11 Luxury Crossover SUVs for under $50,000

11 Luxury Crossover SUVs for Under $50,000

From Acura and BMW to Mercedes and Volvo, there are deals to be had.

Price creep for new vehicles in the US has always been an issue, but most of the movement for window stickers in recent inflationary years has been more like a steady jog rather than a slow creep. As of a few months ago, Cox Automotive estimated the cost of a new car to be $48,528. That’s the average for everything, from full-size pickup trucks and high-volume crossovers to luxury cars and compact sedans, which are gradually disappearing.

Everyone wants their hard-earned pay to go as far as possible. Still, at a certain station in life, it’s perfectly normal to contemplate the step to an aspirational purchase from a brand you’ve perhaps admired from afar, maybe with a certain amount of lust.

So what better time than now to reach for the stars, to put pencil to paper, and see if the family budget is ready for premium? The average vehicle price might be bumping up against $50k, but there are luxury cars to be had for less. And because everyone wants utility, headroom, and cargo capacity, we’re focusing this list on luxury SUVs, leaning more toward unibody-designed car-based crossover utility vehicles rather than full-size body-on-frame SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade. A lot of people just call them all SUVs.

2024 Acura MDX FWD

Base Price: $49,850

You’ll see a lot of vehicles on this list with only two rows of seats, but the Acura MDX actually has three—with seatbelts for seven—making it arguably one of the best bargains for stretching your dollar. The fourth-generation MDX from Honda’s luxury brand was all-new two years ago as a ’22 model, and it’s currently outselling all other large luxury crossovers by wide margin, even the Tesla Model X. Power comes from a 290-hp 3.5-liter V6 rated by the EPA at 19/26 mpg in city/highway driving.

And if you’re excited for the prospects of a zero-emission future, Acura just revealed details about its all-electric ZDX SUV, expected to arrive next year with estimated range of 325 miles. Sorry, the price for Acura’s first EV will be well above $50k. Acura’s talking closer to $70k.

/…… Acura RDX $41,750

2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Sprint RWD

Base Price: $44,775

Here’s your chance to embrace a revered Italian brand that dates to 1910. Alfa Romeo is under the Stellantis umbrella, along with Fiat, Peugeot, and all the Chrysler group brands, and that global organization appears to be serious in supporting Alfa’s expansion into the lucrative (but fiercely competitive) US luxury market.

The Stelvio remains a bit player, but take one for a test drive and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the upscale interior, the European ride and handling, and the 280-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder under the hood.

And now is as good a time as any to consider the Stelvio: Prices have actually gone down from the 2023 to 2024 model year for all four trim levels. The ’23 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Sprint RWD was $46,575, so that’s a meaningful $1800 price cut for the new model year. You can even step up to the ’24 Stelvio Ti AWD for $50,225. If you find a dealer clearing out ’23 models, be sure to push for that better price. You’re doing them a favor!

2023 Audi Q4 e-tron

Base Price: $49,800

You had to know at least one battery-electric crossover SUV would find its way onto this list. BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, and Mercedes all have them, too, but they’re over $50,000. So the Audi Q4 e-tron represents a decent bargain, with style, a nice interior, German engineering, and a respectable 236 miles of range, priced slightly above similar offerings from mainstream brands.

This base model is in Premium trim, with a single electric motor and rear-wheel drive. For another $5k, you can have the dual-motor all-wheel drive version of the Q4 e-tron. That’s also about the starting price for the Q4 e-tron Sportback, if you like a coupe-like silhouette for your crossover.

2023 BMW X1 xDrive28i

Base Price: $38,600

BMW and Mercedes-Benz have been consistently duking it out for the annual sales crown for luxury vehicle in the US, and it’s not hard to see why. Both brands have flooded the market with crossover SUVs, sports cars, luxury cruisers, and roadsters, not to mention the many variants for all of them. The premium bologna can be sliced many ways, Germany has learned.

While most BMWs sell for considerably more, this X1, which was all-new a year ago, represents the entry point for Bavarian utility. It’s a compelling model with a clean interior layout, spirited handling, and a 241-hp 2.0-liter turbo-four rated at 28 mpg combined. And as a smaller vehicle, the controversial twin-kidney is smaller, too, and better proportioned. That’s a good thing.

