The SUVs with the lowest and highest ground clearance

SUVs are everywhere, ranging from front-wheel drive, city-oriented models to heavy-duty off-roaders, to high-performance machines.

One of the most appealing attributes to SUV buyers is the elevated ride height these vehicles offer. Whether you’re going off-road or just looking for a more comfortable vehicle to load babies into or get in and out of after a hip replacement, this sprawling category of vehicles holds enormous appeal to Australian buyers.

We’ve broken down SUVs from mass-market brands by segment, and listed manufacturers’ claimed ground clearance figures – sourced from the manufacturers themselves and/or industry databases.

In an upcoming article, we’ll look at SUVs from luxury brands.

Sometimes, manufacturers quote a running clearance figure, while other times they quote a ground clearance figure.

Ground clearance is defined in Australian Design Rules as being “the minimum distance to the ground from a point on the underside of the vehicle”, excluding parts like the tyres, wheels, brake backing plates or mudguards.

Running clearance, in contrast, is defined as “the distance from the surface on which an unladen vehicle is standing to the lowest point on the vehicle excluding unsprung mass”.

While they’re sometimes used interchangeably, there’s a distinction between those two definitions – one that’s going to be much more relevant to you if you’re intent on tackling trails and not just tackling the Target car park. As running clearance excludes unsprung mass, it doesn’t take into account components like differentials.

A few millimetres mightn’t sound like much, but if you’re on a rocky trail it can make all the difference.

Light SUVs

Unsurprisingly, the rugged Suzuki Jimny – the only genuine off-roader in this segment – boasts the highest ground clearance at 210mm.

Of the crossovers, the CX-3 has the lowest ground clearance figure of 155mm while the Volkswagen T-Cross has the highest at 185mm.

Small SUVs

The Jeep Compass Trailhawk stands tallest with a 225mm ground clearance figure, though Peugeot quotes 221mm for its 2008 and the Subaru Crosstrek is fractionally behind at 220mm.

The Toyota C-HR, set to be replaced in the first half of 2024, has the lowest ground clearance figure at just 137mm.

Mid-sized SUVs

The Peugeot 5008 has the highest claimed ground clearance figure in this segment at 236mm, just ahead of the Mahindra XUV700 at 229mm and Subaru Forester at 220mm.

The MG HS is the lowest at 145mm.

Large SUVs

The large SUV segment is more diverse than the others, with a mix of car-based crossovers and body-on-frame SUVs that are typically based on a ute platform.

While most of these body-on-frame vehicles have claimed ground clearance comfortably over 200mm, it’s the unibody Jeep Grand Cherokee in Overland and Summit Reserve trims which can offer the most clearance. With their air suspension in the most serious off-road setting, these variants boast 276mm of ground clearance.

The more wagon-like Volkswagen Passat Alltrack has the lowest figure at 173mm.

Upper Large SUVs

The Nissan Patrol has the highest claimed ground clearance in this small segment, with a figure of 273mm.