The 20 Most Powerful SUVs Of 2024, Ranked

The rise of the SUV seems unstoppable. Once seen as slow, utilitarian, and largely unappealing vehicles by the masses, today's top SUVs boast luxury interiors and power figures that would put even supercars to shame. The pace of this transformation has been remarkable — even the Lamborghini Urus, considered by many to be the epitome of overpowered SUV madness at the time of its launch, no longer makes it into the top 10 most powerful SUVs on the market.

One of the most significant factors contributing to this sudden surge in power is the switch to electric powertrains. The top four most potent vehicles are all-electric, and over half of the SUVs on this list feature some form of electrification. However, there are still some traditional V8 and V12 cars left in the rankings, at least for now. These SUVs sit atop the tree as the most powerful in their segment, boasting horsepower figures that would have been unthinkable just a decade or two ago. Each is available to buy in 2023, although their sky-high asking prices put the vast majority out of reach of all but the wealthiest enthusiasts.

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is already one of the most luxurious, expensive, and costly SUVs on the market. But, for some buyers, a standard Cullinan simply isn't exclusive enough, and so Rolls-Royce crafted the Cullinan Black Badge to sit at the very top of its SUV range. It should be no surprise that prices for the car are nothing short of eye-watering — SlashGear's tester came with an MSRP of around $465,000, and even the most sparsely equipped Cullinan Black Badge will cost north of $450,000.

Sparsely equipped is a relative term here, of course, but we were surprised at just how simple the Cullinan Black Badge was to enjoy. While other luxury cars take pride in presenting the driver with an overwhelming array of features and gadgets, the Rolls-Royce kept its gizmos down to a minimum. Instead, everything seemed designed to make driving as straightforward as possible.

The Cullinan Black Badge is also one of the very few high-powered SUVs where horsepower figures aren't a selling point of the car — they're there if needed, but the real appeal comes from gliding along the road in near silence. Nonetheless, the car isn't short on horses, with 592 on tap from the 6.75L V12 engine.

Since the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S and GLS 63 share both a platform and an engine with an identical power output, they rank together. Both cars feature a twin-turbo 4.0L V8 engine making 603 horsepower, mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission. The GLE 63 S boasts a faster 0-60 mph time, clocking in at 3.7 seconds, while the GLS 63 posts a still impressive 4.1 second 0-60 mph time.

The GLE 63 S is also slightly less expensive, with a starting MSRP of $127,700 for 2024, while the GLS 63 will cost $145,850 before options are added. Both serve as the range-topping variants for their respective models, albeit catering to slightly different niches. The GLE 63 S is the luxurious family hauler, with seven seats available as standard, while the GLS 63 offers an SUV alternative to the S-Class executive limousine, with only five seats on offer.

Mercedes made headlines in 2023 for its decision to considerably slim down its range of combustion-powered vehicles, giving many of its more niche convertibles, coupes, and wagons the chop. However, the brand seems to have offset that by offering an increasingly wide range of EVs and SUVs in various — sometimes overlapping — niches, with the Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV being a prime example.

It's designed to cater to buyers who want something faster than an EQE 500, yet slightly more affordable than the EQS SUV at the top of the brand's EV lineup. It starts at $109,300 for 2024, although options can push its final price even higher. One such option is the AMG Dynamic Plus package, which temporarily provides a power boost to 677 horsepower when Race Start mode is engaged. In regular use, however, its output is officially quoted as 617 horsepower.

SlashGear came away largely sold on the AMG EQE SUV's charms after spending time with the car, although wondering if its relatively inconsequential power bump over the EQE 500 was worth its higher price and lower range. Despite its high-riding SUV stance, the car is less practical than its rivals, with trunk space as a particular shortcoming.

Much like the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S and GLS 63, both the BMW X5 M and X6 M share a platform and engine and so are ranked together. That engine is a twin-turbo 4.4L V8 with mild hybrid assistance, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Power output for both is rated at 617 horsepower.

Primarily, the difference between the X5 M and X6 M is its styling: The X5 cuts a more traditional SUV shape, with a higher rear roofline and thus more cargo space in the trunk, while the X6 is its more swooping, distinctive counterpart. Pricing differs marginally too, with the X5 M starting from $124,800 and the X6 M costing at least $129,700. Performance figures are identical across both, with an officially quoted 3.7 second 0-60 mph time and an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph. The optional M Driver's Package, available on both models, raises the top speed to 174 mph and includes a day with a race instructor to teach drivers how to get the best out of their cars.