Price creep for new vehicles in the US has always been an issue, but most of the movement for window stickers in recent inflationary years has been more like a steady jog rather than a slow creep. As of a few months ago, Cox Automotive estimated the cost of a new car to be $48,528. That’s the average for everything, from full-size pickup trucks and high-volume crossovers to luxury cars and compact sedans, which are gradually disappearing.

Everyone wants their hard-earned pay to go as far as possible. Still, at a certain station in life, it’s perfectly normal to contemplate the step to an aspirational purchase from a brand you’ve perhaps admired from afar.

So what better time than now to reach for the stars, to put pencil to paper, and see if the family budget is ready for premium? The average vehicle price might be bumping up against $50k, but there are luxury cars to be had for less. And because everyone wants utility, headroom, and cargo capacity, we’re focusing this list on luxury SUVs, leaning more toward unibody-designed car-based crossover utility vehicles rather than full-size body-on-frame SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade. A lot of people just call them all SUVs. Our list below is in alphabetical order—it’s not a ranking.

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2024 Acura MDX FWD

Base Price: $49,850

You’ll see a lot of vehicles on this list with only two rows of seats, but the Acura MDX actually has three—with seatbelts for seven—making it arguably one of the best bargains for stretching your dollar.

The fourth-generation MDX from Honda’s luxury brand was all-new two years ago as a ’22 model, and it’s currently outselling all other large luxury crossovers by a wide margin, even the Tesla Model X. Power comes from a 290-hp 3.5-liter V6 rated by the EPA at 19/26 mpg in city/highway driving.

2024 Acura MDX FWD Interior

And if you’re excited for the prospects of a zero-emission future, Acura just revealed details about its all-electric ZDX SUV, expected to arrive next year with estimated range of 325 miles. Sorry, the price for Acura’s first EV will be well above $50k. Acura’s talking closer to $70,000.

2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Sprint RWD

Base Price: $44,775

Here’s your chance to embrace a revered Italian brand that dates to 1910. Alfa Romeo is under the Stellantis umbrella, along with Fiat, Peugeot, and all the Chrysler group brands, and that global organization appears to be serious in supporting Alfa’s expansion into the lucrative (but fiercely competitive) US luxury market.

The Stelvio remains a bit player, but take one for a test drive and you might be pleasantly surprised by the upscale interior, the European ride and handling, and the 280-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder under the hood.

2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Competizione Interior

And now is as good a time as any to consider the Stelvio: Prices have actually gone down from the 2023 to 2024 model year for all four trim levels. The ’23 Stelvio Sprint RWD was $46,575, so that’s a meaningful $1800 price cut for the new model year. You can even step up to the ’24 Stelvio Ti AWD for $50,225. If you find a dealer clearing out ’23 models, be sure to push for that better price. You’re doing them a favor!

If the Stelvio is a bit too expensive, check out the Alfa Tonale plug-in hybrid crossover, which is a lot like the Stelvio but smaller, with a starting price of $42,995.

2023 Audi Q4 e-tron

Base Price: $49,800

You had to know at least one battery-electric crossover SUV would find its way onto this list. BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, and Mercedes all have them, too, but they’re over $50,000.

So the Audi Q4 e-tron represents a decent bargain, with style, a nice interior, German engineering, and a respectable 236 miles of range, priced slightly above similar offerings from mainstream non-luxury brands.

2023 Audi Q4 e-tron Interior

This base model is in Premium trim, with a single electric motor and rear-wheel drive. For another $5k, you can have the dual-motor all-wheel drive version of the Q4 e-tron.

That’s also about the starting price for the Q4 e-tron Sportback, if you like a coupe-like silhouette for your crossover.

2023 BMW X1 xDrive28i

Base Price: $38,600

BMW and Mercedes-Benz have been consistently duking it out for the annual sales crown for luxury vehicle in the US, and it’s not hard to see why.

Both brands have flooded the market with crossover SUVs, sports cars, luxury cruisers, and roadsters, not to mention the many variants for all of them. The premium bologna can be sliced many ways, the Germans have learned.

