2006 Cadillac SRX V8 vs. 2006 Mercedes-Benz R500 vs. 2006 Volv

This is a case of the Smiths versus the Joneses. For the Joneses, the ideal vehicle carries a ton of groceries, hauls friends to the nearest mountain-bike trail, totes the kid and five of his teammates to weekly practice, and perhaps ushers the boss and his wife to dinner and a show. The Joneses need a modern minivan, the most reasoned, well-conceived, and best all-around family vehicle on the planet.

The Smiths, on the other hand, are far more demanding--and better financed. They want the same convenience, plus the all-weather flexibility and confidence of all-wheel drive as well as a high-tech V-8 with over 300 horsepower nestled behind a grille emblem that says, "I can afford the best." A minivan, despite its rationale, just won't do. The Smiths can afford to drive past the minivan lot and into a premium-marque showroom. In fact, for the price of just one of the following V-8 crossovers, the Smiths could afford two minivans.

Case in point: Our Cadillac SRX V8 AWD starts at just under $50,000. The SRX's architecture is based on the CTS sedan. The glass and sheetmetal on the rear converts it into a large wagon; the third-row seats, and AWD system add about 850 pounds. It takes roughly a minute (even with practice) to raise or lower the power-operated acrobatic seatbacks once all the preordained criteria are met. In fact, nifty as it sounds, the third-row seating is hardly suitable for adults and requires a nimble preteen to even land a butt back there. Cadillac must have felt it needed power-operated rear seats, but the aggravation factor hardly seems worth the effort or added $1100 cost (including rear air). The SRX doesn't offer curtain airbags in the third row, as do the Mercedes or Volvo. Couple this with the smallest cargo dimensions of the group, and the SRX feels compromised as a viable crossover/sport tourer/thingy for seven adults.

Unfettered by its defeatable electronic safety nannies, however, the SRX is the most nimble of our contenders, posting the best slalom and skidpad figures. Its ride quality, even without the aid of optional magnetic ride control, led the field by a comfortable and quiet margin. Conversely, the vehicle with the most powerful V-8 in the group at 320 horsepower (also with the best weight-to-power ratio), finished last in acceleration. Equipped as our tester was, the SRX's total came to $56,590. That's a bunch of money to feel inconvenienced by the seating and shortchanged by the cargo and accelerative aspects. Think of the SRX as a comfortable, tall wagon with a third-row seat added as an afterthought.

Also based, if somewhat loosely, on a sedan, the Volvo XC90 gets stretched three ways, adds an all-wheel-drive system, a third row of seats, and hosts an engine not currently available in any other Volvo. Co-developed with Yamaha, this unusual 60-degree V-8 is mounted transversely, unlike the others' 90-degree front/back V-8s.