Once again our list of best buys is focused on the cars you are actually buying or seemingly want to buy, if the word from the forecourts is correct. Over the past fortnight we’ve given you our choice of the top electric cars, hybrids and plug-in hybrids for 2023.

[ Best electric cars to buy in 2023, from small run-arounds to executive saloons ]

[ The Irish Times car buyer’s guide for 2023: The best electric hybrids and plug-in hybrids ]

Today we present our choice of the top SUVs and crossovers – and name our overall best buy.

Best small crossover: Dacia Jogger

The Jogger is one of those rare cars that everyone really just should buy. If badge snobbery, and the constant pressure to “buy premium” were eliminated in the morning, we’d all drive one of three cars — this, a Citroen Berlingo, or a Skoda Octavia. And frankly, I think we’d all be a lot happier. The Jogger has its issues of course (the lousy official safety rating for one, although there’s a deeper backstory to that than we can tell here) and a slight sense of tightness of space in the second row. Its party trick, though, is the fact that you can actually fit real, full-size adults (yes, even chubby motoring journalists) in the third-row seats, comfortably. Try doing that in any seven-seat SUV that’s not a Land Rover Defender, and good luck to you. Only one engine option for now, but the 1.0-litre petrol is a game performer and the Jogger has a sharper chassis…