Fast SUVs are perhaps the most divisive cars on the road. On the one hand, we have to wonder why all our lightweight sportscars are either dying or going electric when these leviothans can still exist. On the other, they sell like hotcakes and many are truthfully engineering marvels. Some of them even look alright. Even the biggest detractor will be able to pick out one of these nine great fast SUVs on sale in 2023 as their favourite. There's certainly no shortage of choice.
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With its fettled diff, deftly-judged suspension and hot-rod AMG V8, the DBX707 it's not just a great performance SUV, but a great performance car full stop. With its bespoke platform and in-detail engineering, it's the opposite of the kind of margin-centric synical badge job we've seen from other esteemed supercar marques, too.
Performance doesn't come at the expense of road suitability either. It's a genuinely lovely, special-feeling, high-quality place to spend time and will easily munch miles the way any Aston should. Okay, the in-car UI isn't great but it's far superior to the sportscar range and when you get on it, drives like a proper member of the family too. The Ferrari Purosangue really has to be good to not only beat this, but be worth over £100,000 more. Yes, it can be quite gaudy with those lurid AMR highlights but get the spec right and it's actually not a bad-looking old bus.
The most mental Cayenne there has ever been is easily the best Cayenne we've ever driven. It has an incredible 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine pumping out 640PS (471kW) through all four wheels while 850Nm (629lb ft) of torque attempts to shred all its rubber. Despite its size and weight it'll still hit 62mph in 3.3 seconds and it feels like it can do things it absolutely shouldn't be able to.
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Devilishly fast is the new updated Lamborghini Urus Performante. With its 666PS, it set an SUV record at Pikes Peak, with a toime of 10:32, beating out the Bentley Bentayga by a healthy 17 seconds. The Performante also gets the option of extra carbon bits, Aventador SVJ-inspired wheels, updated aero and reduced weight. Doesn't always sound like we're talking about an SUV, does it? That's the job of the Urus: to be a supercar on stilts.
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It’s been around a while but has had a refresh in time for 2021. We love this Italian beast – a sonorous exhaust boom and crackle echo the workings of the incredible Ferrari-derived engine which is good for 510PS, but that’s only half the tale of any Maranello engine – it’s the character and sound that we’ve fallen in love with. A proper driver’s SUV, and you can’t say that very often. Somehow the 1,800kg Stelvio manages to make itself feel like a hot hatch the moment you attack a corner.
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Bonkers, in a most excellent way. Try a tough ladder-frame chassis, live rear axle and three diff locks, combined with a 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 putting out 580PS at 6,000rpm and 850Nm of torque. The boxy styling says mud-chugging agricultural tool, the power says otherwise.
The fastest version of Jaguar's first ever SUV is a bit of a brute. A very old-school supercharged V8 sends the big Jag to 60mph in around four seconds, but does it with character that few other SUVs manage. Also it sounds absolutely mighty whether on the limit or off and can be had for about half the price of the Cayenne Turbo GT. It's not long for this world though, so get one while you can.
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In essence a BMW X3 diesel, but by “essence” we mean “not really at all”. The styling might be the same, albeit with cool Alpina decals running down the flanks and Alpina badges front and rear, but it’s had the Alpina wand of engineering magic waved over it to produce more power without stiffening anything too much. So that’s 335PS, 700Nm of torque and 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds, but it’s still comfy and practical.
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The same engine and chassis are available in the SQ7, which is larger and can carry more people, but the SQ8 packs the ultimate style punch, especially in black, with red calipers. The engine is a big, creamy 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 diesel, with 435PS. Yes, the RS Q8 is faster, but we have a soft spot for the SQ8.
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Whisper it, but the BMW XM, as difficult to look at as it is, is probably going to be bloody good. It's also extremely important in the pantheon of M, as the division harnesses hybridisation in the name of performance for the first time. As luxurious as it is fast, the XM is a statement vehicle, the halo of BMW M excess. In the so-called 'Label Red' specification, it'll pack a by far class-leading 748PS and 1,000nm (a Pagani Huayra is similarly endowed). It'll also be able to go more than 50 miles in electric-only zero-emissions mode. Everyone hates to look at it but those that buy it will love to drive it.
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