2023 Best Large SUV Under $50K

Fifty grand is not what it used to be. Once upon a time, it bought you a top-of-the-line sports car – even earlier than that, it’s probably what your parents spent on their house. Their four-bedroom one, we mean. In inner Sydney.

These days, it gets you an SUV for hauling around spouse and spawn, and not even a top-spec one.

While of course the best salary your parents could aspire to earn would be considered unliveable in 2023, cars have come a long way. The standard equipment list of a car of yesteryear would be lucky to fill a piece of A4, whereas today’s run-of-the-mill SUVs pack more equipment and technology than the most advanced vehicles of a generation ago. And we know which one we’d rather have a crash in.

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To demonstrate our point, today we’ve assembled the best of the sub-$50K bunch if you’re in the market for a new SUV – and while that sum won’t get you a three-bedder in an Australian city anytime soon, it’ll get you quite a lot of car.

The new Honda CR-V is the latest release of our trio – and it looks it. At 4.7 metres long, it makes the original 1997 CR-V look like a model car, and blurs the line between mid-size and large SUV. Not just its first-generation forebear, it also eclipses the previous model at 69mm longer, 11mm wider and with a 40mm-longer wheelbase.

With its handsomely long bonnet and sculpted styling, the one we have today is the VTi L7 – the one with a pair of seats in the boot. A turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder supplies 140kW and 240Nm to the front wheels only, via a CVT (continuously variable transmission) auto.

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While its $53,000 price-tag suggests it exceeds our $50K ceiling, that’s a drive-away figure that incorporates several thousand dollars' worth of on-road charges.

Next up, having existed since 2017, the Mazda CX-8 is now an old car – and since this comparison was conducted the vehicle that is essentially a long-wheelbase CX-5 has been confirmed for the chop by the end of 2023.

Shame, as it's still a very good SUV, though arriving at our photography location I’m embarrassed to admit I thought the CX-8, parked anonymously in a car park, belonged to a member of the public.

Compared with the Honda, which has proper presence, the CX-8 is almost invisible – especially on the 17-inch wheels of our Touring FWD test car. Its $49,560 list price sneaks just under our $50K RRP cap – it’d be about $54,500 drive-away – while under the skin there’s a six-speed auto, and a peaky 2.5-litre naturally aspirated inline-four dishing up 140kW and 252Nm.

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Throwing a German cat amongst the Japanese pigeons is the VW Tiguan Allspace – here in 132TSI Life trim.

While, like the Mazda, it’s almost ready for the motoring retirement village – this generation Tiguan goes back to 2016 – it’s still a mighty good car.

This one has a 2.0-litre turbo inline-four with 132kW, a grunty 320Nm, and the much-desired – or much-maligned, depending on your past experiences – seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Unlike the other two cars here, this one is all-wheel drive.

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While its $48,590 base list price seems extraordinarily sharp, an additional $6400 of options dents our Tiguan Allspace’s value equation somewhat, coming in at $54,990 before on-road costs.

And if value is what you’re after, the Honda CR-V takes an early win, being cheaper than both rivals. While all three cars come with lengthy standard equipment lists, the Honda offers a few things standard the other cars don’t, namely its hands-free electric tailgate, panoramic sunroof, and driver’s seat memory.

Somewhat criminally for a premium marque, you have to pay extra for heated seats in the Volkswagen, something standard on both the Honda and Mazda.

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Above: Honda CR-V. Click to scroll through each model's cabin in our gallery.

Compared to Honda interiors of only a generation ago, the CR-V’s is more mature, restrained and classy

Meanwhile the CX-8 – if it hadn’t already showed its age – can’t come with a wireless phone charger at all, something standard on the VW and Honda, although unlike those two, the Mazda does give you an old-school, basic head-up display.

Getting into the CR-V, it’s also evident the Honda design department has popped the triangle and trapezoidal stencils in the bottom drawer, replacing them with rulers. Compared to Honda interiors of only a generation ago, the CR-V’s is more mature, restrained and classy, to the point that existing owners – lured by the quirkiness of previous designs – might find the new one a bit plain.

At least in an ergonomic sense, it’s better off for it, whacky controls for things like the volume replaced with a simple, timeless dial. Materials are decent quality while storage space is also good, while we like the bright, clear, contemporary look of the infotainment and instruments.

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Above: Tiguan Allspace. Click to scroll through each model's cabin in our gallery.

Many of these things can’t be said for the CX-8 which, while being a pleasant place to sit, feels like you’ve borrowed a five-year-old car from a family friend.

While the slim, 10.25-inch infotainment display is plenty modern, its native interface looks dated and, exasperatingly, is non-touchscreen for the Apple CarPlay.

Why Mazda persists with forcing you to use the hand-controller – when the screen is within easy reach – is one of the biggest continuing own-goals in the world of new car interior design.

In the absence of a sunroof like the other two cars, the CX-8’s interior – trimmed entirely in black, with minimal brightwork – is also oppressively dark, like you’re in a little cave and need to open the curtains a little. This sensation is especially stark if you’re coming straight from the Volkswagen.

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Our Tiguan test car’s Storm Grey interior and enormous panoramic sunroof make this a bright, light-filled place to be – like you’re in a sun-kissed, white-leather-trimmed, luxury speed boat.

Even though this generation Tiguan is about to be replaced, the interior is still a premium, upmarket place to be, only its relatively small 8.0-inch central touchscreen giving away its age. (And maybe also its antiquated, tall gear shifter.)

