Are these SUVs now modern classics? Noughties cars like Porsche’s Cayenne will be collector’s items, experts say
SUVs are now the most popular type of new car entering our roads.
Exclusive analysis by This is Money revealed that a third of all passenger car registrations last year were SUVs, overtaking superminis as the most popular segment for the first time on record.
But wind the clocks back 25 years and the SUV was an entirely new phenomena that hadn’t yet captured the hearts – and wallets – of us Britons.
While the US had fully embraced the ‘sports utility vehicle’, the UK’s love for conventional family hatchbacks, flashy executive saloons and spacious estate cars left little room for this new category of vehicle.
With traditional 4X4s, like the Range Rover and Toyota Land Cruiser, among limited options for drivers wanting high-riding motors offering an elevated view of the road ahead during the ’90s, the first in a new era of SUVs started to emerge around the Millennium.
A quarter of a century late, with SUVs now the dominant force in UK showrooms and the choice vehicle for the school run, classic car experts say the earliest examples could soon become collectable.
Are these early SUVs now collectable? Experts have picked four 1990s to 2000s models it believes have the ingredients to become classic cars
Hagerty has earmarked four segment-driving SUVs from the noughties it believes have the ingredients to go on to become modern classics – meaning they could soon shoot up in value.
Yet the best news is their average prices today are at rock bottom, making them a cheap punt for budding collectors.
But that’s not to say they will be affordable to run, with running costs high due to gas-guzzling engines and expensive repair bills.
‘These four all offer presence, a certain coolness and practical benefits including, for pre-March 2001 cars, a flat rate of road tax,’ Hagerty UK Price Guide editor John Mayhead tells us.
‘They are also smaller and less aggressive than current models, and with a wider range of engine choice.
‘And while they’re all very capable on road, the some excel off of it, too.’
The BMW X5 is arguably the first premium sports utility vehicle. Launched in 1999, it looked radical and drove like nothing else of its proportions
1. BMW (E53) X5 (1999-2006)
Average price today: £1,500 – £10,000
It’s arguably the model that kickstarted the premium SUV market.
When the original BMW X5 emerged in showrooms in 1999, there really wasn’t much else like it on the road.
While it might have had the dimensions of a Range Rover, it was unapologetically an ‘on-roader’ offering very little in terms of segment traditions for going off the beaten track.
But it sold like hotcakes to premium car buyers looking for additional cabin space – especially extra head room -, a more capacious boot and heightened driving position over their 3 Series saloons and Touring, but without losing the premium image.
It was well built too and came with a wide variety of engines, including a relatively frugal six-cylinder petrol and diesels to high performance V8s.
While it might have had the dimensions of a Range Rover, it was unapologetically an ‘on-roader’ offering very little in terms of segment traditions for going off the beaten track
Not only did the X5 look radical, it also drove like nothing else of its proportions and was more than a match for the Bavarian brand’s traditional models
Its unique design was penned by Frank Stephenson, the man responsible for the Ford Escort Cosworth, BMW Mini, Ferrari F430 and McLaren P1 to name just a few of the motors from the American’s back catalogue.
But not only did it look radical, it drove like nothing else of its proportions and was more than a match for the Bavarian brand’s traditional models.
Discussing the potential for becoming a modern classic, John tells us: ‘Frank Stephenson’s design has really stood the test of time and still looks amazing, almost slimline in design compared to the current model.
‘V8 engines are the most collectable, but values of higher mileage cars are affordable.’
With Land Rover’s model line-up unchanged for years, the Freelander emerged in 1997 as an entry option into ownership of the British brand
2. Land Rover Freelander (1997-2006)
Average price today: £700 – £2,000
Having identified the popularity of compact off-roaders like the Suzuki Vitara and Toyota RAV4, Land Rover launched its own small SUV in 1997 – the Freelander.
With the British brand’s line-up unchanged for years, the Freelander emerged below the likes of the Defender, Discovery and Range Rover variants as an entry option into Land Rover ownership.
When it arrived, it cost £17,995, which today is the equivalent of £34,771. Sold as a three or five-door, it also had a Softback option with fabric roof section over the back row of seats.
