10 luxury full-size SUVs with KBB's highest expert ratings for 2026

Pull up to any airport hotel entrance and the same silhouettes keep arriving. Tall, three-row SUVs wearing six-figure badges have replaced the sedan as the default status symbol in affluent American driveways. The full-size luxury SUV now does the work that a station wagon, a limousine, and a pickup once split among themselves. It carries seven or eight people, tows a boat, swallows a week of luggage, and still parks at a restaurant without apology. A purchase at this level sticks around for years, which makes the decision heavier than the brochure gloss suggests. Choosing wrong means living with the error through school runs, holiday drives, and long highway stretches.

The sticker settles nothing here. Entry points across the segment begin near $87,000 and climb past $150,000, a spread wide enough to buy a second car outright, yet the costliest nameplates do not guarantee the calmest daily experience. Fuel economy complicates the math. Combined figures across the field run from the low teens to the low 20s, a gap worth thousands of dollars over a long ownership period. Then there is the question of what each badge buys. One marque sells rock-crawling hardware, another sells acceleration, a third sells a hushed cabin and a settled ride. Two SUVs can land within a few thousand dollars of each other and serve opposite priorities. Buyers need something sturdier than a configurator and a quick lap around the block to tell them apart.

Kelley Blue Book hands each vehicle to editors who live with it for an extended stretch before they score it. They grade every model against the rivals it meets in the same showroom conversation, so the result reflects standing inside the class instead of an abstract ideal. Each SUV goes through the ordinary chores that fill an owner's week, from slotting into tight parking spaces to reversing and loading cargo, and then on to braking, acceleration, handling, noise levels, assembly quality, material choices, and long-term dependability. Design inside and out, the drivetrain, road manners, equipment levels, comfort, and the money each one asks all feed the final number. Every entry carries an expert rating on a five-point scale, a starting price, and a combined fuel-economy measure. The 10 vehicles below come from that evaluation, drawn from American, European, and Japanese marques.

The 2026 Lincoln Navigator holds a 4.6 out of five expert rating, the best mark any full-size luxury SUV earns here, and it opens at $94,890. Nothing on the list reaches 4.7, so 4.6 stands as the ceiling for the category. The Navigator sits a tenth of a point above the Cadillac Escalade and half a point above the BMW X7. The stretched Navigator L matches that same 4.6, which leaves Cadillac in third place and hands Lincoln both of the leading grades in the class.

The Navigator's $94,890 entry point sits about $5,800 above the most affordable SUV here, the $89,050 BMW X7, and roughly $55,800 under the $150,650 Mercedes-AMG GLS. Lincoln's asking price also lands nearly $12,000 below the Lexus LX and more than $54,000 below the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Three of these 10 SUVs open above $100,000, and the top-graded Navigator stays clear of that bracket.

Lincoln tunes the Navigator's cabin for the hush of a wellness retreat and clothes the vehicle in modern sheet metal over hardware that handles heavy work. Rivals in this group stake their appeal on narrower ground, whether off-road gear, outright acceleration, or European interior design. Lincoln's result suggests the brand answered the broader set of demands, covering comfort, technology, and genuine capability, better than marques that lead with one strength.

Fuel economy puts the Navigator mid-pack at 17 mpg combined, a return it shares with the Escalade and the Jeep Grand Wagoneer. The BMW X7 posts 23 mpg and the Lexus LX manages 19, so Lincoln concedes ground to both on a long highway run. The Navigator beats the 13 mpg Escalade ESV, the 15 mpg Mercedes-AMG GLS, and the 16 mpg Mercedes-Benz GLS, sparing owners the heaviest fuel bills in the class.

Every German nameplate here, from the Mercedes-Benz GLS to the BMW X7 and the G-Class, finished below the Navigator, which puts the benchmark for full-size luxury in American hands this year.

Illustration: Quartz

The extended Navigator L opens at $97,890, a $3,000 step up from the standard-length Navigator, and holds the same 4.6 expert rating that puts both Lincolns ahead of everything else in the segment. Lincoln attaches that premium to length alone. The bigger Lincoln returns 17 mpg combined, matching its shorter twin, so the added sheet metal costs an owner nothing at the pump across years of driving.

A $3,000 upcharge disappears against the sums moving through this class. The Navigator L saves a buyer $8,960 against the $106,850 Lexus LX and $52,760 against the $150,650 Mercedes-AMG GLS, both of which earned lower expert scores, at 4.4 and 4.2. Shoppers approaching from the other direction find the long-wheelbase Lincoln priced $6,290 above the $91,600 Mercedes-Benz GLS and $10,850 above the $87,040 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, each of which settled at 4.3. The Navigator L splits those two cost tiers and outscores every vehicle in both.

