2020 carsales Best Family SUV: The most stylish

Whether we shop with our head or our heart, there’s no denying style plays an important part in the selection of the 2020 carsales Best Family SUV. Sure, it’s a very personal and subjective piece of the purchasing puzzle, but we’ve tried to analyse aesthetics in the same way any family buyer would.

Holden introduced the full-size seven-seat Acadia as a replacement for its long-serving Captiva in 2017. Its maker, General Motors’ GMC brand, unashamedly says its “bold and rugged” appearance aims to make it look “truck-like” despite its car-style unibody (or monocoque) construction.

Those large, squared-off design cues make the American-made Acadia especially roomy inside; and despite a few low-rent interior materials and hard plastics, its cabin is well presented, logically laid-out and sensibly packaged.

We found the switchgear easy to understand and the placement of key controls sensible.

The Acadia grows on you the more time you spend with it, and despite some misgivings about the quality of the upholstery and interior panelling, we found the cabin free of squeaks and rattles, and impressively quiet at highway speeds.

The fourth-generation Hyundai Santa Fe is one of the newer seven-seat SUVs on test here and makes a clear break from its predecessor’s design cues.

The cascading grille and split-headlight face of the new Santa Fe aim to make it more imposing than the outgoing model. Its move upmarket is also distinguished by a wider yet sculpted stance, uniform shoulder-line and swept-back A-pillar.

From the driver’s seat it’s obvious the refinement and ergonomics of the Santa Fe have also improved. The dual-cockpit layout is clean in terms of its layout and the inclusion of technology within the horizontally-themed dashboard is quite seamless when viewed against some SUVs on test.

Material quality is impressive throughout the Santa Fe, with attention to detail coming from even the most unexpected of places. The use of texture and embossing draws the eye away from areas that rely upon more durable materials. This aesthetic goes hand in hand with sensible packaging to endow the Santa Fe with a truly family-friendly feel.

Kia’s third-generation Sorento might share its platform and driveline with the Hyundai Santa Fe, but it’s here the similarities end.

Designed under the eye of former Audi stylist, Peter Schreyer, the Sorento’s deeply sculpted surfaces won it a prestigious iF Design Award at its introduction in 2015.

Its “simplistic and empathetic” Tiger Nose front-end design was a collaborative effort between Kia design studios in Germany, the United States and South Korea. It is mimicked in part inside the cabin. Here, the clever use of horizontal lines extends the feeling of width across the dashboard, cleverly integrating switchgear, storage cubbies and secondary controls.

Like the Santa Fe, the Sorento also features a large, ‘floating’ infotainment screen atop the dashboard. For our judges, the most noticeable uplift in design comes not only from the aesthetic of the Sorento, but from the improvement in material and assembly quality.

It’s obvious Kia has moved upmarket with its latest Sorento. The high-grade GT-Line tested here is every bit as refined as the newer Hyundai Santa Fe and Japanese-built Mazdas.

The Mazda CX-8 and CX-9 share the same overall styling ethos, even making use of the same outboard tail-light design.

The exterior design, dubbed KODO and penned by Shinichi Isayama, is said to promote a feeling of motion even when stationary. It uses flowing lines to present an “energetic and graceful” design, Mazda says.

Inside, the CX-8 and CX-9 brings an upmarket aesthetic, especially in the high-grade (and best-selling) Asaki and Azami grades tested here. The horizontal flow of the dashboard’s contour lines continues seamlessly into the front doors and the shapely leather-clad seats compliment the dynamic exterior contours. It’s a coherent combination which imbues the CX-8 and CX-9 with a degree of elegance.

The pair of SUVs isn’t trying to shout its presence, instead Mazda uses stylish and emotive design to attract buyers. Combine this with outstanding materials and assembly quality and it’s easy to see why the Mazda CX-8 and CX-9 continue to sell strongly.

Nissan moved away from its large SUV’s rugged, ute-based roots when it launched the latest Pathfinder back in 2013. Instead of the Navara’s ladder frame, the seven-seater shares its monocoque underpinnings with the Altima and Maxima sedans.

