Tops for 2010: Great SUVs/Crossovers - Military Auto, cars, motorcylces - Military Times

Tops for 2010: Great SUVs/Crossovers

• 2010 Hyundai Veracruz

Base MSRP: $28,145

Hyundai is “movin’ on up.” No longer the last resort for buyers with not much money and shaky credit, the South Korean automaker is becoming a blue chip on reliability and resale.

The 2010 Veracruz is a midsized, three-row crossover SUV that sets Hyundai’s sights even higher. The Veracruz looks like a Lexus RX350 and has comparable features (a refrigerated storage bin, available touch-screen DVD-based GPS and seat heaters) plus a similar drivetrain (260-horsepower V-6 with a six-speed automatic) at a price point that’s thousands below the RX350.

The icing on the cake? Hyundai’s standard five-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper coverage and 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain coverage — by far the best warranty you can get.

• 2010 Lincoln MKT

Base MSRP: $44,200

This could be the model that jump-starts Lincoln’s fortunes. It is the model Ford has chosen to debut its new line of EcoBoost engines, which the company touts as offering more power while using less gas than similar engines.

The full-size, seven passenger MKT’s comparatively small EcoBoost 3.5-liter V-6, for example, makes a very strong 355 horsepower and also manages a not-bad 16 mpg city, 22 mpg highway. That’s 55 more horsepower than the much larger 5.4-liter, 300 hp V-8 used in the Navigator. And the Navigator’s big V-8 sucks it down at the rate of 14 mpg in city driving and 20 mpg on the highway.

That’s a 15 percent improvement in output from 2 liters less displacement — with a slight mileage uptick tossed into the mix.

Direct injection and twin turbos (staggered boost; one for low speed and another that kicks in at higher speeds) are behind the EcoBoost’s impressive stats. The engine is paired with a close-ratio six-speed transmission, 20-inch polished rims and full-time AWD.

• 2010 BMW X5 M

Base MSRP: $86,255

If you’re looking for a 4x4 that flies (and money’s no object) you’ll be happy to hear that BMW is applying the M (for “motorsports”) treatment to its mid-sized X5 SUV. With an almost unbelievable 555 hp (and 501 lbs.-ft. of torque) produced by its 4.4 liter V-8, it should be on of the quickest things on the road — and one of the few that quick that can also tow 6,615 lbs., too.