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In a period of around 20 years, SUVs have almost taken over the entire automotive landscape. Some incredibly tough, reliable vehicles have emerged and gone on to become fan favorites, some serious money pits have also reared their ugly heads too.
Just because something will cost a fortune to keep going doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t want it. Every vehicle is a tradeoff of some sort, it is just very important to know what you are signing up for. At the end of the day, SUVs are bigger vehicles, with bigger, more expensive components. First time owners might well balk when they need to replace a set of tires for the first time, let alone other even more expensive components that fail as these vehicles age.
10 Reliable: Toyota Land Cruiser
For decades, the Land Cruiser has built up a reputation for being the ultimate reliable, rugged SUV. The 200 series took it a step further and added genuine luxury to that.
It is an incredible piece of engineering, that is also why Toyota were not shy to ramp up pricing. Getting one used today is still not all that affordable, but you will certainly get what you pay for.
9 Costs A Fortune To Maintain: Land Rover Defender 110
Arguably the best mass-produced off-road vehicle is also a rugged mess in terms of reliability. Things got particularly interesting while BMW owned them. They got some innovative, but desperately complicated powertrains during their tenure.
This was something of a missed opportunity for them, because all they needed was something simple and reliable. They provided the opposite and if you want to own one be sure to have deep pockets ready for their maintenance-related needs.
8 Reliable: Nissan Xterra
Much like the ultra simple (some might say outdated) Frontier that is now finally getting replaced, this is a solid, simple SUV.
Admittedly, being based on the same underpinnings as the Frontier, the nature of the midsize pickup means it isn’t the most spacious vehicle in the world. However, it will be affordable to keep on the road for years to come.
7 Costs A Fortune To Maintain: BMW X5
Being such a big seller for the brand, they have made a host of upgrades to the X5 over the years that have all improved both safety and reliability.
That being said, the early E53 generation shares a lot of components with the Range Rover of the same era. So it is a pretty costly thing to run, and the wiring is a hot mess in these cars.
6 Reliable: Toyota 4Runner
Sold as the Surf in the rest of the world, this pickup based SUV was originally based on one of the most legendary pickup trucks of all time; the Toyota Hilux (or, well, Pickup).
Unerring reliability continued over all generations, including the current one. Capable but not perfect off-road, its only real fault is a tendency to corrode near the coast or in areas that experience severe winters.
5 Costs A Fortune To Maintain: Range Rover Sport
Much like the X5, the Sport also shared several parts with the standard Range Rover. This was not a good thing.
Reliability, especially for the supercharged V8, is pretty woeful. There are a few affordable fixes if you are a mechanic, but all the work is labor intensive.
4 Reliable: Volvo XC90
Specifically the first generation cars, taking nothing away from the latest generation, but they started focusing more on the high end of the market, so reliability is almost a given.
Of the first generation, the Yamaha engined V8 is the pick of the bunch, with a sweet soundtrack and great all-round performance from what was an otherwise pretty dull SUV.
3 Costs A Fortune To Maintain: Audi Q7
As the luxury SUV market began to explode in the 2000s, the Volkswagen Group were quick to pounce. Naturally, they equipped these SUVs with their most efficient diesel engines.
With the benefit of hindsight, we now all know how that decision went. Based on the same platform as the Touareg and Cayenne, the Audi at least got a selection of gas engines with a slightly better track record.
2 Reliable: Mercedes-Benz G-Class
Mercedes-Benz wanted something that could rival the Land Rover and Land cruiser, specifically targeting their military contracts.
Somewhat ironically, they just ended up perfecting a rugged luxury SUV by the time the G-Class came into being. Not necessarily the most affordable off-roader, but they exhibit bombproof reliability and actual luxury.
1 Costs A Fortune To Maintain: VW Touareg
The Touareg is what you get when your company is so filled with hubris they overlook all sound reasoning and simply forge ahead with a model.
It was one of, if not the most advanced SUV when it and the Cayenne came out. Its biggest issue was the wiring, there was so much of it they had to tuck a lot of the harness into the frame. It became a maintenance nightmare over time where one fault code would just replace another as the wiring aged, shorted and sensors failed.