Best and worst… crossovers
28 March 2011
- Find out which is our favourite
- The best and the rest revealed
- The crossovers to avoid, too
The best …
Peugeot 3008
The 3008 was the overall What Car? Car of the Year in 2010, so you'd be right in assuming it's an excellent car.
It's still our favourite crossover, which is no mean feat considering the rate at which manufacturers are launching cars into this sector.
The 3008 offers excellent ride, refinement, handling, space, economy and equipment levels.
What more could you want? How about a stylish cabin that surrounds the front-seat occupants and a brilliant split-level tailgate that doubles as a seat when taking off muddy wellies?
The boot is also split-level, so you can keep dirty items separate from the rest of your things, or keep valuables away from prying eyes. The rear seats also fold down to create a very large, flat-floored cargo bay.
What Car? pick of the Peugeot 3008 range
1.6 THP 156 Sport
The best of the rest
Volvo XC60
Volvo's XC60 is amazingly refined and comfortable. You could drive from Land's End to John o' Groats and step out from the brilliant seats as fresh as a daisy.
The cabin is well built and attractively designed (even if a lot of the control switches are fiddly and take a bit of getting used to) while the boot provides a decent amount of space.
The XC60 also includes a ground-breaking system that can completely prevent, or help to minimise the impact, of collisions.
What Car? pick of the Volvo XC60 range
2.0 D3 DRIVe SE 2WD
Nissan Juke
Straight in at number three from the moment it was launched, this Nissan is the small brother to the Qashqai crossover.
The Juke's dramatic exterior styling is a bit love-it-or-hate-it, but at least it's different. It also carries through to the interior very well, in our opinion, with some nice detailing and interesting switchgear. Equipment levels are good, too.
This crossover is good fun to drive, but it is compact, so don't expect to find a massive amount of space on the rear seats or in the boot.
The price is relatively low, however, so taking on a Juke shouldn't bankrupt you.
What Car? pick of the Nissan Juke range - 1.6 Visia
Nissan Qashqai
The Qashqai is less fun to drive than the Juke, but more comfortable, more spacious and equally well equipped.
High popularity means strong resale values, so the Qashqai is a very cost-effective option.
While the exterior and interior design isn't as quirky as the Juke's, the Qashqai has a certain chunky charm.
What Car? pick of the Nissan Qashqai range
1.6 117 Visia Idle Stop 2WD
Skoda Yeti
It's shorter than a Ford Focus, so the Yeti doesn't have a big footprint – if you'll pardon the pun.
There's a huge amount of space in the cabin, however, and the rear seats can be folded down, tumbled forward or removed for carrying big loads – although moving the seats is cumbersome.
There's one other thing you need to be aware of: the Yeti majors on handling and agility at the expense of ride comfort and refinement.
What Car? pick of the Skoda Yeti range
1.2 TSI S 2WD
The not-so-hot
There are just a couple of two-star cars in this class and they're both Ssangyongs – the Kyron and the Korando.
The Kyron is the bigger and older of the two and, like the Korando, it can't match the dynamic ability of other crossovers.
There's plenty of equipment in both, and retail prices look enticing, but poor resale values make this pair expensive to own in the long run.
You can see all of our crossovers reviews here.
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