Like them or hate them, SUVs are hugely popular right now. They are so popular that manufacturers such as Ferrari, Bentley, and Lamborghini produce one.
Despite their ungainly proportions, there are some fantastic SUVs on the market. But just as actual is the fact that there are some real duds as well.
This list will expose you to some of the worst SUVs ever. It is a mix of the old and new, and it should act as a warning as to what not to buy if you need a big, family car.
Pontiac Aztek
The Pontiac Aztek was always going to appear on this list. Pontiac launched the Aztek in 1999 and described it as having “Xtreme” futuristic styling. However, that very styling became its downfall.
In 2008, U.K. newspaper The Daily Telegraph ranked the Aztek number one on a list of the 100 ugliest cars ever. Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive journalist Dan Neil named the Aztek one of the 50 worst cars ever. Yet underneath that exterior was a solid, practical, and competent crossover. It’s just a shame that that fact overshadows it.
Chevrolet Avalanche
Working out whether the Chevrolet Avalanche is an SUV or a pickup truck is a challenging task. But whether it is one or the other, the Avalanche didn’t do an excellent job at being either. First, the pickup bed needed to be more significant for practical use.
Secondly, the pickup bed removed conventional storage for a lot of luggage. If you went on holiday in the Avalanche, you might want to leave only some of what you are taking in the back. Other problems included the leaking midgate, dashboard cracks, and poor visibility for the Driver.
Isuzu VehiCROSS
Isuzu believed that the VehiCROSS was a sporty, compact SUV that would appeal to customers because it was different. Car and Driver described the VehiCROSS as a car that “does its own thing.” While it might have been a quirky concept car brought to life, it had many problems.
The VehiCROSS was not light, weighing 3,920 lbs—around 1,000 lbs heavier than the comparable Toyota RAV4. However, the biggest problem with the VehiCROSS was its limited international sales. Isuzu sold only 4,153 units in the United States and 1,805 in the Japanese domestic market.
Suzuki Samurai
It isn’t easy to find a Japanese car that we don’t like. Sadly for Suzuki, the Samurai is one Japanese car that doesn’t make the grade. The biggest issue that faced the Samurai was its frightening tendency to roll over in sharp corners.
That tendency to roll over was similar to what the later X-90 would suffer from. But more than embarrassing Suzuki, it seriously hurt sales of the Samurai, and Consumer Reports said in their assessment of the SUV that it was “not acceptable.” However, Suzuki would get its spiritual successor, the Jimny, spot on.
Suzuki X-90
After the Samurai failed, Suzuki gave the compact SUV another go with the strange and comical-looking X-90. Glances at images show a small SUV with some ungainly proportions, and its 1.6-liter 16-valve engine only produced 95 hp, so it was slow too.
Yet the biggest problem with the X-90 also plagued the Samurai: its penchant for rolling over in sharp cornering situations. Once again, Suzuki endured the embarrassment of its cars flipping onto their rooves. Prices of X-90s dropped quickly due to poor sales, and in 2013, Top Gear Magazine placed the X-90 on its list of the 13 Worst Cars of the Last Twenty Years.
2023 GMC Yukon
The 2023 GMC Yukon is a very popular SUV. You would be hard-pressed not to see one when you are out and about. Sadly, the Yukon suffers from many reliability problems, with Consumer Reports painting a bleak picture of the model.
They score the Yukon just 2/5 for reliability. The SUV’s high starting price also amplifies this issue. The 2023 Yukon started at $56,000, an astronomical amount compared to rivals like the 2024 Ford Explorer, which starts at $36,860. The Yukon’s cause is not helped by its huge, ungainly, and ugly size.
2024 BMW iX
There is a lot to like about the 2024 iX. It has a lot of clever technology inside and under the hood. Its interior is stunning, and there is plenty of space for the occupants and their luggage. Plus, depending on the trim level, you can go up to 377 miles on a single charge.
But, and it is a big but, the iX is a hideous car to look at. The vast, fake grille at the front, the bloated size of the vehicle, and its sheer width and height could put off more than a few people. It is heavy, there is no frunk storage, and alternatives offer more trunk space, so you should avoid the iX. It also is costly, starting at a disgusting $87,100.
Fiat 500X
Fiat has decided that its 500 names, most synonymous with the small city car of the 1960s, should become its range of vehicles. So, the modern Fiat 500 was then joined by the 500X SUV. Yet, like the decision to expand the range, the 500X is not a very popular SUV.
The standard Fiat 500 has issues with reliability and poor quality control, which carry over into the 500X. Sales have also dropped massively over the years, from a peak of 104,931 in Europe in 2016 to just 31,519 in 2023. The 500X is also impractical, offering less space inside than many rivals.