Although Alpina is technically classed as a separate car manufacturer, the brand sells its products through BMW's sales network in the U.S. As such, the XB7 serves as the range-topping variant of the X7 lineup, with a starting price of $149,400. The familiar twin-turbo 4.4L V8 engine from BMW's other top-spec SUVs can be found under the hood, but additional tweaks from Alpina push its output up to 631 horsepower.

Unlike many other super-SUVs, the XB7 sports a relatively low-key styling overhaul from the standard X7, with the Alpina badging and 20-spoke wheels being the main clues that this is no average family hauler. The interior is where things are most noticeably different from a regular BMW, with quilted leather and hand-stitched accents adding an extra layer of luxury. Alpina-specific suspension also further refines the ride, providing a firmer setup in sports guise without compromising on the X7's comfort at everyday speeds.

It was announced in December 2023 that the waitlist for the upcoming electric Range Rover had opened, with the brand claiming that the new SUV will "deliver performance comparable to a flagship Range Rover V8." Exact figures remain unconfirmed for now, but the current most powerful car available under the Range Rover brand is the Range Rover Sport SV Edition One. It churns out 626 horsepower, pushing it from 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds and onto a top speed of 180 mph.

Those ponies come courtesy of a twin-turbocharged 4.4L V8, the full power of which is unleashed when drivers press the "SV Mode" button on the steering wheel. The car then drops its suspension to sit half an inch lower to the ground, sharpens the throttle, and pipes more of the V8 soundtrack into the cabin. For the rest of the time when its full tire-smoking power isn't needed, the SV Edition One performs its role as a luxury barge as competently as the rest of the Range Rover lineup. As an antidote to the spirited driving its powertrain encourages, the top-spec SUV also features six "wellness programs," delivering what Range Rover calls a "multi-sensory audio experience."

Unfortunately for anyone looking to get their hands on a snarling V8 Range Rover before the arrival of its silent electric successor, the entire U.S. production run of the $180,300 SV Edition One is already sold out.

Sitting at the very top of Mercedes' increasingly expansive electric SUV range is the Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV, which retails for $179,900 without options. It's the first purely electric vehicle to bear the Maybach badge — or rather, Maybach badges. SlashGear was present at the pre-launch event and what stuck was how many badges appeared on both the exterior and interior, both those of Maybach and the Mercedes-Benz Tri-star.

Other than that, the EQS 680 SUV delivers exactly what buyers will expect of a Maybach SUV, with an exquisite cabin complete with rear seats that resemble those of a first-class aircraft cabin. Fittingly, the most opulent seating options are reserved for the First-Class Rear package, while an Air Balance package is also available for those who want to add an air purifier and fragrance dispenser to their car's arsenal of extras.

While it's safe to say that no one is buying a Maybach primarily for the power figures, the two electric motors aren't short on grunt, delivering 649 horsepower. That makes the EQS 680 SUV capable of 0-62 mph in 4.4 seconds, should the situation call for it.

While not technically the most powerful model in the Cayenne lineup — that honor goes to the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid — the Cayenne Turbo GT is the closest the SUV line gets to proper sports car territory. It's still emphatically not a sports car, with its 5,055 lb curb weight and 5.5 feet high stature, but we thought its 650 horsepower, 4.0L twin turbo V8 did a remarkably good job of delivering the straight line performance of one.

In the curves the Cayenne Turbo GT excelled too, boasting more assured, precise handling than some might expect from a tall family hauler. The Cayenne was one of the original high-performance SUVs, its success helping to set the blueprint for the many competitors on the market today. The Cayenne Turbo GT is the most extreme iteration yet in terms of raw performance, with a 189 mph top speed and a 0-60 mph time of just 3.1 seconds, yet driving it at everyday speeds still delivered the measured, comfortable ride that made the Cayenne a bestseller. It's one of the most versatile super SUVs out there — but then, you'd hope so given its $196,300 starting MSRP.

With so many similarly high powered competitors on the market today, the Lamborghini Urus might not be the shocking SUV it once was. Yet it still hides a few tricks up its sleeve. The Urus Performante delivers 657 horsepower from its twin-turbocharged 4.0L V8 engine, putting all that power to the ground via a set of sticky Pirelli P Zero tires. Those tires might be primarily designed for the road, but as SlashGear found out during a recent drive of the Urus, they also perform surprisingly well on the dirt.

