These are the six best-selling SUVs of 2022 and our buying recommendation

No fewer than six SUVs were among the ten best-selling cars on the Spanish market in 2022. A segment that reached almost 60% market share, with small and compact SUVs exceeding 50%. Sales data also reveal that buyers continue to “flee” from combustion engines, whether petrol or diesel, in favour of alternative-propulsion models, mainly hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines. For context, across the total passenger car market by fuel type in 2022, 42% of SUV sales corresponded to petrol models, just over 17% to diesel vehicles, and more than 40% among electric, hybrid and gas-powered (LPG or CNG) cars.

The ranking of the six best-selling SUVs, all of them in the top 10 sales for 2022 in our market, is as follows:

1st.- Hyundai Tucson: 21,985 units
2nd.- Seat Arona: 17,462 units
3rd.- Volkswagen T-ROC: 16,595 units
4th.- Toyota C-HR: 15,987 units
5th.- Peugeot 2008: 15,615 units
6th.- Kia Sportage: 15,261 units

Below we review each of the models and choose the one we consider the best buy in each case.

Hyundai Tucson: the best-selling car of 2022

The Hyundai Tucson has taken the sales lead in 2022, ahead of a much more “popular” car such as the Dacia Sandero. The fourth generation of the Korean SUV stands out for its wide range of engines and for a balance of dynamic qualities, interior space, equipment possibilities and price that its rivals find hard to match. Without doubt, an SUV with many possibilities for family use, thanks to its ride comfort, generous habitability and a boot of between 545 and 620 litres, depending on the engine.

The current range lets you choose between non-hybridised versions with a DGT C label, a 1.6 T-GDi petrol with 150 CV and a 1.6 CRDi of 115 CV, both with six-speed manual gearbox and front-wheel drive. With mild hybridisation, and therefore with an ECO DGT label, there are three options: two petrol and one turbodiesel. In petrol, the 1.6 T-GDI with 150 CV, available with manual or DCT automatic dual-clutch gearbox and front-wheel drive; and a 180 CV version with DCT gearbox and all-wheel drive. In diesel, the 1.6 CRDi now with 136 CV, with the choice of manual or automatic gearbox and 4×2 or 4×4 drive.

In addition, the Hyundai Tucson is offered with a 230 CV hybrid variant, which also allows a choice of the two drive types, and a plug-in hybrid with all-wheel drive and 265 CV.

Our recommended version would be the Tucson with mild hybridisation and 1.6 TGDi engine, which, with equal equipment, offers better performance than the turbodiesel and costs almost 3,000 euros less. It is available in the Klass trim from around 33,500 euros, but you can accumulate many discounts if you trade in a car or finance the purchase. Ideally, if the budget allows, choose at least the Maxx or Tecno trim, much more complete, although the price rises by between 3,000 and 4,000 euros.

We also find the hybrid version particularly interesting, which starts from 37,825 euros. The price is very tempting, given that the turbodiesel with automatic gearbox already costs the same, and the hybrid has around 100 CV more, is much smoother and more refined, and can use almost—and I mean almost—as little fuel as the diesel. Here you can read the road test of the Tucson CRDi DCT, and here the first contact with the range.

Seat Arona: leader among small SUVs

The latest update received in early 2022 has helped the Seat Arona stay at the top, leading the small SUV segment. The keys to its success lie in its versatility: in a car just 4.1 metres long, we can enjoy the manoeuvrability and ease of driving of an Ibiza with the interior space of a Seat León, and a price halfway between the two, though very close to the compact model.

The Arona range currently lets you choose between three mechanical versions, all petrol: the 1.0 TSI three-cylinder in 95 CV or 110 CV variants, and the 1.5 EcoTSI of 150 CV, which is only associated with the sporty FR trim and the DSG gearbox. Seat also continues to offer in the Arona the 1.0 TGI natural gas (CNG) versions, which are the only ones with an ECO DGT label; the rest, lacking hybridisation, carry a C label.