Lincoln builds the larger Navigator around interior volume, carrying over the cabin technology and capability of the smaller Navigator intact. Buyers who need more usable room gain it without surrendering anything in the evaluation, since the two Lincolns carry identical marks to the decimal. The choice narrows to floor plan and parking. Households hauling three rows of passengers plus a week of luggage on the same trip have reason to spend the extra money. Anyone who threads an SUV into a tight garage or a cramped downtown deck can take the regular Navigator and give up no quality.

Other lengthened variants in this field cost more or give something back. Cadillac asks the identical $3,000 to upgrade from the Escalade to the Escalade ESV, and the ESV's combined figure drops to 13 mpg. Jeep charges $17,000 to go from the $87,040 Grand Wagoneer to the $104,040 Grand Wagoneer L. The Navigator L piles on size without a fuel-economy hit or a five-figure surcharge, so the shopper who wants the most space this class offers pays the smallest penalty by choosing the Lincoln.

Cadillac sells the 2025 Escalade from $90,295 and collects a 4.5 expert rating with it, a mark only the two Lincoln Navigators clear. Three rows of seating come standard, and the cabin technology counts among the SUV's strongest assets. Nothing above the Escalade in this group carries a smaller sticker.

The $4,595 a buyer saves against the $94,890 Navigator costs a tenth of a point. Both SUVs wear a domestic badge, and both sit near the front of a field whose upper reaches pass $150,000. Anyone cross-shopping the pair weighs a difference small enough to vanish on a single test drive against money that covers a year of insurance and fuel.

Spending more buys no guarantee of a better verdict in this class, and the Escalade shows why, outscoring the $106,850 Lexus LX while charging $16,555 less. The Cadillac also finishes ahead of the $91,600 Mercedes-Benz GLS and the $87,040 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, each two-tenths back at 4.3. Only Lincoln turns a higher price into a higher score here.

Fuel economy holds at 17 mpg combined, level with the Navigator and the Grand Wagoneer and six mpg short of the 2026 BMW X7, the thriftiest entry on this list at 23 mpg. Years of fill-ups favor the BMW, which lists at $89,050 and trails the Escalade by four-tenths of a point. Owners of a hauler this size accept teens-range consumption as the toll for the space and gear the body makes possible.

Styling separates the Escalade from the German contenders, and its standing here rests on a shape drivers recognize on sight. Mercedes-Benz answers with the $91,600 GLS and the $149,400 G-Class, Lexus with the $106,850 LX, each selling its own idea of what a large luxury SUV should look like. Shoppers chasing the highest-rated three-row SUV outside the Lincoln showroom land on an Escalade, and the standard-length version asks less than the GLS, the LX, or the G-Class. The extra $59,105 the G-Class demands buys a distinct silhouette and a 4.1.

Illustration: Quartz

The Cadillac Escalade ESV drinks more fuel than any other SUV on this list, returning 13 mpg combined against a starting price of $93,295. Cadillac's long-wheelbase flagship collected 4.5 out of five points from the editors all the same, matching the standard Escalade and sharing third position in the class. Extra body behind the cabin costs the ESV nothing on the scorecard, though it shows up at every fill-up.

Four mpg separate the two Escalades, since the standard car travels 17 miles on a gallon and opens at $90,295. Shoppers pay $3,000 more up front for the bigger body, then keep paying at the pump. The deficit compounds across school runs, holiday hauls, and highway miles, turning a one-time premium into a permanent line in the household budget. No other entry here sinks as low. The Mercedes-AMG GLS manages 15 mpg and the Mercedes-Benz GLS 16, and both sit above the ESV's number. The Lexus LX at 19 mpg and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class at 18 widen the gap further. Even the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, an off-road specialist, posts 17 mpg combined.

Three rows of seating and a deep technology suite carry the ESV, and Cadillac wraps both in a homegrown idea of style and comfort that no European rival in this field chases. Only the two Lincoln Navigators at 4.6 finished above the ESV. A 2025 build date does nothing to dull the showing, since the ESV's 4.5 outpaces the 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLS at 4.3 and the 2026 BMW X7 at 4.1. The Lincoln Navigator L asks $97,890 and records 17 mpg combined, which puts the ESV $4,595 below it on the window sticker and four mpg behind it on the road. A buyer who picks the Cadillac banks that discount at the dealership, then hands it back a tankful at a time.

