-spinning progress over the past decade or so almost beggars belief.

Yet you need to take only a cursory look around the Santa Fe to appreciate just how far the Korean firm has come. This futuristic SUV features distinctive looks and a spacious and classy cabin, plus a range of drivetrains that includes a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid.

The key to the Santa Fe's appeal is its interior, which blends a real upmarket vibe with plenty of space. Unlike many seven-seat rivals, there's actually room in the third row for adults and access is fairly straightforward.

There's a vast boot, too: 725 litres with five seats in place. Quality is excellent, with numerous high-grade materials, loads of standard kit and a decent infotainment set-up.

It's not the most exciting car to drive, but the steering is light and precise and the Santa Fe handles corners with surprising composure for something so tall and heavy. It's at its best when taking it easy, which is no bad thing when you consider its family-friendly credentials.

The relatively soft suspension can become a little discombobulated over really challenging surfaces, but the rest of the time the Santa Fe is a refined and relaxing companion that's as happy mooching about town as it is taking in a long-haul trip.

If you need a show-stopping car that fits seamlessly into family life, the Hyundai takes some beating. Compared with a lot of rivals, you will get far more space and equipment for the money, too.

Best for: An alternative choice

Unusually, the Nissan X-Trail is powered exclusively by three-cylinder engines. That doesn’t bode well for effortless motoring, but the opposite is true for the four-wheel drive e-Power hybrid versions.

Nissan claims that its e-Power hybrid system (wherein the engine only ever works as a generator and the wheels are driven by electric motors) provides an EV driving experience but with the reassurance that you can simply fill up with petrol.

The X-Trail gets very close indeed, which makes it a very undemanding car to drive. Motorway efficiency is good but could be better, while efficiency in town is excellent.

Away from the novel powertrain, the X-Trail is very well considered. It’s slightly smaller than cars like the Hyundai Santa Fe or Skoda Kodiaq but still offers seven seats as an option.

The second row has plenty of space, the rear doors open 90deg and the boot space is competitive.

In front, the X-Trail feels familiar from the smaller Nissan Qashqai, but that’s a good thing because there are big buttons for commonly used functions and the infotainment is mostly logical, which makes the car very easy and frustration-free to use. The front seats are very comfortable, too.

On the road, the X-Trail is an easy-going companion. It suffers from a slightly crashy low-speed ride but is very supple everywhere else, and it even offers some dynamism in the corners.

Best for: Electric range 

Once an MPV, the Renault Scenic returned last year as an electric SUV. While you can no longer select it with seven seats, it’s still a brilliant family hauler with lots of space and a pleasant interior.

Entry-level cars come with a 60kWh battery as standard with a claimed range of 260 miles, but the 87kWh long-range option offers a mighty 379 miles on a charge. Power can range from a meagre 167bhp to 215bhp, which is acceptable. 

Make no mistake: that’s a seriously impressive range. It puts the Scenic straight to the top of the segment, even outclassing the Tesla Model Y’s 331 miles and the 348 miles touted by the Skoda Enyaq.

It’s practical and smart inside too, with a sizable, responsive 12in touchscreen infotainment system.

Its 545-litre boot is also impressive, and while rear passenger space isn’t quite class-leading, it’s still airy nonetheless.

Best for: Simple yet effective infotainment

The Volvo XC40 has been a real success in the UK. It first went on sale in 2017, but to this day it sports a charismatic and alluring design that looks great compared to many other blander family SUVs.

Its good looks continue on the inside. The XC40 offers a refined cabin with genuine richness, quality, usability and comfort. 

It's fair to say, though, that the XC40 isn't the most practical family car out there, with a 452-litre boot and a cramped rear.