Hummer H2
After the relative success of the Hummer H1, AM General and General Motors decided to build on its success with the Hummer H2, however, they came up with a huge, gas-guzzling SUV that weighed over 6,600 lbs and could barely pull its weight down the highway.
MPG figures for the H2 were terrible. Motor Trend said it could average just 10 MPG, while About.com went lower and said the H2 could barely manage 9 MPG. Sales also took a hit each year. The peak was in 2003, with 34,529 sold. The low point was 2009, with just 1,513 Hummer H2s reaching customers.
Chevrolet Trax
Thanks to its size, the Trax has an advantage over many of its rivals. It is one of Chevrolet’s smallest crossovers, making it less cumbersome on the road and more accessible to the park. Yet that is where the Trax’s positives end.
Under the hood, a weak 1.4-liter engine produces just 138 hp. The SUV can only tow around 1,300 lbs thanks to the anemic engine. Its biggest problem, however, is that there is not much room for those inside due to its smaller size. If you are slightly claustrophobic, the Trax isn’t your SUV.
Bentley Bentayga
The problem with the Bentley Bentayga isn’t so much that it is a bad SUV. It has been on the market since 2015 and is a popular choice for many. But what is wrong is that it means a company like Bentley, famous for luxurious grand tourers, has had to make an SUV.
It is the perfect symbol of what has gone wrong in the automotive market. It’s enormous and overpriced, with a current MSRP of over $200,000. The moral of the story? Save your money and buy something just as competent and comfortable for a fraction of the price. There are plenty of alternatives out there that are just as good as the Bentayga.
Ferrari Purosangue
This might be a controversial choice. In pure performance terms, there is nothing to dislike about Ferrari’s first SUV. The Purosange has a mighty 6.5-liter V12 under the hood, producing 715 hp. It’s fast, impressive on the tarmac, and still conveys the feeling of a Ferrari. Top Gear has given it 4.5 stars out of five.
Yet, like the Bentayga, it is way overpriced. The Purosangue starts at a ridiculous $393,350, which is almost double the cost of the Bentley. But the Purosange is less practical with just four seats, and you would be better off not looking at the fuel economy of this thing. Plus, even though it is officially an SUV, Ferrari doesn’t call it that. They say it is a “four-seater, four-door sports car” that happens to have four-wheel drive. It might have four-wheel drive, but we would want to avoid taking it on serious off-roading.
Jeep Renegade
The Jeep Renegade has a mixed reputation. Scour the forums and Reddit; plenty of owners are exceptionally happy with their Renegade SUV. However, there are two sides to any story.
Jeep Problems catalogs many issues with the Renegade, and at the time of writing, there have been 557 complaints about the Renegade over seven model years. The 2.4-liter Tigershark engine, for example, is prone to burning an excessive amount of oil. The nine-speed Z.F. transmission can suffer from hard shifting, lurching issues, and a wiring harness defect that can cause sudden shutdowns and even send the car into neutral.
Dodge Nitro
The Dodge Nitro is an SUV that earned a reputation as being “all show and no go,” and production only lasted five years. In reality, the Nitro is a rebadged Jeep Liberty, sharing mechanicals and much of its bodywork with the Jeep SUV.
However, Nitro’s worst moment was the 2007 T.V. advertisement in Europe. The Nitro was in the advert with the tagline “charged with adrenaline,” but the commercial then showed a dog electrocuted after lifting its leg on the SUV’s front wheel. Unsurprisingly, Dodge removed the commercial after it received a significant backlash.
Ford EcoSport
The EcoSport is one of the least worst SUVs on this list. Ford launched the current generation of the SUV in 2012, and it then went on sale in North America in 2018.
However, during that time, Ford introduced a few upgrades and updates to the EcoSport. All the while, rival manufacturers have kept their smaller SUVs current. While that could be better for the EcoSport, you can pick one up for less than $20,000. So, if you don’t mind the slightly older technology, you can pick up a competent SUV for a very reasonable price.
2014 Nissan Rogue
The 2014 Nissan Rogue could be more exciting to look at, sit in, or drive. Yet its most significant flaws are its reliability problems. J.D. Power gives the 2014 Rogue a quality and reliability rating of just 74 100.
Car Complaints expands further on the issues with the Nissan SUV. The most common problems relate to the air conditioning and heater, while transmission issues also plague the Rogue. The body and paint also suffer, and the last thing you want is to see paint peeling off your SUV. CarEdge says you will likely spend $7,382 on maintenance costs on your 2014 Rogue in the first ten years.