SlashGear tested the Urus Performante's off-road capabilities on a dirt track in Italy and can confirm the car inspires a surprising amount of confidence while plowing sideways through the mud. Perhaps more importantly, Lamborghini's PR people weren't too concerned about chipping or scratching their brand-new super-SUVs in the process. Buyers who have personally coughed up the car's asking price of around $270,000 might not be as keen to test their car's all-terrain chops quite so thoroughly.

Although the Cayenne Turbo GT sits at the top of the current Cayenne lineup in terms of both price and performance, it's not actually the most powerful variant. That honor instead goes to the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid, which packs a combined total output of 670 horsepower from its 4.0L twin-turbo V8 and electric motor. That enables the super-SUV to reach a top speed of 183 mph, and reach 60 mph from a standstill in just 3.6 seconds.

It wasn't too long ago that those kinds of performance figures were reserved for supercars, but the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid is just as capable of doing the school run as it is of embarrassing seven-figure Italian classics. The E-Hybrid can reach up to 83 mph with all-electric power, although the relatively small battery means the electric range is limited to around 20 miles. For 2023, the Porsche starts at $171,300, with the Coupe variant bringing the price up to at least $173,800.

The Cadillac Escalade-V's formula is a simple one: take the already well-equipped Escalade, and add a bit more of everything. First and foremost, Cadillac added more power — 682 of the finest hand-built American ponies, to be exact. It's also as luxurious as you'd expect, with wood accents and a total of 38 inches of curved OLED screens in the interior, and it retains the cavernous luggage space of the standard SUV. Cadillac's Super Cruise semi-autonomous tech is also available as an optional extra, although sadly, SlashGear's review car didn't come with it equipped.

It's still a big, heavy SUV, and its 6.2L supercharged V8 engine can't compensate for its heftiness. However, it does make the Escalade-V mighty quick — 0-60 mph takes just 4.4 seconds. It starts from $152,295, with optional extras potentially adding thousands of dollars more to the final bill. There's a lot of competition at that price point, but few offer the same all-American credentials as the top-spec Escalade.

Aston Martin's most powerful DBX makes 707 PS (metric horsepower), which translates to 697 horsepower. That's a significant boost over the 542 horses available in the regular DBX, with those gains primarily achieved through huge new turbochargers. Its other performance stats are similarly impressive: 0-60 mph comes in just 3.1 seconds, and its top speed sits at 193 mph. On the road, the DBX 707 is ferocious, to the point where we found it tricky to live with when driving around town at cruising speeds.

On the highway, though, the DBX 707's added horses really show. Stamp on the accelerator and you're rewarded with seemingly unlimited power, complete with a suitably raucous soundtrack. It's certainly not for drivers who want to slip by unnoticed, especially with the extra suite of carbon fiber aero bits that emphasize the car's already imposing stature. Prices for the 2024 DBX 707 start at around $248,000, but get liberal with the optional extras, and the total will be closer to $300,000.

After originally being announced in 2020 as a limited-run model, Dodge brought back the Durango SRT Hellcat for the 2023 model year. Its press release announced it as "the most powerful SUV on the planet," a statement that, by its placement in this list, is evidently no longer true. However, it remains the most affordable super-SUV by a considerable margin. Prices start under $100,000, and for that, buyers get a 6.2L supercharged V8 with 710 horsepower on tap.

The NHRA-certified stats are still as impressive as when it first launched: 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds, a quarter mile in 11.5 seconds, and a top speed of 180 mph. As Dodge prepares to switch to electric powertrains over the coming years, the Durango SRT Hellcat will likely be replaced with an emissions-free successor. However, for buyers who prefer their family haulers with a 700+ horsepower V8 under the hood, there's still time to get one for now.

It was only a decade ago that it seemed inconceivable that Ferrari would ever make an SUV. However, as the segment has continued to rise in popularity, even this most traditional of performance carmakers has given in, and the resulting Purosangue is the brand's first foray into the four-door family hauler world. In true Ferrari fashion, the brand has insisted that the Purosangue isn't actually an SUV, but a four-door sports car. Except, with a higher ride height and a raised roofline, to make room for luggage and fit four adults. Just like an SUV, then.