Prices, according to the brand’s configurator—which means they include all possible offers—start from 18,650 euros for the Arona 1.0 TSI of 95 CV in Reference trim. But for the extra equipment it incorporates—already with full LED headlights and digital instrument cluster, among other things—the step up to the Style trim is worthwhile. Our “master buy” would be the Arona 1.0 TSI with the 110 CV engine, DSG dual-clutch gearbox and this trim, which means an outlay of 22,750 euros. But if you are tight on budget and won’t often travel with the car heavily loaded, bear in mind that the 95 CV 1.0 already offers an excellent balance between performance and consumption.

Although it is already something of a “veteran”, having reached the market in 2017, with last year’s restyling there is no piece of equipment you could miss when configuring an Arona, whether in terms of comfort, safety, multimedia, connectivity or driving assistants. Among other things, it can carry a screen of up to 10.25 inches, and even active cruise control.

Volkswagen T-ROC: a Golf with SUV bodywork

The Volkswagen T-ROC took a while to find its cruising pace. But in 2021 it was already the brand’s best-selling model on the Spanish market, and it finished 2022 as the third best-selling SUV, very close to the Arona. The update it received in spring 2022 helped polish some of its weak points, such as an interior that was asking for higher-quality finish, for a car that aims to be the “Golf” of SUVs.

With a very compact size—barely 4.2 metres long—the T-ROC offers a very spacious cabin and a boot with a large capacity: 445 litres, around 50 litres less in the all-wheel-drive versions. The range is built around three petrol versions and one diesel, to which is added the very special T-ROC R, with the 2.0 engine of 300 CV, 4MOTION all-wheel drive, DSG gearbox and a clearly sporty approach.

In petrol, the entry option is the 3-cylinder 1.0 with 110 CV, available with manual or DSG dual-clutch gearbox. Above it sits the 4-cylinder 1.5 TSI with 150 CV, which without offers on the table costs very little more than the 1.0, and we find it the most interesting version, although the 110 CV 1.0 already moves the T-ROC with great ease. One reason to choose the 1.5 TSI is that it can be combined with the DSG gearbox (about 1,500 euros more), and this would be our ideal configuration: the 1.5 TSI 150 CV DSG, and if the budget allows, with R-Line trim, although the Life already comes well equipped as standard. A variant with the 2.0 TSI of 190 CV is also offered, which, like the T-ROC R, is associated with the DSG gearbox and 4MOTION all-wheel drive.

As an alternative for those who spend many hours on the road and use the car for frequent travel, the 2.0 TDI of 115 CV remains interesting, costing about 900 euros more than the 1.5 TSI with equal equipment and transmission. This engine can also be combined with the DSG gearbox. One possible drawback for some buyers is that no version of the T-ROC has mild hybridisation, so all of them carry the DGT C label, and there is no possibility of buying a T-ROC with an ECO label.

In the update it received last year, the T-ROC incorporated an exterior redesign of the bumpers, grille and light units, plus LED headlights as standard. Inside, in addition to higher-quality materials, the equipment was also improved, with multimedia systems featuring larger screens (up to 9.2 inches), a new operating system and compatibility with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Other changes affected the touch-sensitive controls and the instrumentation, which becomes digital in all versions. The VW compact SUV range also includes a T-ROC Cabrio version.

Toyota C-HR: design as a safe bet

The Toyota C-HR is perhaps the least SUV of the six featured in this article. And that is where much of its success lies. It was born in 2017 with a daring-design bodywork, crossover-style, in which practicality took a back seat to conventional SUVs. And there it remains, stirring things up and placing itself month after month among the best-selling cars. Another reason for its great acceptance is its mechanical offer, with two hybrid versions and ECO label: the 125H of 122 CV, and the 180H with 184 CV, which was added to the range at the end of 2020.

