There was a time, not so long ago, when there was a limit to how much you could spend on a sport-utility vehicle. And that limit came under the $100,000 mark. But those times are far behind us.
With demand for upscale SUVs skyrocketing in markets like China, the Persian Gulf, and even the United States, luxury automakers that never got into the crossover game before are flocking to it. And those that have been there for years are pushing their offerings ever higher.
By this point, the notion of spending $100,000 or even $200,000 on a prestige off-roader doesn’t seem so far fetched. Just check out these five pricey sport-utes – and remember that they won’t be kings for long, with the likes of Lamborghini, Aston Martin, and Rolls-Royce soon to launch high-end high-riders of their own.
Range Rover SVAutobiography
Any list of high-end sport-utes has to start with a Range Rover. Land Rover has been making the luxury model for nearly half a century now, pioneering the segment long before every other luxury automaker was producing SUVs and crossovers of their own.
Now that they are, though, Land Rover has been steadily moving its flagship model up-market to the point that the top-of-the-line SVAutobiography model – with its extended wheelbase, first-class cabin space, and celebrated 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine – crests the $200k mark… more than doubling the $85k at which the main Range Rover model starts.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
The Range Rover may have pioneered the idea of the luxury SUV, but the Porsche Cayenne gets the credit for starting the fever that’s now spreading across the top end of the industry. The model not only saved Porsche, but nearly enabled it to take over the entire Volkswagen group.
And though you can order a base Cayenne for as “little” as $60,000, the top-of-the-line Turbo S boosts that figure up to $160k. And that’s just where it gets started, with an extensive options list carrying the potential to quickly reach $200k. But for all that cash, you’re getting one of the fastest people-movers on the market, with 570 horsepower to send it to 60 in under four seconds.
Bentley Bentayga Mulliner
Long before the two brands were united, Ettore Bugatti famously referred to Bentleys as “the world’s fastest lorries,” but he might as well have called them the most expensive, too. In fact Bentley set out to create exactly that with the launch of the Bentayga, its debut sport-ute, and by all accounts achieved its goal.
Pricing just gets started at nearly $230,000 before you get into the extensive list of options, most recently capped by the Mulliner edition – for which we’ve yet to see a sticker price, but is sure to top $250k.
Tesla Model X P100D
One of these things is not like the other, but make no mistake about it: the Tesla Model X can be pricey. Order one up in top P100D spec, in fact, and you’re looking at $140,000. That’s more than the $124k that Mercedes gets for its top-of-the-line AMG GLS63 (but more on the big Benzes later).
For all that scratch, though, you get an absolute technological powerhouse, with those trick gullwing rear doors and a ludicrous 0-60 time of 2.9 seconds – and all without burning a single fossilized dinosaur (depending on where your local electricity is sourced from).
Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet
As high-end as it is, forget the GLS for a moment. Because the most expensive Benzes are based on the G-Class. The “base” G550 starts at $122k, the G63 at $140, and the G65 for $220k. But those aren’t even the most expensive versions. The G500 4×4² is priced at “only” around $200k, but the G63 6×6 wore a sticker price in excess of $500k.
That gives you an idea of where the new G650 Landaulet will land, joining the ultra-luxe Maybach line with the G65’s hand-built, twin-turbo V12, a partial convertible roof, and all the luxury you’d expect to find in a private jet. Pricing for the Landaulet has yet to be revealed, but only 99 examples will be made.