The Pathfinder exterior was revamped in 2017 with a new fascia, headlights and tail-lights, but is otherwise the same fundamental shape penned by designer Alfonso Albaisa back in 2010.

The interior of the Pathfinder looks (and is) dated by the standard of its rivals on this test. Despite being easy to use, it lacks some of the infotainment and convenience features of its contemporaries. Material and assembly quality is likewise behind the curve, thus the Pathfinder is a roomy but second-rate family SUV where design, materials and even practicality are concerned.

On the plus side, the Pathfinder’s large glasshouse and generous third window mean its outward visibility is a step above most of the SUVs here. It’s an easy vehicle to place on the road and to park in tight confines, despite its larger body.

We also appreciated the Pathfinder’s hushed ride.

Although the Skoda Kodiaq and Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace both ride on Volkswagen’s MQB platform, they share almost no visual similarities – inside or out.

Indeed, the Kodiaq has a presence all its own. Designed by Jozef Kaban, it began life as Skoda’s 2016 VisionS concept and the production version retains much of the concept’s crisp frontal treatment, strong character lines and angular tailgate and tail-lights (which are said to be inspired by Bohemian glass making).

The interior of the Skoda boasts intelligent storage throughout. It’s cleanly presented and beautifully assembled with the quality of materials a stand-out – even when compared to the Kodiaq’s twin-under-the-skin Tiguan Allspace.

Ergonomics and accommodation are likewise sensible and appear to combine seamlessly with the Kodiaq’s open, roomy cabin feel. In short, the Kodiaq feels more lavish than its price tag would suggest.

Like the Holden, the Toyota Kluger boasts generous proportions and a squared-off styling motif that is recognisably American in origin. The Kluger Black Edition tested here is based on the popular mid-grade Kluger GXL.

Toyota says the bold, black styling of its special-edition Kluger “dials up the attitude and appeal” of its family-sized seven-seat SUV, and by the looks of its sales figures, buyers seem to agree (the Toyota Kluger is the best-selling car in its class).

This variant is identified by larger, all-black 19-inch alloy wheels, roof rails and smoked back-plates for the headlights and lower side mouldings.

From the driver’s seat there’s a lot of the Kluger’s design that matched others on this test, the horizontally-themed dashboard and ‘floating’ infotainment screen – and the centre console layout – are reminiscent of the Hyundai Santa Fe.

Like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento, the latest Toyota Kluger shows a step-up in the quality of its fit and finish and materials selection. The variant tested here shows the type of high production quality for which Toyota is renowned and family SUV buyers deserve.

The Tiguan Allspace tested here arrived in local showrooms in 2018. In terms of stying, the larger Mexican-made seven-seater is all but identical to the regular Tiguan – “clean and confident”, Volkswagen says.

Slim headlights and a high bonnet etched with V-shaped character lines recall the seventh-generation Golf hatch, while strong shoulder lines and a Golf-like tailgate treatment make sure the Tiguan Allspace maintains a familial resemblance.

Inside, the Tiguan Allspace is orderly and immaculately presented. The quality of materials and assembly is as strong as we’ve seen and the finesse and attention to detail shown in the Tiguan Allspace’s switchgear and instrumentation is a particular highlight.

The upspec 162TSI Highline tested also boasts deluxe Vienna leather upholstery to really instil a sense of comfort and quality – and is also easy for family owners to keep clean!

In the end our judges decided it was the Skoda Kodiaq Sportline that offered the most contemporary blend of styling inside and out.

The Kodiaq was voted the least likely to show its age in the years ahead, and the best at serving the needs of family buyers who want an attractive, easy to manage and practical seven-seat SUV.

Top three scoreboard:
1 Skoda Kodiaq (9.0/10)
2 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace (8.6/10)
=3 Mazda CX-8 (8.2/10)
=3 Mazda CX-9 (8.2/10)

2020 carsales Best Family SUV