Whether Ferrari wants to admit that it's made an SUV or not, the Purosangue certainly sports a price tag worthy of a traditional Italian exotic, with even base-spec variants costing close to $400,000. Every launch variant packs a V12 engine with 715 horsepower under the hood, enabling a 0-60 mph time of around 3.3 seconds and a top speed of nearly 200 mph. Unsurprisingly, Ferrari has been inundated with orders for the new car, with the automaker even pausing orders in late 2022 because it couldn't keep up with demand. Anyone who's already put their deposit down for a new Purosangue faces a wait of up to two years to get their hands on one.

Although the Cayenne Turbo GT sits at the top of the current Cayenne lineup in terms of both price and performance, it's not actually the most powerful variant. That honor instead goes to the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid, which packs a combined total output of 729 horsepower from its 4.0L twin-turbo V8 and electric motor. That enables the super-SUV to reach a top speed of 183 mph and reach 60 mph from a standstill in just 3.5 seconds.

It wasn't too long ago that those kinds of performance figures were reserved for supercars, but the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid is just as capable of doing the school run as it is of embarrassing seven-figure Italian classics. For everyday driving, the 174-horsepower electric motor enables the car to run for short distances in zero-emissions mode, which can be toggled through the mode selector on the steering wheel. For 2024, the Porsche starts at $146,900, with the Coupe variant bringing the price up to at least $151,400.

Just as controversial as Ferrari's Purosangue is the BMW XM, the brand's first dedicated M-badged SUV. Its design is, to put it nicely, divisive, but its performance prowess is much less debatable. In top-spec XM Label form, the car's twin-turbo V8 is assisted by an electric motor for a combined output of 738 horsepower. That makes the XM Label the most powerful M model ever made and the most powerful production car to bear a BMW badge. The all-electric range of the hybrid SUV is around 30 miles, with a combined total range of 300 miles.

Those range figures will undoubtedly decrease for anyone looking to test out the car's officially claimed performance stats. BMW says the XM Label will sprint from 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds, and reach an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph. Those are no doubt impressive numbers, but at the car's $185,000 starting MSRP, there is a packed field of similarly speedy competitors for buyers to choose from.

Just as controversial as Ferrari's Purosangue is the BMW XM Label Red, the $186,000 top-spec variant of the brand's first dedicated M-badged SUV. Its design is, to put it nicely, divisive, but its performance prowess is much less debatable. A twin-turbo V8 is assisted by an electric motor for a combined output of 748 horsepower, making this the most powerful M model ever made. The all-electric range of the hybrid SUV is around 30 miles, with the car able to achieve up to 87 mph without a drop of gasoline.

Production of the car commenced in August 2023. Despite featuring a suite of chassis and suspension tweaks to make it easier to drive, the Label Red can still be tricky to master at high speed, something BMW racing instructor Matt Mullins found out the hard way at Pike's Peak earlier in the year. He was attempting to set a new production car record at the famous hill climb, but lost control of the car on a corner early on in the course and rolled it. He escaped unharmed, but the Label Red he was driving sustained serious damage and had to be towed away on a flatbed truck. Whether BMW will return next year to take another shot at the production SUV crown remains to be seen, but if private customers want to have a go at setting their speed records, the car is available to order now.

SlashGear's review of the GMC Hummer EV SUV summed it up as a "cartoon off-roader" — a consciously silly, oversized, and yet very capable SUV that retains the look-at-me feel of its gas-guzzling predecessor. It's not as powerful as the pickup EV Hummer, which produces 1,000 horsepower with its "Watts to Freedom" mode engaged, but the SUV still makes 830 emissions-free horsepower, making it one of the most powerful SUVs on the market.

It might be physically huge, but the Hummer EV SUV's four-wheel steering makes it surprisingly maneuverable compared to other SUVs, and the Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving system makes highway driving less of a chore. Leaving the road behind, the Hummer is just as capable on rough terrain as you'd expect, with its CrabWalk function carried over from the pickup to help it navigate tighter spots. It is, in what might seem like a contradiction, just as unusual as it was expected to be, and although it's undoubtedly a niche vehicle, there are plenty of buyers who find its $104,650 starting price well worth splashing out on.

