6. Jeep Grand Cherokee

A new version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee arrived in 2012, and it combines brilliant off road ability with brash looks and loads of equipment at a lower price than rivals like the Land Rover Discovery.

There’s no mistaking the Jeep with its huge seven-bar grille, although surprisingly the huge dimensions hide an interior that seats only five. You get plenty of room wherever you’re sitting, and top-spec models even have reclining, ventilated back seats. The boot size is also generous: 782 litres with the rear seats up and 1,554 litres with them folded.

Up front, the dashboard trails the class leaders on quality, but includes sat-nav and a high-end stereo with a 30GB hard drive. There’s also a panoramic roof and a host of safety features.

Jeep offers a V8 petrol-engined SRT8 model, returning 20.0mpg, but most buyers will go for the 3.0-litre V6 diesel. This provides plenty of power and torque for on and off road driving, promises impressive 34mpg fuel consumption and has a towing capacity of 3,500kg. High ground clearance and air-suspension give the Grand Cherokee strong rugged appeal, although servicing isn’t cheap.

7. VW Touareg