Five premium SUVs contend for this category’s bragging rights.
How Does ACOTY Define This Class?
Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) are a perennial favourite among buyers not just in Singapore but worldwide. On the premium side of things, SUVs that qualify for this category need to be sold in the 50th or higher price percentiles.
Meet The Contenders
We tested five premium SUVs this year. Three come from parent group Stellantis, of which two hail from the land of the free aka ‘MURICA and the third is an obligatory Italian without which a premium round-up wouldn’t be served justice. One hails from the United Kingdom while the other comes from South Korea and proudly represents Asia.
They are the Jeep Wrangler Sahara (top left), Jeep Grand Cherokee (top right), Maserati Grecale (middle), Land Rover Defender 90 (bottom left) and Hyundai Palisade (bottom right).
Kicking things off with one-half of the ‘MURICAN siblings, the Jeep Wrangler Sahara is so endearing in how it’s raw and unabashedly off-road worthy. That it wears these credentials on its sleeve is what makes it so appealing.
Some may call it a dinosaur in this day and age but boy can this Jeep turn heads and get tongues wagging. That it can also mimic a mountain goat at will is a bonus.
By comparison, its sibling the Jeep Grand Cherokee feels like a Rolls-Royce Cullinan beside it. Trimmed in suitably upmarket upholstery and looking appropriately dapper, it’s also big. B-I-G-G.
You get a lot of car for the money here. It may not be highly technological, but can hold its own in a sea of Continental offerings. Plus it’s brisk.
The Maserati Grecale is the most sporty on-road premium SUV of the bunch. Being the latest offering from Maserati, the Grecale’s interior takes a significant step upwards in terms of premium feel, which some may call swish.
It’s got enough gizmos to keep a technophile happy and a longer wheelbase than its Stellantis-sister SUV Alfa Romeo Stelvio means that rear occupants will be that much more comfortable. Plus it handles well in the twisties.
Where the Jeep Wrangler was unabashedly off-road-y, the Land Rover Defender 90 brings some upmarket flair to the go-anywhere genre. It looks absolutely baller while remaining conservatively styled in a nod to its heritage, and is industrially comfortable on the inside.
Wherever it goes, it turns heads, and can also mimic a mountain goat when the terrain gets rough.
Which then brings us to the most sensible contender here – the Hyundai Palisade. Its palatial-sounding name is not by accident, for the Palisade has taken the three-row SUV world by storm from the time it was introduced.
This mild refresh for 2023 brings a more polished look to the outside and a redesigned dash and infotainment system on the inside. You get a lot of standard-fit kit for the moolah here, and it’s also smooth, quiet and reasonably quick for the all-important family haulage duties.
So many great choices, and yet, there can only be one winner. Decisions, decisions…
AutoApp Car Of The Year Best Premium SUV
Hyundai Palisade
| Vehicle | Points Tally | Price Percentile |
| Hyundai Palisade | 347 | 62 |
| Land Rover Defender 90 | 318 | 74 |
| Maserati Grecale | 314 | 77 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee | 304 | 70 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sahara | 299 | 68 |
The winner is the Hyundai Palisade with 347 points. No surprise here, that the winner is also the most competent SUV on test in this segment. Its practicality and comfort, combined with value-proposition is why the Palisade scored the win.
More on the scoring categories used to derive points here.
Congratulations to the Hyundai Palisade for winning the AutoApp Car of the Year 2024 Best Premium SUV!
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