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• Auto123 presents its 2023 awards in 22 categories.
• For the Best Compact SUV in 2023, here are our finalists and winner!
• In the running are the Acura MDX, the Genesis GV80 and the Porsche Cayenne.
• The three finalists are all purchases that are recommended by the Auto123 team.
Every year, you our readers are kind enough to await with interest Auto123's verdicts in declaring the winners across various vehicle categories. This year, the battles were once again ferocious, with many of the votes very close. There were arguments and maybe a couple of tears.
Nevertheless, at the end of the day, 22 vehicles were declared winners in their category. If you want to know what are recommended buys in the luxury midsize SUV segment, here’s what happened this year in this category.
The mid-size luxury SUV category is one of the oldest in the SUV universe. In fact, some of the models in this category have been on the market for over 20 years. This is the case for two of our finalists, the Porsche Cayenne and Acura MDX.
As for the Genesis GV80, since the company that makes it is only seven years old, we’re talking about a complete newbie in comparison. Nevertheless, our three stars have something interesting to offer.
The first SUV produced by Genesis sent immediate notice that Hyundai's luxury brand would not settle for being just an after-thought in the category. The GV80 is solid and already represents a sure value on the market. For value, for bang for buck, this model sets the standard in the segment.
Over at Acura, the MDX is what’s called in the parlance a fully mature model. The new generation that arrived last year is more refined than ever. It's also more exciting, if only because the product line has been enriched with the more powerful Type S variant.
As for the Porsche Cayenne, the product line is already quite rich. True to its tradition and reputation, the German automaker offers it in so many different configurations that it's impossible not to find one that suits your needs. And behind the wheel, without taking anything away from the other rival products, the Cayenne has no equal.
That's likely the single biggest reason why it won out over its rivals. In fact, it's going to take a serious counterattack from the competition to unseat the Porsche Cayenne from its throne.