These super-fast, high-riding missiles sit right at the top of the spor ts SUV food chain. But which one is the king?Neil Winn has the task of finding out

Photography: John Bradshaw

If, like many, you have an unhealthy addiction to social media app TikTok, you might have come across Steve Varsano, a private jet broker with millions of followers and (we assume) many more millions in the bank.

Operating from his opulent showroom on London’s Park Lane, complete with an Airbus fuselage in the reception, no less, Varsano’s videos delve into the intricacies of purchasing a private jet. It’s a fascinating process that few of us will experience first hand, and it’s remarkably similar to acquiring a super-SUV.

Whether you’re in the market for a Bentley or a Bombardier, the same basic questions need answering. How much are you willing to spend? How much room do you need for people and luggage? How far do you want to travel? Interior appointments need to be selected, too, and there’s the issue of whether you can handle the operating costs. Happily, What Car? is here to help, and our advice comes without the hefty invoice that Varsano will hand you.

So, relax, pour yourself a glass of champagne (or Prosecco, if that’s more your budget), and let us take you on a high-speed sortie to some of our favourite Welsh roads, as we guide you through the current state of play in the world of the super-SUV.

THE CONTENDERS

The first candidate is the highly anticipated Ferrari Purosangue, which, rather awkwardly, isn’t an SUV – at least, not according to Ferrari. The brand claims the Purosangue defines a new genre and is a thing all of its own.

And you know what? Even though its raised stance still makes it an SUV in our book, we can see where the Italians are coming from. There is next to no bloat in its design; everywhere you look, there are taut, unyielding lines, almost as if the body of the brand’s 812 Superfast sports coupé has been tightly wrapped around a more practical, hatchback package.

And while we were tempted to discount its name as marketing fluff (the Italian word ‘Purosangue’ translates as ‘pure blood’ or ‘thoroughbred’), it’s undeniably the most driver-focused super-SUV on the market. It has only four seats, it features impossibly clever adjustable suspension (more on that later), its structure is said to be stiffer than that of the now-discontinued GTC4 Lusso, and it’s powered by a front-midmounted 6.5-litre V12 petrol engine. This is all proper supercar stuff.

But does that mean it’s the best super-SUV? To shine a spotlight on the Purosangue’s strengths and weaknesses, we’ve brought along two alternatives that take very different approaches to earning that appellation: the Bentley Bentayga S and the Lotus Eletre.

While the Purosangue was conceived as a bespoke model from the ground up, using ingredients from Ferrari’s own kitchen, the Bentayga is essentially a re-engineered Audi Q7 with a twin-turbocharged V8 engine sourced from Porsche. This may sound like a compromise, but experience tells us that the Bentaga’s high-speed opulence is hard to beat. In other words, it is laced with Bentley DNA.