The best sports SUVs you can buy in 2024
Performance and practicality come hand-in-hand in the world of hot SUVs
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For anyone who’s ever wished that the practical family cars they own could be just a little more fun to drive, we present to you the fast-growing world of sports SUVs.
Combining big practicality with exciting performance, sports SUVs have been bending the rules of physics in a bid to bring you the best of both worlds for a couple of decades now. They're also quicker than most, if not all, supercars of our childhood.
Best of all, there are sports SUVs to suit most price brackets.
Here are our top picks for sports SUVs in 2024:
Range Rover Sport
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Land Rover's plush Range Rover lineup includes one of the best sports SUVs you can drive.
If you have a healthy budget, then this is a car that will entertain and impress in equal measure, especially if you go all out and choose the 5.0-litre V8 SVR version. It. Sounds. Epic.
But whichever version you go for, the Range Rover Sport's interior is luxurious and refined, and it’s also a genuine off-roader too, albeit with a clear primary focus on-road handling. Still, it's nice to know you can get it mucky now and then.
Jaguar F-Pace
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Once upon a time, Jaguar was known for its saloons and sports cars, but now, with the F-Pace having broken most of its sales records, the company is equally as famed for its SUVs – oh, and they're pretty sporty too.
Jaguar has squeezed all of its sports car handling know-how into the F-Pace, and the result is an SUV that drives like a performance car.
The interior is largely copied from the XE saloon, and is very comfortable with lots of practical features added into the mix, thanks to this used Jaguar model's extra space.
Audi Q7
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The Audi Q7 is a big SUV, so it can seat seven passengers and carry a family's worth of holiday luggage.
It can also entertain, however, thanks to elastic engines that make use of Audi's clever turbocharger technology, which – to simplify a complicated process – uses a small electric motor to make them offer more punch, more often.
Extend your search to include Q7s equipped with Audi's 'Driving Dynamics' package, and you'll have a car that corners as well as it accelerates.
Not bad for a 2.2-tonne machine, especially when you check out used Audi prices.
BMW X3
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BMW has been knocking out the X3 since 2003, and the version that's on sale now has naturally benefitted enormously from the gradual evolution of its predecessors.
Despite its size, this is a strong driver’s car, handling brilliantly and always feeling responsive, whatever the driving and road conditions.
There’s a choice of petrol and diesel engines to choose from too, from the pretty frugal 2.0-litre diesel through to a turbocharged V8 petrol seen in the X3 M.
Plus, there are plenty of used BMW models on offer at impressive prices.
Mercedes-Benz GLC
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While you can spend more than £100k on a GLC at Mercedes, but a used Mercedes on our site can be a fraction of the price.
Best of all, even the most basic versions of Mercedes's mid-sized SUV are well equipped with mod-cons like heated front seats, climate control and a first-class infotainment system.
If you’re planning to go off-road with the car, it’s well worth looking out for one that's been equipped with optional downhill speed control technology and reinforced underbody protection.
In reality, however, no one ever uses a GLC to go off-roading, which is why they are much better suited to motorway cruising and running in and around town.
Porsche Cayenne
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The Cayenne rewrote the rulebook when it came to making SUVs that perform like sports cars back when it launched in 2003.
It was one of the first of its kind and it has remained on top for almost two decades. Like the BMW X3, this extended history has only made the latest versions even better.
Whether you opt for a 2.0-litre petrol engine or go for a more powerful 3.0-litre model, there's plenty of fun to be had with a used Porsche.
For the greatest thrills, Porsche's 4.0-litre V8 model packs plenty of heat – living up to its Cayenne name.
Volkswagen T-Roc
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Price-wise, a used Volkswagen T-Roc is one of the cheaper sports SUVs you can buy from a premium brand. Plus, a used Volkswagen can be even cheaper.
Its sporty qualities are alluded to in the 'Roc' part of the name, a nod to the now-discontinued Scirocco model of yesteryear. Like that car, you're offered both sensible and sporty versions of the T-Roc.
Be sensible, and you can pick up a T-Roc on cinch for less than £20k. Ask for more performance in a T-Roc R with its 300hp engine, and you'll be edging more than £40k – but this is a car well worth its premium.
Cupra Ateca
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In case you didn’t know, Cupra is the more upmarket and sporty sub-brand of Spanish carmaker SEAT.
The Cupra Ateca is the hotter version of the parent company’s popular SUV, with a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that can accelerate the car from 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds.
For such a fast car, it’s very roomy inside, with plenty of legroom in the back. The interior is also a considerable step up from SEAT's version – obviously to justify the higher price.
Although we're speaking relatively here, nearly-new cars go for less than £40k, which is a good deal.
Ford Puma ST
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If you’re in the market for a small sports SUV that packs maximum value for money, then it’s hard to beat the Ford Puma ST.
With the same brilliant three-cylinder engine as the Fiesta ST and a near-identical handling setup, it's excitable and engaging. It even comes with Recaro sports seats that add to the sporty feel of the car.
While with 200hp it's at the lower-powered end of the sports SUV world, it packs plenty of punch.