2023 BMW X1 xDrive28i Interior

While most BMWs sell for considerably more, this X1, which was all-new a year ago, represents the entry point for Bavarian utility. It’s a compelling model with a clean interior layout, spirited handling, and a 241-hp 2.0-liter turbo-four rated at 28 mpg combined. As a smaller vehicle, the controversial twin-kidney is smaller, too, and better proportioned. That’s a good thing.

BMW has a second crossover that prices under $50k: the 2023 BMW X3 xDrive30i. It's bigger than the X1, with 248 hp (also from a 2.0-liter turbo-four), and has all-wheel drive, starting at $47,400.

2024 Cadillac XT5 Luxury

Base Price: $45,290

It’s been a number of years since General Motors’ luxury marque competed for an annual US sales crown for premium vehicles, but the vehicles deserve cross-shopping nonetheless. Cadillac’s XT5, which had been known as the SRX until a name change in 2016, is strategically positioned to be bigger than, say, BMW’s X3 but smaller than the BMW X5. The XT5 is a good ‘tweener.

There are some new exterior colors for the 2024 model year (Emerald Lake Metallic and Midnight Sky Metallic), and the available powertrains are a 235-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder or a 310-hp 3.6-liter V6, both mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is standard on all models.

2024 Cadillac XT5 Interior

The XT5 was updated in 2020, which means an all-new model should be around the corner. But product forecasts suggest the XT5 might go away in a few years, to be replaced by a new model. XT5 sales have been falling since 2017, so you should find dealers motivated to negotiate.

2023 Infiniti QX50 Sport

Base Price: $48,500

Another brand struggling to chip away at luxury market share is Infiniti, but its QX50 midsize crossover remains a stylish, sculpted two-row crossover with a dramatic interior that can be optioned in bold colors, if you’re looking to make a statement.

For the ’23 model year, Infiniti offers a new Sport trim with a unique fascia, 20-inch dark-painted wheels, and gloss black exterior brightwork. This new Sport trim also comes with semi-aniline leather-appointed seats and a 12-speaker Bose premium sound system. Power comes from a 268-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with variable compression, designed for better efficiency and throttle response.

2023 Infiniti QX50 Interior

Pricing for the new Sport trim and front-wheel drive starts at $48,500 (or $50,500 with AWD), but here’s the best part: The base QX50 Pure model starts at $40,300, or $42,300 with AWD, 19-inch alloys, ProPilot driver-assistance tech, and two infotainment screens. Or you can step up to the Luxe AWD trim for $45,600.

2024 Lexus RX 350 FWD

Base Price: $49,950

This is the luxury SUV crossover that every rival in this crowded segment envies. That’s because the Lexus RX, which pioneered the idea of car-based crossovers when it arrived in 1998, has an enormous advantage in sales volume over the rest of the internal-combustion field—whether it’s the Mercedes GLE, BMW X5, Volvo XC90, or Audi Q8. We mention internal combustion because the all-electric Tesla Model Y has an even bigger lead over the RX (more on that later) and the rest of the conventional crossovers.

But the Lexus has a much longer legacy than the Model Y, which means the RX’s reliability and comfortable interior have become cemented among certain (i.e., Toyota-leaning) upscale shoppers. The RX brings a ton of momentum into 2024, after it was all-new in the marketplace last year—perhaps explaining its sizable lead in sales.

2024 Lexus RX 350 Premium Interior

There are 15 versions of the Lexus RX—with two rows or three rows, as a hybrid and plug-in hybrid, and with front-wheel and all-wheel drive—but only one of them sneaks under the $50k mark by a mere $50. If you’re itching to spend $70,000, there’s even an RX for you: the recently added 450h+ Luxury AWD plug-in hybrid.

Beyond the PHEV, there are several other powertrain offerings, including a 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid and a turbo-four performance hybrid with 366 hp combined. But the base model discussed here has a 275-hp turbocharged four-cylinder.

If you find the RX model range a bit too expensive, consider the smaller Lexus NX (starting about $40k), and the even smaller Lexus UX 250H hybrid crossover (starting at $36,490).

2023 Lincoln Corsair Reserve

Base Price: $38,690

Most people first think “Navigator” when asked to consider a Lincoln SUV, but you won’t find a new one for under $50,000. Still, the Lincoln showroom is worth a visit because there are three other crossover SUVs that deserve attention, including the all-new midsize 2024 Nautilus with handsome sheetmetal, a futuristic two-row interior, and a sticker price that tops $50k by $415.

