10 Fast Used SUVs You can Buy for Under £10,000

Performance SUVs are always going to be a contentious issue for hardcore car people. After all, they’re not only inherently compromised as performance cars thanks to their higher weight and centre of gravity, but so many have popped up in recent years that it’s come at the expense of many ‘traditional’ enthusiast cars: sports cars, hot hatches, performance saloons and the like.

There’s a reason there are so many fast SUVs around, though: people love ’em. They offer an undeniably compelling blend of pace and practicality, and while you’d get the same out of a quick estate car, they can’t compete with the school run social status of an SUV, so you can’t exactly blame people for wanting in on that image.

If you do too, but don’t have the sort of cash to splash on a brand new GLE 63 or Range Rover Sport, we’ve rounded up 10 fast SUVs that you can currently buy used for under £10,000. Some of them might even last a while without going wrong.

Audi SQ5 TDI

Eyebrows were raised when the Audi SQ5 was first unveiled in 2013, because it was Audi’s first first high-performance ‘S’ model to come with a diesel engine. That diesel, though, was a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 that made 309bhp and, more importantly, a mighty 479lb ft of torque, which hauled the SQ5 to 62mph in just 5.1 seconds.

Managing a quoted 39mpg combined, it was reasonably frugal too, and featured the sort of sturdy and high-end interior that Audi was absolutely nailing at this time, all of which made the original SQ5 a fantastic all-rounder, and one that can now be picked up from £8,000.

BMW X3 35d

A contemporary rival to the SQ5, the BMW X3 35d may have lacked the Audi’s performance badging, but it was very nearly on a par with it when it came to performance. A 3.0-litre turbodiesel straight-six provided 308bhp and and 465lb ft, good for 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds, dropping to 5.3 following 2014’s facelift.

It was even more efficient than the Audi, with MPG in the 40s achievable, and as you’d expect from a BMW, this second-generation X3 was the very best-handling mid-sized SUV of its day, as long as you didn’t mind a stiff ride. The 35d can now be found from around £7,000, with even the quicker facelifted car slipping in under £10k.

BMW X5 4.8i

The BMW X5 was one of the very first SUVs to offer genuine driver appeal, and the V8 versions of the original E53 generation are now sought-after cult classics. They’re rare though, and you’re much more likely to find a second-gen E70 4.8i. 

This came with BMW’s naturally aspirated N62 V8 which, while a delightful engine, has had its fair share of reliability issues crop up over the years, which is worth bearing in mind. If it’s a risk you’re willing to take, though, you’re getting a charismatic powerplant in a big, roomy car that handles in a way that seriously belies its size. The brave among you can pick up 4.8i E70s from around £6,000.

Infiniti FX37

You probably don’t think about Infiniti very much if you live in Europe. The luxury wing of Nissan’s experiment selling cars here was short-lived, but it did produce some fascinating if sometimes flawed alternatives to the German luxury norm.

One of these was the FX which, while a rival to stuff like the BMW X5, actually shared a basic platform with the Nissan 370Z. That wasn’t all it had in common with the brawny coupe, either: the FX37 had the same 3.7-litre V6, making a little less power at 316bhp, but still enough to get it to 62mph in a decent 6.8 seconds. You could get the FX with a 5.0-litre V8 too, but it’s harder to find and, in the real world, not that much quicker than the V6.

Jaguar I-Pace

It’s easy to be taken aback by the fact that the Jaguar I-Pace, which less than a decade ago was one of the most desirable, high-end EVs on sale, is now a four-figure used car. A combination of punchy Jag depreciation, even punchier luxury EV depreciation, and some fairly well-publicised battery issues has made that a reality, though.

That last bit does mean that some sub £10k I-Paces are listed as ‘spares or repair’, but not all. While they’re far from risk-free, the I-Pace still stands out as one of the best-driving electric SUVs even eight years after its launch, and it’s seriously quick, too: the only powertrain option, a dual-motor setup with 395bhp, is enough to whisk you off to 62mph in just 4.5 seconds. Usable examples begin at around £9,000.

Land Rover Range Rover Sport Supercharged

For a very different rather high-risk fast SUV purchase from a JLR brand, the original Range Rover Sport is hard to beat. The entire concept of a sporty Range Rover puzzled the automotive world when it launched in 2005, but clearly, we had no idea what we were talking about, because the Range Rover Sport was an instant hit.

It helped that the ‘Sport’ part of the name was more than just marketing speak, and the RRS was a genuinely tidy thing to drive, especially when fitted with the 4.2-litre supercharged version of Jaguar’s AJ-V8. With this powerplant under the bonnet, you were getting 385bhp and 0-62mph in 7.1 seconds. If you’ve got some particularly strong brave pills to hand, you can get these from as little as £4,000, and though we’re not going to pretend that any supercharged V8 Land Rover is without risk, it’s hard not to be tempted when even clean, low-mileage examples squeak in under £10k.

Mercedes-Benz ML420 CDI

Back to diesels, and the rather underappreciated 4.0-litre turbodiesel V8 version of the second-generation Mercedes M-Class. This seldom-used engine offered up 306bhp and a massive 516lb ft of torque, enough to get the big ML420 to 62mph in 6.5 seconds. This isn’t a fuel-sipping diesel, either: just 27mpg is the quoted figure.

Unlike other luxury SUVs of this era, the ML is generally regarded as fairly reliable, although some cracks are starting to appear in this engine’s long-term reliability, and its rarity means parts are expensive and hard to find. It’s not going to be the most incisively sharp SUV to drive, either – think of it as more of a high-speed, low-effort cruiser.

Porsche Cayenne Turbo

An all but inevitable inclusion on any list of cheap, fast SUVs, the first generation Porsche Cayenne has been hit with lightly scary levels of depreciation ever since it launched in 2002, and not without good reason.

We reckon the best risk-versus-reward compromise is the Turbo, be it in original 4.5-litre, 444bhp form or updated 4.8-litre, 493bhp form. Either way, it’s not a purchase you can enter without preparing yourself for some potentially big bills, but if you’re happy to do that, you’re getting a seriously rapid luxury SUV, capable of hitting 62mph in at least 4.8 seconds, and one that handles in a way that isn’t an insult to its badge. Prices for non-terminally broken ones start at around £4,000.

Subaru Forester XT

Smaller, less luxurious and far less prestigious than most cars on this list, but also quite a bit less likely to go wrong in a major, life-ruining way, the Subaru Forester XT (and more luxurious XTE) has long been well-regarded as a bit of a sleeper.

Get a post-2005 car and you’re getting 227bhp from a version of the same 2.5-litre EJ255 turbocharged flat-four that you got in the contemporary Impreza WRX, an engine that’s far less notorious for expensive head gasket failures as some other Subie motors. With the more common manual version, you can hit 62mph in under 6.0 seconds, and make some very good, rallyish noises on the way there. Prices kick off at around £6,000.

Volvo XC60 T6

With Volvo no longer offering any engines bigger than 2.0 litres, it’s strange to think that not that long ago, it was creating some veritable sleepers by stuffing its 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six into some comparatively small cars.

One of its recipients was the handsome first-generation XC60. Known as the T6 when fitted with this engine, post-2011 versions got a nice, round 300bhp, which was good for getting it to 62mph in 6.9 seconds. There was even a rare Polestar upgrade kit that bumped this further to 324bhp. A quick and comfy cross-country companion, XC60 T6s start at around £7,500.