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SUV USA: New 4x4s square up at Detroit Motor Show 2015

Image of Alisdair Suttie
Author: | Updated: 14 Jan 2015 16:33

If a motor show has an influence on the type of cars launched within its halls, it’s no surprise the year-opening North American International Auto Show, or Detroit as it’s more commonly known, plays host to so many SUV debuts.

Given the USA’s penchant for SUVs and 4x4s of all shapes and flavours, and that Detroit is still home to the US’s big double act of Ford and GM, this is the show to be seen at with an SUV. 2015 has not disappointed, with Ford parading its F150 Raptor among its new wares. GM is not to be outdone and showed off its full-size, and we mean full-size, Ram 1500 Rebel.

Interesting as this pair is to the US market, where good ol’ boys and accountants still like to live up to the frontier spirit with a set of outsized SUV or pick-up wheels, what about cars more relevant to the UK market? Well, if you’re looking to lease an SUV sometime in the near future, it’s all very bright.

Ford paraded its F150 Raptor (top left) while GM showed off its full-size Ram 1500 Rebel (bottom right)

Starting at the more affordable end of the market, we have the new Volvo S60 Cross Country [below].

This is an unusual choice in that Volvo has applied its Cross Country thing to a saloon for the first time to create what, as far as we can make out, is a unique proposition. Whether unique means oddball or trailblazer is yet to be decided, but the S60 sits 65mm taller than the standard saloon and will be offered with front- and four-wheel drive when it goes on sale in the UK this summer.

Volvo will offer the unusual S60 Cross Country with its brilliant new D4 engine with 190bhp, which promises to make this amalgam of saloon and SUV very good to drive. It also means the car should be frugal, fast and easy on emissions, which is all good news for those looking for a saloon but need a bit of extra ground clearance, if such a defined buying group exists.

the new Volvo S60 Cross Country

Still keeping our feet in the affordable end of the SUV muddy puddle is Volkswagen’s Cross Coupe GTE.

While being touted as a concept, VW happily tells us a new seven-seat SUV will go into production at its Tennessee factory in 2016. This is likely to take much of its styling and looks from the GTE, though a 3.6-litre V6 engine is not going to be in huge demand in Europe.

What will be in demand in Europe is VW’s new Tiguan, which has been pleasing Golf customers who need or want a little SUV action for some years now. The new Tiguan will use the same platform as the current Golf, but we can also look forward to a smaller SUV that uses the Polo as its base.

If you ever needed proof the SUV market is where it’s at in the current sales world of cars, this is it when VW is putting so much store in this sector.

Volkswagen’s Cross Coupe GTE

More proof comes from three other VW Group companies in the shape of the new Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne Turbo S and Bentley Bentayga.

It’s not often the Q7 will find itself at the more pocket-friendly, socially acceptable end of the SUV spectrum but in this company, the Audi is definitely the poor relation. However, this is not to say the Q7 is anything but a very promising new model thanks to Audi shedding considerable weight from the car for its second generation.

A trip to the fat farm has shaved an impressive 325kg from the previous (and lardy) Q7, with obvious benefits for economy and emissions. Set to go on sale in the UK in the middle of 2015, the Q7 is also shorter and narrower than the car it replaces, which all bodes well for making it a much more appealing machine.

Despite the smaller exterior dimensions, Audi has freed up more interior space for the Q7, which is just as well given the outgoing model’s reverse Tardis impression of delivering less interior space than the outward size suggests. With improved turbodiesel engines also waiting in the wings for the Q7, this could be the moment Audi’s big SUV gets fully on terms with Land Rover and Range Rover.

The new Audi Q7 is 325kg lighter than the previous car

Porsche has long been on an equal footing with its British rivals with the Cayenne, which is arguably the best large SUV to drive depending on your criteria for judging. The Cayenne Turbo S delivers more of the Porsche magic in the form of a 562bhp twin-turbo 4.8-litre V8 engine. It serves up 0-62mph in a mere 4.1 seconds and heads on to 176mph flat out.

This does leave you wondering why you would ever need an SUV capable of this performance other than for bragging rights? And anyone who buys a car purely for bragging rights is a bit of a numpty, in this columnist’s view. Surely, if you want this sort of speed, you’re much better off buying Porsche’s 911 GTS or a Panamera if you insist of scaring more than just one passenger?

Bentley SUV Wing Vent

Then again, the same sort of buyer will also be levitating with glee that Bentley has finally got around to admitting to the worst-kept secret in motoring: it’s building an SUV.

Given Bentley’s ever-increasing appeal to those with surgically removed taste sensors, an SUV is a logical and obvious step.

Why Bentley has had to underline the jarring nature of an SUV in its line-up with a name like ‘Bentayga’ is, frankly, beyond me. Still, it will no doubt growl out of showrooms, trampling over flower beds and bumping up and down kerbs the world over and all the while swelling Bentley’s coffers.

Whatever price the Bentayga comes in at, a Mulsanne will always be the sleeker car in keeping with Bentley’s history.

If the Bentley Bentayga seems crass, Jaguar’s F-Pace is a car Jag should have launched much sooner.

Given Jaguar’s intimate links with Land Rover, the oddly titled F-Pace could surely have been productionised earlier? Still, it’s on the way and the F-Pace will be a rival for Porsche’s Macan and the sportier compact SUV offerings from Audi and BMW.

Expect the F-Pace to come with Jag’s new Ingenium four-cylinder diesel as the big seller, but also look out for the supercharged petrol V6 motor from the F-type. Prices should start in the mid-£30,000 bracket, so the F-Pace should find plenty of willing takers among those leasing a car.

Jaguar's F-Pace should look a lot like the C-X17 concept

Mercedes will also find willing customers for its GLE, which is its long-awaited rival for the BMW X6.

Launched in Detroit as the AMG GLE 63 Coupe, this fire-breathing 585bhp twin-turbo 5.5-litre V8 model will spawn the more mainstream diesel models with Merc’s four- and six-cylinder turbodiesels. The AMG model is on sale in the UK in June, with others to follow.

Mercedes' GLE will rival BMW's X6

Whether you like SUVs or not, there is no let-up in the number being launched and added to this class.

Some like the Jaguar F-Pace and Volvo S60 Cross Country add variety, while others like the Bentley Bentayga are just self-interested cash cows, but all are adding to the SUV ranks faster than motor shows can launch them.

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