You could easily make a case against the 2026 Land Rover Defender Octa as the year’s best SUV. After all, dozens of domestic and foreign SUVs offer a phenomenal ownership experience. But this is an enthusiast site, gosh darnit, and that’s why we picked the fun, fast, and cool one.
The 626-horsepower desert conqueror was measured against a handful of our top-rated SUV standouts—one normie, one luxury, one EV, and one family-focused everyday driver, and a few dozen more throughout the year. Each of those earned high scores from our staff, but the Landy won out. I feel like that’s saying something, too, considering how insanely popular these big rides are in the U.S. of A.
I’ll spill some more ink on the Octa soon enough, but before that, these SUVs below were its fiercest rivals.
Runner-Up, the Normie SUV: Ford Bronco Sport Sasquatch
“You know how just about every new SUV review you read includes some sort of commentary about how the vast majority of the driving public doesn’t really need anything more robust than a front-wheel-drive wagon or something? The Bronco Sport Sasquatch is the distilled essence of that argument. It encroaches so egregiously on the boundary of “real SUV” territory that if I were one of the company’s product planners, I’d have serious concerns about its current “Big Bronco” customers backsliding into the cheaper Sport when it comes time for a replacement. A sale’s a sale, I suppose.“
“If you’re expecting the Bronco Sport’s Sasquatch package to be watered down relative to its bigger sibling’s, you might be surprised. Not only does it inherit the twin-clutch setup that was already available on the Bronco Sport Badlands, but Ford managed to work a rear locker into the package, too. You also get 29-inch Goodyear Territory ATs in 295/65R17, unique Bilstein shocks, nearly two-thirds of an inch more suspension travel than you get on the standard Badlands, a 360-degree camera system, and a whole bunch of honest-to-goodness metal body protection, including both the front and rear bumper inserts. As an added bonus, all of those metal bits are bolted on for easy replacement (or upgrade).” –Byron Hurd, Editor
Runner-Up, the Luxury SUV: BMW Alpina XB7
“Alpina has breathed on BMW’s 4.4-liter twin-turbo S68 V8 to let it make 630 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, 107 hp and 37 lb-ft more than it does in the X7 M60i. The XB7 gets from zero to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds, covers the quarter mile in 12.4, and tops out at 180 mph. Mighty numbers for a full-size SUV that can seat up to seven, but driving it, you get the sense that the XB7’s performance was calibrated with a focus on quality rather than quantity.”
“The granite-feeling powertrain, for example, doesn’t feel like it was made to go drag racing. It feels like it was made to devour and waft down a highway with effortless power and effortless elegance. The V8 sounds wolfish, borderline exotic—it curdles, almost like a Lime Rock E92 M3 and feels alive—even just waltzing around town. But it’s also never too loud like other high-performance luxury SUVs can be, nor does it obnoxiously burble or snort on shifts. Alpina is too dignified for that sort of manufactured buffoonery.”
“The XB7 is one of the most endearing vehicles I’ve ever driven, not just because of what it offers but also because of what it doesn’t. This is an extremely quick luxury SUV that is refreshingly free of misplaced aggression and fluff. Silly would-be carbon shift paddles are replaced with little leather-hidden buttons you may never even notice. There are no ridiculous Track or Off-Road driving modes that owners will statistically never use—there is, however, an Alpina-only Comfort Plus configuration that lightens up the steering and softens the ride even more. This is a car that has its priorities sorted out.” –Chris Tsui, contributor and former Reviews Editor
Runner-Up, the Electric SUV: Hyundai Ioniq 9
“A standout driving dynamic during my weeklong test was the suspension tuning, and mostly for good reasons. The MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear use passive fixed dampers that are shockingly well-tuned. Body motions are almost always controlled and fluid. The bushings almost feel, or I imagine, like they were pulled from a Lexus parts bin from the 90s. The Ioniq 9 shames the Lexus TX’s ride quality, feels far more premium than any Hyundai has a right to, and at first blush, matches that of the sublime Cadillac Lyriq in most ways.“
“The Ioniq 9 is unique-looking, with a few bits that crib from market trends or a certain Swedish automaker’s playbook with new twists. The side profile is a mashup of a low-riding SUV and a station wagon with a pinch of minivan. Up front, Hyundai’s given it a blunt nose with pixel-like vertical headlights and a horizontal DRL pixel bar. Even the turn signals are amber pixels. The raked windshield leads into an attractive greenhouse featuring a not-so-aggressively sloping roofline. It all ends with a rounded rear end featuring a continuous string of LED lights wrapping around the entire rear hatch with some seriously futuristic Volvo vibes. I love it.” –Joel Feder, Director of Content and Product
Runner-Up, the Family SUV: Nissan Armada
“What I will say is that if any Nissan comes close to feeling like an $80,000 car, it’s the Armada Platinum Reserve. That feels crazy to say about any Nissan not named GT-R, but it’s true. The sucker just coasts with four-corner adaptive air suspension and lets in almost zero road noise, which is hugely important if you’re going to sink so much money in a car you drive every day. …
“Overall, driving the 2025 Armada is more than just good. It’s nearing great, at least on the upper trims. You’d hope so for that much money, of course, but having done this job for a while I can say that more expensive does not always mean more better.” –Caleb Jacobs, Senior Editor
Winner: Land Rover Defender Octa
When my friend Jerry came back from the Colorado-Utah border with all these pictures of him having a good time in the hottest Defender ever, I was a little jealous. It reminded me of the Bronco Raptor first drive I did in Johnson Valley a few years ago, and, according to him, this rig is every bit as impressive (he’s driven both). Actually, he said it “makes the Ford feel like a basic off-road go-kart from Tractor Supply,” even though he likes that rig a lot.
To me, that puts the Defender Octa in the running—not only for best SUV, but also for best factory off-roader. It has Land Rover’s 6D suspension to thank, with hydraulically interlinked, continuously variable semi-active dampers. Of course, the twin-turbo, 4.4-liter V8 with mild-hybrid assist helps, too.
“It didn’t take long for the steep hairpins to put all systems to the test. Full steering lock to one side or the other while asking the differentials to propel a 5,900-pound SUV without any wheelspin is tough. Decent-sized boulders were no match for the air springs, which absorbed them with ease and allowed the tires to drive right over them without upsetting the balance. I’d also never been more reliant on front and side cameras like that day; it made the difference between continuing to climb or having to get out every two minutes to analyze the trail.
“For having 626 hp, feather-like applications of the throttle were easy, especially when crawling up or down big rocks; likewise, the brake pedal was calibrated just right to offer a powerful bite without being too grabby. … The Octa-specific steering rack (13.7:1 ratio) made it quick and easy to navigate the tightest of trails without doing much wheelin’ at all.”
We collectively dogpiled on the Defender Octa as this year’s winner because it makes the most of its crazy specs. Bench racing is fun—the three-ton Land Rover can hit 60 miles per hour in under four seconds—but the 4×4 does more than packing a stat sheet. It pummels trails and turns zeroes into heroes off-road, so long as they don’t bite off more than they can chew.
It’s a $170,000 adventure mobile, and somehow, it feels worth it.
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