The Premium SUV category of the 2025 CarsAwards featured 3 of the market’s most sophisticated and luxurious family cars. A Japanese contender came close to stealing the trophy in the 2024/25 programme, but the venerable BMW X5 prevailed…
Premium SUVs may primarily appeal for irrational and emotional reasons such as design and status, but at their core, they are some of the most sophisticated and capable vehicles on the market.
Apart from sheer desirability, the winner of the Premium SUV category of the 2024/25 Cars.co.za Awards, sponsored by Absa (2025 CarsAwards) is spacious, has a high-tech all-wheel drivetrain, a powerful engine, a luxuriously trimmed cabin and, of course, a prestigious badge on its grille.
The Best Premium SUV category
This Premium SUV category of the 2025 CarsAwards was guided by both eligibility factors and pillars of success.
Eligibility factors included a list price between R1 300 000 and R1 800 000 at the time of semi-finalist voting. It had to be a large SUV of the BMW X5/Mercedes GLE category (coupe-inspired variants were also considered). It goes without saying that an all-wheel drivetrain was a must-have feature.
Pillars of success for this category included powertrain technology, luxury, brand strength, design and quality appeal, driving dynamics, as well as space and practicality.
WINNER:
BMW X5 xDrive30d M Sport
About 25 years ago, the 1st-gen BMW X5 helped to establish what is now known as the Premium SUV segment and, after last winning this category of the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards in 2019/20, the 4th-gen model has won the trophy again (also a xDrive30d M Sport and with a combined score of 77.88%).
With a 219-kW 3.0-litre inline-6 turbodiesel powerplant that balances impressive on-road performance with good fuel economy, the xDrive30d M Sport also offers generous passenger room and cargo-carrying capacity. BMW claims an average fuel consumption figure of 7.8 L/100 km for this variant.
The X5 is backed with a 2-year/unlimited km warranty and a 5-year/100 000 km maintenance plan.
View the Price & Specs of the BMW X5 xDrive30d M Sport
Find a BMW X5 for sale on Cars.co.za
RUNNERS UP:
Lexus RX 500h F Sport
Launched in 2023, the current-gen Lexus RX is a refreshing alternative to its dominant German rivals and the strikingly styled RX 500h F Sport, which combines a 2.4-litre 4-cylinder turbopetrol engine with a hybrid system to develop total outputs of 273 kW and 460 Nm, came within 2 hundredths of a per cent of beating the BMW X5 to the Premium SUV category title this year (its combined score was 78.86%).
Watch Ciro De Siena’s video review of the Lexus RX500h F Sport:
It certainly has all the grunt you would want from an SUV that isn’t a performance-oriented model. Lexus claims the derivative will use 6.5 L/100 km, which compares well with the average consumption figures of 6-cylinder turbodiesels it might compete with.
The Lexus RX 500h is backed with a 7-year/105 000 km vehicle warranty and maintenance plan, as well as an 8-year/195 000 km hybrid battery warranty.
View the Price & Specs of the Lexus RX 500h F Sport
Read a launch review of the Lexus RX
Find a Lexus RX for sale on Cars.co.za
Mercedes-Benz GLE 300d 4Matic
As 1 of the vehicles that created the Premium SUV segment, the Mercedes-Benz GLE has a strong reputation and is always a contender, offering sumptuous ride comfort and a particularly striking interior.
Watch Ciro De Siena compare a 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE with a BMW X5:
The GLE 300d is powered by a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine with peak outputs of 213 kW and 550 Nm of torque. Mercedes-Benz claims an average consumption figure of 6.9 L/100 km.
The Mercedes-Benz GLE 300d, which achieved a combined score of 73% in the 2025 CarsAwards, is backed with a 2-year/unlimited km warranty and a 5-year/100 000 km maintenance plan.
View the Price & Specs of the Mercedes-Benz GLE 300d 4Matic
Read a review of the Mercedes-Benz GLE
Find a Mercedes-Benz GLE for sale on Cars.co.za
More about the #CarsAwards
The winners of the 2024/25 Cars.co.za Awards, sponsored by Absa (as well as the recipient of the prestigious Brand of the Year title) was announced on 27 February 2025.
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