The editors weighed the larger cabin against its appetite and scored the ESV level with the short-wheelbase Escalade, a verdict that treats the added room as worth its running cost for anyone who fills every seat each week.

The 2025 Lexus LX opens at $106,850, the priciest entry point among the five highest-scoring vehicles here, and it carries a 4.4 expert rating. Lexus asks $11,960 more than Lincoln does for the Navigator and $16,555 more than Cadillac does for the standard Escalade, and the editors graded both of those SUVs above the LX. The extra outlay buys no improvement in the verdict from the people who drove all three.

The LX returns 19 mpg combined, a better figure than any of the four SUVs ahead of it posts. Fuel economy turns the comparison around. The Navigator and Navigator L each stop at 17 mpg, the standard Escalade matches them, and the extended Escalade ESV sinks to 13 mpg. Six mpg of daylight separates the Lexus from the thirstiest of those four, a margin that compounds across errand loops, weekend hauls, and cross-state drives. Among machines this large, 19 mpg counts as restraint.

Lexus builds the LX around muscular powertrains and genuine off-pavement hardware, and the reviewers weigh that capability alongside a polished cabin and a dense equipment list. None of those four arrives with the same off-road brief. The Lincolns trade on modern lines and restful interiors, the Cadillacs on technology and showmanship, so the Lexus holds the trail-ready corner of this group by itself. It copes with broken surfaces on a Saturday, then quiets the highway for a Monday commute, and neither duty feels like an afterthought.

Shoppers chasing the strongest grade in this class can bank nearly $12,000 at the dealership by signing for a Navigator instead. The LX repays its premium with a specialized pitch, aimed at the household that wants a full-size luxury SUV to stay composed where the pavement ends and make fewer fuel stops than the American heavyweights parked beside it. A buyer who needs neither the trail hardware nor the fuel savings will find more vehicle for less money elsewhere in this top tier.

The Jeep Grand Wagoneer opens at $87,040, the lowest entry cost among the three SUVs that share its 4.3 expert rating. The Mercedes-Benz GLS matches that verdict and asks $91,600, a $4,560 climb for an identical judgment from the editors. The stretched Grand Wagoneer L reaches the same mark and lists at $104,040, so buyers inside Jeep's own showroom pay a $17,000 premium for wheelbase alone. Every vehicle ahead of the Grand Wagoneer costs more as well, from the $90,295 Cadillac Escalade to the $106,850 Lexus LX.

Trail hardware separates the Grand Wagoneer from rivals that never venture past a gravel driveway. Jeep built the truck to climb, wade, and crawl, and the editors credit it with genuine competence once the pavement ends, something few machines in this bracket can claim. The suspension hides that toughness on the interstate, smothering broken surfaces with the isolation six-figure shoppers expect. Inside, the materials lean toward ornate American opulence, with decorative trim and warm finishes that sidestep German restraint. The engine hauls considerable mass with urgency, so the bulk never turns progress labored. Jeep wraps the whole package in sheetmetal that reads as substantial without shouting.

Fuel economy settles at 17 mpg combined, equal to the Lincoln Navigator and the standard Escalade despite the Jeep's rough-road gear and its gentler asking figure. The number beats the 16 mpg of the tied GLS, the 15 mpg of its AMG sibling, and the 13 mpg the Escalade ESV returns. Only the Lexus LX at 19 mpg and the BMW X7 at 23 mpg travel farther on a gallon among these 10. Jeep charges the least at this grade without trading away efficiency to reach the figure, and the 0.3-point distance to the top-scoring Navigator costs the buyer nothing at the pump. Price and editorial regard travel separate paths in this class, and the Grand Wagoneer makes the case by outscoring the $150,650 Mercedes-AMG GLS while costing $63,610 less.

The 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLS earns a 4.3 expert rating at a $91,600 starting price, and it is the only SUV at that level carrying a 2026 badge. Both Jeep Grand Wagoneer variants matching the 4.3 figure arrived as 2025 models. Buyers chasing the most recent engineering without paying their way into the 4.5 and 4.6 brackets have a single option.

Pricing drops the GLS into the busiest stretch of this field. Five of its nine competitors open within $5,000 of the Mercedes, so a few thousand dollars decides which emblem sits on the hood. Its sticker sits $4,560 above the Grand Wagoneer's $87,040 and $12,440 under the Grand Wagoneer L's $104,040, which puts it in the gap between Jeep's standard and stretched bodies. The comparison turns less flattering against the Cadillac and Lincoln sitting above it. The Escalade opens at $90,295 and collects a 4.5, meaning the GLS asks $1,305 more and gives back two-tenths on the scorecard. The Navigator charges $3,290 beyond the GLS and returns three-tenths of a point for the premium.

