Australians love SUVs – it’s cliched but it’s absolutely fair dinkum straight up…
And although 2020 has been the year that has kept on giving – in perhaps not the most positive of ways – SUVs buyers do have plenty to look forward.
Over the next few months and into 2021, a veritable carpark of new SUVs are heading our way. Here are six we’re looking forward to driving.
Czechmate Mazda and Mitsu... Priced from under $27,000 plus on-road costs and in showrooms from October, the all-new compact Skoda Kamiq will be pitched as a premium but affordable offering in a segment that is dominated by vehicles like the Mitsubishi ASX and Mazda CX-3.
It’s looking like a big year for the Volkswagen Group brand that prides itself on doing things differently.
At last, a Ford SUV that resonates with Aussies? Ford Australia will be hoping so when the 2020 Ford Escape arrives late next month priced from under $36,000.
With plenty of tech and even a plug-in hybrid version, the new Ford Escape promises plenty, but it’ll need to be a standout to take on sales successes such as the Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Tucson, which will also be renewed in the first half of next year.
Audi’s on a roll in 2020, thanks to multiple new models and strong sales in a market that’s down for all of the reasons we know. An Aussie favourite, the Audi Q5 gets a sharp new design inside and out for 2021.
The interior is still a highlight but dynamics have been tweaked and green credentials boosted. Three engines will be offered from launch next February: a strong turbo-diesel V6 and four-cylinder petrol and diesel variants. The latter even gets a new mild-hybrid set-up to reduce emissions.
Look out Toyota Prado buyers, Hyundai has you in its sights. With petrol and diesel power, up to eight seats and proper four-wheel drive, this is the big, modern three-row SUV the Korean company has needed to finally take on Toyota in its Prado heartland – or at least that’s the story Hyundai is telling us.
When it arrives late this year, the new Hyundai Palisade should make an intriguing head to head – on roads and tracks, and in showrooms.
Volkswagen hasn’t been making too many product mistakes of late (if you excuse that minor emissions woopsie), and the 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan will hit its target too.
A stylish new exterior is matched by a redesigned interior that brings the big-brother Touareg’s premium finish to the country’s biggest SUV sales segment. It’s already looking like a hit.
And finally, a little further afield, is the first of a new generation of affordable battery-electric SUVs from Nissan, the 2022 Nissan Ariya.
Boasting a range of variants with performance from mild to wild and real-world driving ranges that should make Tesla blush, the Nissan Ariya could be the step-change that Aussie EV hopefuls have been waiting for...