The larger three-row Aviator was all-new for 2020 with a starting rice above $53,000. But the entry-level Lincoln crossover, the Corsair, was new in the market three years ago and has been updated for 2023, while offering an attractive base price of $38,690.

2023 Lincoln Corsair Reserve Interior

Yes, the Corsair shares its underpinnings with the mainstream Ford Escape, but the Lincoln product team did a good job differentiating the luxury variants with extensive design work. While the Escape lineup starts with 180 hp, the Corsair starts at 250 hp with a 2.0-liter turbo-four. And there’s a plug-in hybrid version of the Corsair as well, with a combined 266 hp, but that Grand Touring model starts near $54k.

Starting in ’23, the Corsair came available with Lincoln ActiveGlide 1.2 for hands-free driving up to 80 mph, and there’s also new wheel options and two new interior themes (a neutral Smoked Truffle with dark accents, as well as Eternal Red to provide rich, youthful energy).

2023 Mercedes GLC 300 4Matic SUV

Base Price: $49,100

Remember how we talked about the big German luxury brands flooding showrooms with all manner of crossover SUVs? BMW has a lot, but Mercedes-Benz has even more, especially here at the low end of the market. There’s the smallest GLA and then the boxier GLB (heck, even the AMG versions of those are close to $50k), but the slightly larger GLC has found the sweet spot of the small-to-midsize luxury crossover segment. And it’s all-new for ’23.

There’s the GLC coupe with a fastback roofline, but that pricing starts at $54,700. The better bargain is the more upright GLC SUV, which clears the $50k threshold by nearly $1000 with 4Matic all-wheel drive and a 255-hp 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder. If you live in a warm region and would rather not pay for 4Matic AWD, you can get the base GLC 300 with rear-wheel drive competitively priced at $47,100.

2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC Interior

The GLC was Mercedes-Benz’s top-selling vehicle in 2022, and the all-new model arrived this past spring. Sales of some 16,000 units in the US through June would suggest a huge drop in sales from the prior year, but it merely reflects the model changeover and the time necessary to refill the pipeline.

Tesla Model Y Dual-Motor AWD

Base Price: $47,740

And here we have the second all-electric crossover squeaking under our $50k price cap (but not the last, read on!). The world-beating Model Y has conquested thousands of customers who were likely shopping some of the vehicles you’ve just read about. How do we know?

Put pencil to paper for the sales numbers, and prepare to be gobsmacked: Tesla sold nearly 190,000 Model Y crossovers in the US in the first six months of this year. Tally up sales for all the other vehicles on this list combined, and Tesla dusts the group—by nearly 45,000 vehicles!

Tesla Model Y Interior

Yes, Teslas have been expensive, but the arrival of mainstream and luxury rivals has forced Elon Musk to cut prices, so the shoppers benefit. And the arrival of a new lower-trim Model Y for $47,740 puts it below the average price of a new car in the US.

Of course, there are higher-trim versions of the Model Y costing well over $50k, and you can pay an extra $4000 for a ridiculously cramped folding third row. And if you really want Tesla’s Autopilot or Full Self-Driving technology, it will push your Model Y pricetag well over $50k. Be sure to request your $7500 federal tax credit.

2025 Volvo EX30 EV

Base Price: $34,950

And how about Volvo, really putting the screws to fellow luxury brands with a base price below $35k—for a good-looking battery-electric two-row crossover? Yes, you can place your orders now for a 268-hp rear-wheel drive 2025 EX30 from the Swedish-born, Chinese-owned brand and take delivery in the first half of 2024. Count on an AWD version to cost more but likely be priced attractively nonetheless.

Assembled in China, the EX30 likely will not qualify for a $7500 federal tax credit, but local and state incentives might be in play so be sure to inquire. The EX30 will have a 69-kWh battery to provide an estimated 275 miles of range; with AWD, Volvo says the EX30 will churn out 422 hp and deliver 265 miles of range.

2025 Volvo EX30 EV Interior

You can DC fast-charge this cute ute in 27 minutes, the automaker says. Volvo is also one of many EV makers to adopt Tesla’s NACS charging platform, which means Tesla Superchargers will be available to Volvo owners in early 2024.