Fuel economy works against the GLS inside its own tier. Its 16 mpg combined trails both Jeeps by one mile per gallon and sits under the 17 mpg that the Escalade and the Navigator post. Only the Escalade ESV at 13 mpg and the Mercedes-AMG GLS at 15 mpg burn more fuel on this list. Drivers stacking up highway miles will feel the deficit every time they fill the tank.

Mercedes builds the GLS around what the occupants touch. The interior borrows its look and feel from the company's European sedans, scaled up into a three-row body, and the way the GLS drives and hauls meets the class standard without reaching past it. Nothing here chases rock crawling or drag-strip numbers. Anyone cross-shopping the GLS against the two Jeeps trades a lower cost of entry and an extra mile per gallon for a German cabin and a 2026 build.

Illustration: Quartz

The 2025 Mercedes-AMG GLS opens at $150,650, more than any of the other nine SUVs here, and it posts a 4.2 expert rating for the money. Only the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, at $149,400, comes anywhere near it, and the third-priciest entry here, the Lexus LX at $106,850, trails by $43,800. A shopper could take home the BMW X7 at $89,050 and the Jeep Grand Wagoneer at $87,040 together for $176,090, just $25,440 beyond what one AMG GLS asks. The math against its own showroom sibling cuts deeper. The 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLS starts at $91,600 with a 4.3 score, so the AMG badge adds $59,050 to the bill and hands back a tenth of a point less.

The AMG GLS returns 15 mpg combined, a figure only the Cadillac Escalade ESV falls below, at 13. The ESV, the one thirstier choice here, carries a sticker $57,355 smaller. The BMW X7 covers 23 mpg, eight more per gallon, and the Lexus LX manages 19, while both Lincoln Navigators and the standard Escalade sit at 17. Eight mpg of separation compounds into real money across 100,000 miles, and the driver paying the most at the register visits the pump more often than every rival here but one.

Mercedes-AMG spends the premium on speed and spectacle. The badge brings acceleration that arrives in a violent rush, an interior worthy of the outlay, and bodywork that draws stares across a parking structure. The 4.2 mark puts the AMG GLS ninth in the class, behind the Lincoln Navigator at 4.6, the Cadillac Escalade at 4.5, the Lexus LX at 4.4, and its own lesser-badged sibling at 4.3. Every one of those four costs less to buy. Few buyers in this bracket shop on economy, yet the AMG lands below all four even with mileage out of the picture. Nothing in the numbers suggests the extra $59,050 buys a more complete SUV. Pace is the entire argument for this one, and anyone who wants thrift or a higher grade will find either for far less elsewhere on this list.

The 2026 BMW X7 returns 23 mpg combined, and no other SUV on this list travels as far on a gallon. Only the Jeep Grand Wagoneer carries a lower sticker, so the $89,050 X7 holds the efficiency advantage from near the floor of the price range. A 4.1 expert rating places it inside a top 10 where entry prices climb past $150,000. Shoppers who want a third row, a cabin full of current screens, and steering that asks something of the driver get all three in one package.

Ten mpg separate the X7 from the thirstiest vehicle in this group, the Cadillac Escalade ESV at 13 mpg combined. Six more divide it from the 17-mpg mark that the Lincoln Navigator, the Navigator L, the standard Escalade, and the Jeep Grand Wagoneer all return. Even the Lexus LX, the second-most efficient entry here at 19 mpg, gives up four mpg to the BMW. A driver covering 15,000 miles a year burns 652 gallons in the X7 and 882 in a 17-mpg rival, a difference of 230 gallons every 12 months. Stretch that across six years of ownership and the gap nears 1,400 gallons, enough fuel to carry the BMW another 32,000 miles. The identical span of ownership next to the Escalade ESV widens the margin past 3,000 gallons, close to 69,000 additional miles at the X7's rate.

A 4.1 expert rating puts the X7 at the modest end of this field, half a point behind the Lincoln Navigator and a tenth behind the Mercedes-AMG GLS. The deficit costs the buyer nothing at the register. The AMG GLS asks $150,650, more than $61,000 above the X7, and manages 15 mpg in exchange. The Mercedes-Benz G-Class wants $149,400 and delivers 18 mpg for the same 4.1 score the BMW earns. Two SUVs sitting $60,000 and five mpg apart finish with matching grades. Price, on this evidence, predicts almost nothing about how a luxury full-size SUV holds up under scrutiny.