The design already mentioned means the C-HR does not stand out when it comes to interior space. Its rear seats are not generous, although it is not badly served for boot capacity, with almost 380 litres in the less powerful version, about 20 litres less in the 180 CV version, due to the difference in batteries. With the update it underwent in 2020, besides the more powerful engine, came improvements in equipment, materials, new colours… Today it is still a car that draws attention, and it stands out from the rest of the traffic thanks to its striking design.

The 122 CV version is available from 29,100 euros in Active trim. It is especially interesting for those looking for a car to use mainly in town and go on the road only when necessary. Not because it lacks performance, but because it is in the city where it moves like a fish in water… and it is practically unbeatable on consumption.

With equal equipment, for about 2,500 euros more we have the 180H version, available in Advance trim from 32,050 euros. This would be our recommended C-HR, now with a reserve of power and thrust that makes driving more pleasant when travelling, without consumption being a burden, which will be easy to keep to averages of 6 l/100 km. Moreover, this engine is available in the interesting C-HR GR Sport version, which includes exclusive equipment details that give it an even sportier look.

Peugeot 2008: the “city car” among SUVs

Another SUV which, like the C-HR, owes much of its top position among the best-sellers to its design. Although unlike the Toyota, the 2008 does offer the practical side you expect from a car with classic SUV bodywork. It should be remembered that this is a model launched in 2016 and thoroughly updated at the end of 2019. The Peugeot 2008 is a spacious car suited to anyone who will use the rear seats, with a very capable boot (over 430 litres) and dynamic behaviour that stands out more for its agility than for its comfort.

The engine range lets you choose between the 1.0 three-cylinder petrol with 100 CV or 130 CV, a 1.5 BlueHDI of 130 CV and the e-2008 fully electric, which plays in a different league. None of the combustion engines, petrol or diesel, has hybridisation, so they carry the DGT C label. With the more powerful petrol engine you can opt for an eight-speed automatic gearbox, which is standard on the BlueHDI.

Given the small difference in price and the difference in performance, our recommendation is the Peugeot 2008 Puretech 130 CV, preferably with the EAT8 automatic gearbox, which costs about 1,200 euros and provides a noticeable driving pleasure. The difference between this engine and the BlueHDI with equal equipment and transmission is 2,200 euros. As for equipment, there are Active, Allure, Allure Pack and GT versions, with the Allure Pack the most recommended if the budget does not stretch to the interesting GT versions, with a sporty touch that suits the 2008 very well.

Kia Sportage: it has everything

Like its “cousin”, the Hyundai Tucson, the Kia Sportage has everything needed to be a great sales success. And it is proving so. Basically its qualities are the same as those of the Tucson; it shares platform and engines for a reason. It is a car with a very spacious cabin and a large boot, among the best in its category. And also very comfortable to use day to day.

As with the Tucson, the engine range lets you choose between 1.6 T-GDi of 150 CV and 1.6 CRDi of 115 CV without hybridisation and with a C label, or with mild hybridisation and an ECO label in both cases, with the CRDi then producing 136 CV. With ECO label and MHEV system you can also opt for the 1.6 T-GDi in its 180 CV version, always with automatic gearbox and all-wheel drive. Versions without hybridisation can only take the manual gearbox, while with hybridisation it can be manual or automatic, and with front-wheel or all-wheel drive in the case of the turbodiesel. In addition, two hybrid versions are offered, the Kia Sportage HEV of 230 CV, and the 265 CV plug-in hybrid PHEV.

You can choose from four trims, named Concept, Drive, Tech and GT-Line. The latter is quite a temptation, but with the Drive you already enjoy a level of equipment that includes everything essential. As for the mechanical version, we would recommend the 1.6 T-GDI petrol with mild hybridisation. But so as not to repeat ourselves, in this case we will go for the Kia Sportage HEV, one of the best hybrid SUVs you can buy today for its balance of price, performance and equipment, with diesel-level consumption.