Friday Fights: Did Motor Trend Get Its SUVOTY Finalists Right?

It’s Friday, it’s been a slow news day — as evidenced by the dearth of posts today — and there’s just not much going on the rest of the afternoon. So instead of doing a post on some appearance package on a crossover that you don’t care about, I’m going to do that old blogger trick of throwing some red meat to you, the commenters, allowing you to fight it out. Just like lions on the savannah.

Consider this an afternoon version of QOTD (by the way, we know we haven’t done one in a while. Once the next news chief is installed, QOTD will almost certainly return.). Today’s fight is about Motor Trend’s announcement of the 2021 SUV of the Year finalists — did the venerable buff book get it right, in your (humble or not so humble) opinion?

Here’s your top six, in alphabetical order: Cadillac Escalade, Genesis GV80, Land Rover Defender, Kia Seltos, Nissan Rogue, and Toyota Venza. The rest are also listed at MT’s site.

I’d give you my take to get the ball rolling, but of those six, I’ve only driven the Seltos, which is a fine small crossover. Adam praised the Rogue recently, and I have a Defender scheduled soon. The Venza, ‘Sclade, and GV80 are high on my “to-drive” list, and I am sure I will see a Rogue grace my garage before too long.

Youse guys may have had chances to drive at least some of these vehicles by now, though. I could be wrong, but I think five of the six finalists have been on sale for a bit now, with only the Rogue launching in recent weeks. So, go ahead and argue it all out.

Others on the list — such as the Hyundai Venue, Toyota Highlander, and Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport have been reviewed on this very site. I also have driven the Chevrolet Trailblazer, with the review forthcoming.

See you Monday. ‘Till then, it’s Miller Time.

[Image: Cadillac]