All three cars boast spacious second rows, although the CX-8’s is the best, with tonnes of room and great tri-zone air-conditioning. The VW also has tri-zone, but the CR-V has plain, old manual rear vents. The Honda scores some points for its rear doors, which open so wide it’s like they disappear.

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As for Amish readers, or anybody else shopping on third-row space alone, you can stop reading here: the CX-8 wins.

You could reasonably subject an adult to the boot of the CX-8, while the Honda and Volkswagen are child-only zones. At least the Honda gives third-row occupants air-vents – the others don’t.

With back-of-the-bus seats stowed away, all three have great big boots – and all have sliding second rows. Extra points go the Honda here, though, with its standard electric tailgate – something not available on the Mazda at all. Although points are in turn deducted as the CR-V’s boot is almost non-existent in seven-seat mode, while with the third row up, the VW and Mazda still offer something.

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Above: Mazda CX-8. Click to scroll through each model's cabin in our gallery.

For pootling about suburbia, we’d choose between the Honda and Volkswagen.

The CR-V is a lovely companion for the urban grind, with perfectly calibrated steering and brakes – not too heavy, not too light – while the engine is responsive without being hyper.

Refinement is also good, the CR-V now surprisingly well-insulated from tyre noise, however the engine could pipe down a bit at low speeds (especially when paired with the CVT).

Jump into the Tiguan and forward visibility is so good, you almost feel like you’re sitting in a glass capsule. While the Tiguan’s small-ish infotainment and instrument displays seem a bit pokey while driving, the car itself is effortless and easy to drive, with very light, direct steering. The suspension is beautifully soft, although hit a speed bump too quickly and it clunks loudly, as if something’s just broken.

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Above: Honda CR-V. Click to scroll through each model's cabin in our gallery.

Curiously, the Tiguan Allspace feels much longer than it is wide, sort of making it feel like you’re driving a van or MPV.

There’s an overall butteriness to the Tiguan that would be improved with a torque converter transmission, the DSG still the tiniest bit taut and sensitive, like occasionally, when getting back into the throttle, you’re taking up a bit of slack. But otherwise, it feels engineered like a Tag Heuer watch.

Curiously, the Tiguan Allspace feels much longer than it is wide, sort of making it feel like you’re driving a van or MPV. After driving the Volkswagen, doing a U-turn in the Honda – with its much shorter wheelbase – almost feels like it’s got rear-wheel-steer.

This is not all to say the CX-8 is a dud. It’s still great to drive, even by 2023 standards. The ride quality feels expensive, the thin-rim leather steering wheel great in your hands, while the powertrain, like that of the Honda, is responsive without ever feeling surprised.

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It’s just that, again like the Honda, the CX-8’s engine is a bit loud at urban speeds. If it came with a volume dial, you’d be reaching to turn it down a notch or two.

On a winding road, the Honda’s handling gets better the harder you push, to the point that this would be an excellent basis for a Type R hot SUV. Especially if that included junking the 1.5-litre engine and CVT for a powertrain hotter and better, as it falls far short of matching the sparkle that Honda has given the CR-V’s chassis.

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It’s like Honda has given its turbo engine the personality of a naturally aspirated engine

Hearing ‘turbo engine’, you might think muscular, low-down torque, but boot it in the CR-V and the CVT ‘kicks down’ to about 4500rpm, skipping where the turbo presumably gives its best. It’s like Honda has given its turbo engine the personality of a naturally aspirated engine.

The Tiguan’s handling has an enjoyable fluidity, but ultimately its agility is blunted by its near three-metre wheelbase. Punting the Tiguan hard is more about enjoying the powertrain.

There’s a bit of Golf GTI about the Tiguan’s engine, its turbo engine pulling solidly from about 4000rpm and sounding rorty around its 6000rpm redline. The twin-clutch changes gears very quickly using the flappy-paddles, making for a warm-hatch-like powertrain that almost seems confused to find itself in such a long, heavy SUV.

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Contrasted to the two front-drive Japanese cars, the VW might also be all-wheel-drive, but it offers no real advantage – the front wheels could manage 132kW just fine we think, in the dry at least.

As for the Mazda, punting it hard feels like you’re making it do something it doesn’t really want to do. It’s much happier loping along, and we’re sure the five kids in the back won’t disagree.

All three cars come with a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, but for five-year ownership cost, the CR-V is gentlest on the bank account by a long way. Five services will cost $995 over five years, while the CX-8 is more like $2168 and the Volkswagen, a stinging $3200.

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The CR-V also uses 91RON fuel, much like the CX-8, although the Tiguan has expensive tastes, requiring 95RON minimum.

We didn’t get a chance to properly test fuel economy, but using the ADR 81/02 benchmark you could expect the Honda to be most efficient (7.3L/100km combined), followed by the Mazda (8.1L) then the Tiguan (8.9L).

Verdict

The Honda CR-V is the newest of this bunch, and feels it. It drives and feels like a car from 2023, whereas the others feel a bit last decade.

Given their vintages, you’d be tempted by the used market for both the Mazda and Volkswagen, too, pocketing more than a few thousand – or you would with the Japanese car at least, given buying a second-hand, dual-clutch Volkswagen without a warranty would take a bit of derring-do.

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You won’t be tempted by a second-hand CR-V, as the new one is a big improvement over the old.

While Honda’s new interiors lack a bit of the funk and personality of those before it, they’re much smarter, more intuitive, more usable – and in the CR’V’s case, more spacious.

While we’re sure the CVT hides some of the magic of the new turbo engine, the CR-V seriously impresses for its build quality, refinement, and all-round offer. It’s our winner here, demonstrating that while $50K can no longer buy a house, it can get you a damn good car.