It might be a newcomer to the auto industry, but the Rivian R1S can already compete with the big players. It's spacious, distinctively designed, and well-appointed, not to mention supremely powerful. In fact, it's the most powerful off-road oriented SUV on the market, with up to 835 horsepower available with the top-spec model. It doesn't feel quite as athletic as its output suggests, though — although we found its acceleration to be class-leading, its handling and cornering are far from what the sportiest in the segment can offer.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, because the R1S is capable in other ways. With the 20-inch all-terrain tires equipped, the Rivian will hold its own on a trail, and its breakover and departure angles are even improved over the R1T pickup that Rivian launched in 2022. Prices for the most powerful variant of the R1S start at $92,000, but once options are added, it's easy to breach the $100,000 mark. That puts it up against some tough rivals, but its unique features and unrivaled power make it an excellent choice if you can cough up the cash.

British sports car maker Lotus has lent its name to a new EV produced by Lotus Technology, a division of the Geely group headquartered in Wuhan, China. The Eletre is unlike any other Lotus before it and is the first of a range of "lifestyle" models set to be unveiled over the coming years. In its most potent "R" form, the Eletre makes 905 horsepower. Deliveries of the SUV have already commenced in China, with the UK and European customers set to receive cars within the coming months. American buyers will have to hold out a little longer, but orders are open and there's already a waitlist.

Lotus Technology says it has already had over 5,000 global orders for the Eletre as of January 31, 2023, and that number is sure to have increased in the time since. It remains to be seen if the SUV can turn around the fortunes of the struggling carmaker, but if the initial orders are anything to go by, it seems Lotus might be destined to become an SUV maker with a sideline in sports cars rather than the other way around.

The Tesla Model X Plaid is the most powerful SUV currently on sale in America, with a whopping 1,020 horsepower. Until 2024, it also held the crown as the world's most powerful production SUV — although it's since been beaten by a company Tesla CEO Elon Musk once publicly ridiculed. The Model X Plaid is available to order from $91,090, undercutting most of the other super-SUVs on this list while boasting more power than nearly all.

It takes just 2.5 seconds for the Model X Plaid to go from 0-60 mph, and a quarter mile takes just 9.9 seconds. Tesla already proved its performance prowess with the Model S Plaid, but the Model X Plaid takes things a step further, with enough space for a family and their luggage.

Inside, the car is standard Tesla fare, with the usual minimalist design and a plethora of connectivity and infotainment options. Tesla might have plenty of problems as an automaker, but it's tricky to argue with the Model X Plaid's power figures for the price, even if competitors have it beat on build quality and luxury.

While BYD might not be a familiar name to American car buyers, the Warren Buffett-backed Chinese automaker has rapidly expanded across Asia and Europe in recent years. In 2023, it became the 10th-largest carmaker in the world by sales volume, shifting 1.25 million vehicles in the first half of the year.

The majority of BYD's sales consist of affordable BEVs and hybrid vehicles, but it also sells two models under its luxury Yangwang brand in China: the U9 supercar and the U8 SUV. The latter is of most interest here, as it boasts 1,180 horsepower from its four electric motors and packs a turbo 2.0L four-cylinder engine that acts as a range extender. That makes it the most powerful SUV on sale in 2024.

In total, its combined range is claimed to be north of 620 miles, although only a fraction of that can be achieved on electric power alone. As well as being immensely powerful, the U8 boasts several other headline-grabbing talents, including the ability to tank-turn to squeeze into tight parking spots. It can also reportedly seal itself watertight and function as a boat for up to 30 minutes in case of an emergency. So far, the U8 has only been launched in China at a starting MSRP of just over $150,000, but the company has confirmed that it's evaluating whether to bring the SUV to European markets in the future.

Our methodology for creating our ranking of the most powerful SUVs on the market was simple: build a list of every major manufacturer that offered a performance SUV, source horsepower figures for each model, and list the models that came out on top. This list of major manufacturers excluded tuners and aftermarket specialists, but included manufacturers that directly sold cars through a major brand's network — for example, Alpina.

SlashGear chose not to limit ranking only to models sold in America, including SUVs sold in both the European and Asian markets where relevant. To be considered a 2024 model, each SUV had to have been manufactured within the 12 months between the 1st January 2024 and 31st December 2024. Models with sold-out production runs are included as long as the manufacturing of those vehicles took place (or is scheduled to take place) between those dates. Where two very similar SUV models from the same manufacturer with identical engines and power outputs were sold, SlashGear considered them a single entry.