Luxury Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs)

Sport utility vehicles were not created with luxury in mind. But oh how that's changed over the decades.

With prices of the top SUVs climbing well over $100,000, the big utility vehicles are no longer the domain of the off-road crowd. Click through our gallery to see some of the top luxury SUVs in the market today.

MSRP: $100,250 - $119,450

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class started life not as a luxury SUV, but as a military vehicle. It launched 30 years ago, originally intended as a military vehicle (even today it doubles as more than just a lux SUV, having served as the Popemobile) at the behest of company shareholder The Shah of Iran.

MSRP: $44,600 - $123,600

The Porsche Cayenne might be considered one of the most sporting luxury SUVs on the market today. After all, in full "Turbo S" form the Cayenne has a top speed of 174 miles per hour and can reach 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.

MSRP: $58,200 - $81,300

The Mercedes-Benz GL-Class is considered a more contemporary version of the rugged G-Class (its smooth looks and unibody construction certainly deliver on that idea). The GL-Class is one of the most luxurious large SUVs you can buy that also comes with a diesel engine (check out the GL320 BlueTEC).

MSRP: $77,675 - $93,325

The Land Rover Range Rover did more than any other vehicle to establish the notion of the "luxury SUV." When Land Rover hit the U.S. market in 1987, Americans weren't quite ready for the rugged, leather-clad vehicles. Perhaps more than any other company, Land Rovers are as comfortable on the trail as they are in a valet circle.

MSRP: $75,855 - $75,855

The hefty Lexus LX570 is a Lexus version of the popular Toyota Land Cruiser, itself an off-road icon. Available indulgences include African Bubinga wood trim, a cooled beverage box and a nav screen big enough for a movie theater.

MSRP: $62,205 - $83,835

The Cadillac Escalade is, for many consumers, the archetypical luxury SUV. Sports figures, movie stars and poseurs alike all drive (or are driven) in the American flagship. Cadillac makes an extended wheelbase version (the ESV) and also a hybrid model as well.

MSRP: $64,755 - $64,755

The Toyota Land Cruiser has to prove its off-road credentials to no one, what with its popularity in the world's least driveable regions since the 1950s. Over the last 15 years, however, the Land Cruiser has become more like a suburban luxury vehicle and less like a rock crawler. Today's "LC" can be optioned with things like a remote starter, backup camera and second-row seat heaters.

MSRP: $63,090 - $63,090

If the Hummer H2 doesn't stir a reaction in you, you probably don't have a pulse. The massive, squared-off American SUV brand began life as a tool of the American military and was eventually bought by GM and turned into line of rugged SUVs. Perhaps in a move to soften its image, the H2 now comes standard with a flex-fuel V-8 engine, meaning it can run on a mixture of ethanol and gasoline.

MSRP: $58,400 - $58,400

The Infiniti FX was one of the first SUVs designed to mimic the look (and perhaps even the roofline and height) of a sports car.

Its sporting pretensions are on full view in the second-generation design, launched last year. The FX comes with an 11-speaker Bose audio system and a backup camera.