Cadillac Escalade
There is no denying that the Cadillac Escalade is a popular SUV. It still sells well and is full of the luxury and technology you would want and expect from a giant Cadillac.
Yet its size makes it such a horrible SUV. In many ways, it is a bigger offender than the BMW iX, but the Escalade also starts at a staggering $81,895. To top it off, the Escalade is a highly inefficient SUV. It achieves just 14 MPG in the city, 19 on the highway, and a pitiful 16 MPG combined.
2010-2013 Acura ZDX
In the early 2010s, the Acura ZDX was an SUV that suffered the same problem as the Pontiac Aztek. It had some of the weirdest styling of any SUV. In 2010, Car and Driver believed that ZDX stood for “zero demand expected.”
They were right. It was gone just three years after Honda’s luxury division produced the ZDX. Acura said that the ZDX blurs the distinction between coupe, sedan, and sport utility vehicle” but to many, it was just a confusing-looking crossover. However, a new generation all-electric ZDX will enter the Acura lineup in 2024.
2002-2007 Buick Rendezvous
Parts of the Buick Rendezvous might look familiar. That is because this bland SUV shared much of its platform with the Pontiac Aztek. Buick eliminated the unconventional front end and “normalized” its version of the SUV.
But the decision to use the same platform as the Aztek meant there were effectively two of the exact vehicles on the market, just in different clothing. Despite its blandness, the Rendezvous was a massive sales success for Buick, attracting many younger buyers into Buick showrooms. Something that the aging Buick brand badly needed.
Lamborghini LM002
The Lamborghini LM002 only makes it to this list because it wasn’t quite the sales success Lamborghini had hoped for. The American public didn’t take to the LM002, but now the Lamborghini SUV is one of the coolest cars of the 1980s.
It had a 5.2-liter L503 V12 under the hood, and if you wanted more power, Lamborghini put a 7.2-liter L804 marine V12 under the hood—the same engine found in many class 1 offshore powerboats. Lamborghini built just 301 LM002s, making them one of its rarest products of all time.
Lamborghini Urus
Unlike the LM002, Lamborghini’s latest SUV, the Urus, is not cool. It might have a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 under the hood, but that is where the good news ends.
At their core, Lamborghini is a supercar manufacturer. The Urus and Ferrari’s Purosangue show us precisely what SUVs have done to the automotive industry. The fact that two great names must produce an SUV due to how well they will sell is a warning to all of us. The Urus is big, ugly, and expensive, starting at well over $240,000.
First-Generation Jeep Compass
Despite its off-roading pedigree, Jeep has made one or two mistakes in the past. One of the biggest is undoubtedly the Jeep Compass, specifically the first generation from 2006 to 2016.
Jeep tweaked the Patriot and Caliber platforms and engines and attempted to bring a more youthful audience to the brand. Unfortunately, it did the exact opposite. The early CVT transmission feels like the clutch constantly slips and makes a horrible whining sound. Fuel consumption was also poor, and the interior was different from what the younger generation at the time wanted. It could have been more varied and had been a better effort by Jeep.
Honda Element
Honda’s uninspiring Element left its lineup in 2011 after just eight years in production. The cube-shaped design wasn’t the most popular with consumers, and it is a legacy of sharing the same platform as the Honda CR-V Crossover.
Yet, it did have some positives. In 2007, Dogcars.com named it “Dog Car of the Year” due to the ample rear space for dogs. It was also a very safe SUV, winning the Small SUV category as a Top Safety Pick in the 2010 IIHSA annual awards. So, while it might have been slightly dull, it still had its plus points.
GMC Envoy XUV
GMC produced the Envoy from 1997 to 2008 and added the XUV variant to its lineup in 2004. This was an attempt by GMC to combine the design capability of an SUV with a pickup truck, something only some manufacturers have ever done.
Well, GMC was no different. GMC produced the XUV in 2004 and 2005, but poor sales of the version saw them drop it from the Envoy range for 2006. The Envoy XUV offered no real advantages over a pickup truck, nor did it add anything extra to an SUV. However, the Envoy XUV is a rare and weirdly collectible SUV, thanks to its poor sales.
Kia Sorento
To their credit, Kia has worked exceptionally hard to make the Sorento a much more capable, safer, and enjoyable SUV to drive. But the first generation of the SUV lets the nameplate down.
Early models scored poorly in safety ratings from the IIHS. This did not help because it came when Kia had an image problem, as people gravitated towards “big name” brands like Chevrolet, Ford, etc. The Sorento also suffered from various sales drops, the worst happening with the third generation. Between 2016 and 2017, sales dropped by over 15,000 units.
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- Source: https://teslatale.com/suvs-you-should-avoid/