Best luxury SUV over $60,000

Last year’s winner, the Volkswagen Touareg, has done it again and with a country mile between it and the rest of the field. The standout reason is value for dollar.

The plush cabin will comfortably seat five adults, while the driver gets a seat with 12-way electric adjustment and electro-pneumatic side bolsters.

All models of the Touareg come with a comprehensive safety package that includes nine airbags, ABS with off road function, ESC with active rollover function, hill hold and hill descent controls.

The 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine, mated to a smooth, eight-speed auto, delivers 180 kW of power and an impressive 550 Nm of torque from around 2000 rpm.

BlueMotion technologies, which include faster engine and gearbox warm-up, engine stop/start and regenerative braking, result in a significant reduction in fuel consumption (7.4 litres/100 km combined cycle) and emissions.

Touareg’s all-wheel-drive system, 4MOTION, has a Torsen limited slip differential suitable for maximum grades of 31 degrees and a simple to use, two-position rotary switch that tunes ABS, ESC, hill descent and auto shift points for off-road driving.

The air suspension with adaptive dampening control is well executed and the ride quality and handling for twisting roads, unsealed surfaces or long distance touring is second to none.