Which Toyota SUV is best for me?

A Toyota is a solid choice of car, with a reputation for excellent reliability, generous levels of equipment and a longer-than-average warranty. As a brand, Toyota ticks lots of very sensible boxes.

As one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers, Toyota has many models to choose from and if you’re looking for a Toyota SUV,  as of mid-2022 there are six that you can buy new and even a pickup truck (which many people use like it’s an SUV). In order from small to large, they are; the Yaris Cross, the C-HR, the RAV4, the bZ4X, the Highlander and the Land Cruiser. (The Hilux pickup is even larger.).

With so many SUVs to choose from, it can be tricky to decide exactly which one is right for you. But don’t worry – we’re here to help you figure it out.

As with just about every car, there’s no single ‘best’ Toyota SUV. Which one is best for you depends on your needs and priorities. Some models, such as the Hilux pickup, will be great if you need to carry heavy loads, but not so good if your main focus is comfort or if you want to carry seven people. Others, such as the Land Cruiser, will be ideal if you want to go off-road or have a big family, but not such a good fit if you’re after the best fuel economy or drive mainly on tight urban roads. This guide will help you figure out which model best suits your requirements.

If you’re set on a seven-seat Toyota SUV you’ll need to choose between the Highlander and the Land Cruiser. The Highlander is designed for on-road use only and is powered by an efficient hybrid system. It has loads of space inside, including a big boot and plenty of practical storage areas. Passengers will have lots of room too – you can even squeeze adults into the third row of seats.

The Land Cruiser, with its excellent off-road skills, is certainly the better option if you need to go off the beaten track but it’s not as cavernous and practical as the Highlander. It feels more rugged, in both a good and bad way – for family use, it won’t feel as luxurious as the Highlander, but it’s more affordable and has excellent towing capabilities.

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Toyota’s largest SUV on sale new is the Highlander. While the company does make larger SUVs, such as the Sequoia and the 4Runner, they’re not sold in the UK. The Highlander is nearly five metres long, 193cm wide and 1.75m tall, so you’ll need to make sure it fits on your driveway or in your parking space. But with that size comes loads of internal space for people and things. With all seven seats in place, you get more boot space than you do in a Ford Fiesta, and that space is huge if you fold down the third row.

If you want an SUV that takes up as little space as possible, you have a couple to choose from. The absolute smallest is the Toyota Yaris Cross, which is essentially a raised-up version of the Yaris hatchback. At 418cm long and 176.5cm wide, it’s not much bigger than a city car, but it’s taller to give extra interior space. Not much bigger though is the Toyota C-HR, which is rather sporty and stylish – the name stands for ‘coupe-high rider’, and that’s reflected in its coupe-like styling. It has slightly less space inside than you find in the Yaris Cross.

You could also consider the tiny Aygo X city car, which isn’t quite a proper SUV, but with its raised ride height and chunky styling, it certainly gives a decent impression of one.

Toyota, more than just about any other brand, has been one of the pioneers of hybrid technology. As a result, most of its SUVs are available as hybrids. The C-HR, the Yaris Cross, the RAV4, and the Highlander all come with full-hybrid power (which Toyota calls self-charging hybrid), and the RAV4 is also available as a plug-in hybrid. There’s less choice of full electric cars, but there is the BZ4X. It’s slightly larger than a RAV4, and promises an official range of more than 300 miles from a full battery charge.

If you want the largest load space in a Toyota SUV, look at the Highlander. With its third row of seats in place, the boot is a reasonable 322 litres in size – about the same as the boot in a small hatchback. Fold down those rear-most seats and the boot increases to an enormous 658 litres of space, comparable to that in the biggest estate cars. Fold down the second-row seats as well and the load space increases to a van-like 1,909 litres. The Land Cruiser isn’t far behind, with 620 litres of space in five-seat mode and 1,943 litres with the back seats folded down. 

The next largest boot belongs to the five-seat RAV4, which has 580 litres of space, or 1,690 if you fold down the back seats. And then there’s the Hilux pickup truck, which doesn’t have a boot per se, but does give you lots of room in its load bed.

Most of the Toyota SUV range is designed firmly for on-road use, but if you do need to hit the trails or clamber over unforgiving terrain, then the Land Cruiser is the model to go for. It has  four-wheel drive, a low-ratio gearbox and a lockable differential – tech that makes it a far more capable off-roader than most of the competition.

The Hilux pickup is also worth considering as an off-roader. Although it has a reputation as a rough and rugged machine, some versions are SUV-like inside, and its levels of off-road tech and capability are similar to those of the Land Cruiser.

The off-road-focused Toyotas – the Land Cruiser and the Hilux pickup – both come with advanced four-wheel-drive systems as standard. The Highlander has what Toyota calls Intelligent All Wheel Drive, which isn’t as sophisticated as the off-road setups in the Land Cruiser and Hilux, but can give you more grip on slippery surfaces.

The RAV4 comes with a choice of front-wheel or four-wheel drive, as does the electric bZ4X.

Unlike some manufacturers that offer performance-focused versions of their SUVs, Toyota prefers to concentrate on off-road capability and/or efficiency. While the company as a whole does make sporty performance cars, usually under the ‘Gazoo Racing’ or ‘GR’ badge, there are no such models in the SUV range.

Toyota Yaris Cross

The Yaris Cross is the smallest SUV in the Toyota range. Based on the Yaris city car, the Yaris Cross is a small SUV with hybrid power. It should give you great fuel efficiency, space for five people and a high driving position without the need for a larger car.

Toyota C-HR

The C-HR is a compact SUV that mixes coupe-like style with sporty handling. It looks sharp and drives really well and with hybrid power, fuel costs should be low.

Read our Toyota C-HR review

Toyota RAV4

The Toyota RAV4 was one of the first modern SUVs and the name continues in this new, hybrid-powered family car. With a big boot and excellent fuel efficiency, it’s available as a full hybrid or as a plug-in hybrid for emission-free trips around town on electric power.

Read our Toyota RAV4 review

Toyota bZ4X

Toyota’s first pure-electric SUV is about the same size as the RAV4 and will seat five, with a big boot to carry plenty of stuff. Front-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive models are available, and Toyota promises a battery range of up to 280 miles on a single charge.

Toyota Highlander

Toyota’s biggest SUV is a seven-seater with a huge boot, making it immensely practical. With a hybrid system and four-wheel drive, it can go off-road as well as on, and it’s a great tow car.

Toyota Land Cruiser

The Land Cruiser is Toyota’s off-roader, with space for up to seven people and a sophisticated and very capable off-road system. It can tow up to three tonnes and is as comfortable on rocky terrain and in muddy fields as it is on the road.

Toyota Hilux

The Hilux pickup isn’t technically an SUV, but the latest model is much more comfortable than rugged pickups of old, which makes it a genuine alternative. It’ll haul loads of things in the back, and crew-cab models have loads of space inside too.

You’ll find a range of Toyota SUVs for sale at Cazoo. Use our search tool to find the one that’s right for you, buy it online and have it delivered to your door. Or choose to collect it from a Cazoo Customer Centre.

We’re constantly updating and adding to our stock. If you can’t find a Toyota SUV within your budget today, check back soon to see what’s available or set up a stock alert to be the first to know when we have SUVs that match your needs.