Originally Posted by
farscott
I struggle reconciling the tall center of gravity of SUV designs, the short wheel bases of the smaller ones, and "performance". Of the ones I have driven, the Porsche Cayenne and the Tesla Model X were decent, but both are priced north of your desired range. The Model X was surprisingly nimble, and the low-end torque and lower center of gravity made for a fun-to-drive vehicle. Of course, it has the infrastructure issues of needing to be charged and those stupid doors.
My wife test drove a Macan and hated it due to the limited space for stuff both in the cabin and in the "hatch area". The Explorer ST is a lumbering beast that plows rather than turns. I have no experience with Volvo since they were sold by Ford to the Chinese group Geely. My impression before was the vehicles were very difficult to service, requiring custom tools that mostly only dealers have.