Freelander quickly became Europe’s best-selling SUV, with the option of three and five-door variants, quirky looks and the attractive badge on the bonnet doing wonders to help salesmen and women shift vehicles.
But while this was a more capable off-roader than some of the other SUVs in this list, it didn’t generate the greatest track record for robustness, with reliability a major issue.
Freelander quickly became Europe’s best-selling SUV, with the option of three and five-door variants, quirky looks and the attractive badge on the bonnet
Sold as a three or five-door, it also had a Softback option (pictured) with fabric roof section over the back row of seats
The key issues were with the automatic gearbox and central viscous coupling for the four-wheel-drive system, both of which commonly went wrong, so buyers need to check history records for any previous evidence of this.
That said, even the most looked after examples are selling for relative peanuts today, with buyers unlikely to spend over £2,000 on a good one.
‘The most reasonably-priced of the four, even exceptional examples that have been carefully maintained are available for low money,’ John explains.
‘A true, go-anywhere 4×4 that still looks good in both town and country.’
American brand Jeep arguably started the SUV movement back in 1964. But the XJ – sold between 1993 and 2001 – was Britain’s first taste of what was on offer on the other side of the Atlantic
3. Jeep Cherokee XJ (1993-2001)
Average price today: £4,000 – £10,000
Given the SUV was born in the US, it would only be right to include one of its earliest options – also sold in the UK – to our list.
While it made a family off-road station wagon way back in 1946, but it was the Wagoneer of 1963 that truly cemented Jeep’s take on the SUV formula.
Fast forward two decades and we got the accomplished Cherokee XJ.
Small by US standards, it was more than large enough for use as a family motor for Britons, who at the time were not familiar with the concept of sports utility vehicles.
The Cherokee XJ (a 2.5 Sport variant pictured) proved a hit across global markets and was a common feature in TV and movies in the 1990s
Despite showing on-road bias, it was also a serious off-road workhorse, keeping Jeep’s legendary go-anywhere reputation intact.
It proved a hit across global markets and was a common feature in TV and movies in the 1990s.
‘Rare here in the UK and have built up a niche ownership that still really appreciates them, which has kept prices high,’ John tells us.
‘The 4.0 V6 is the pick of the bunch with good performance and smooth driving, its high MPG may see buyers searching out 2.5 4-cylinder model. Diesels are sparse.’
With Porsche struggling in the 1990s and desperate to diversify its product line-up to attract more customers, the Cayenne was one of the cars that truly changed the Stuttgart brand’s fortunes
4. Porsche Cayenne (2003-2010)
Average price today: £2,500 to £9,500
Last in our list is arguably the model that triggered the biggest shift change for the SUV market – the first-generation Porsche Cayenne.
Having exclusively been a sports car brand for its then-72-year history, plenty of eyebrows were raised – and bratwursts spat out – when Porsche launched its first SUV.
But, like the 911’s affordable alternative, the Boxster, Porsche needed the Cayenne to diversify the brand and attract new customers to help it survive.
And the Cayenne entered the market as the first true performance SUV that was a hoot to drive – but also had room for all the family and the dog in the boot.
Having exclusively been a sports car brand for its then-72-year history, plenty of eyebrows were raised – and bratwursts spat out – when Porsche launched its first SUV
Volume seller: Over 275,000 first-generation Cayennes were delivered, effectively spearheading Porsche’s shift to a mainstream car brand
While even the standard Cayenne was a proper thoroughbred, the twin-turbocharged V8 S model was a rocket ship, accelerating to 60mph in five seconds and claiming a top speed of 167mph; figures you’d never seen before from a hulking 4X4.0
It sold like hot cakes too. Over 275,000 first-generation Cayennes were delivered, effectively spearheading Porsche’s shift to a mainstream car brand.
‘As with any Porsche, spec is a huge factor when it comes to value and some fully-loaded examples are still very luxurious even compared to modern cars,’ John explained to us.
‘The V8 is also a very powerful car. All handle well, for their size, as you would expect from Porsche.’
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