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Media post: What is a crossover?

Chevrolet Trax. Picture courtesy of largus.fr

We all know what a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) is. It’s a large-ish, four door vehicle with a steel frame and four wheel drive. A decade or so ago, an SUV was something like a Chevy Suburban or Tahoe. They were the car of choice for those that needed lots of room and the ability to go just about anywhere. Soon, however, the world’s automakers realized that the public wanted this type of vehicle but not quite so big. The big ones were great for hauling the entire soccer team to practice but a little too much for your average family. Besides, the big SUVs were horrible on gas. The result was that the car manufacturers started to make SUVs smaller, more fuel efficient and far sleeker looking. These smaller SUVs became very popular.

Then a new type of vehicle appeared: crossovers. Crossovers looked just like the small SUVs and had four wheel drive or All Wheel Drive (AWD) systems. It wasn’t long before most people were confused. What exactly is a crossover and how does it differ from a SUV? As it turns out, few people knew the difference because the term came from automobile marketing departments and it wasn’t defined very well. That was a decade or so ago.

Today, the term is common and the sales staff at Watters in Indianola, IA, a full-service Buick GMC dealership, gave us this definition: “Crossovers are vehicles that are styled to look like SUVs, but are really just passenger cars.” A more useful technical distinction involves the construction of the vehicle. First, SUVs are built on steel frames. These frames and attached drivetrains are very similar to what is used on light-duty truck platforms. As a result, SUVs are heavy, rugged vehicles. Crossovers, on the other hand, are built on unibody platforms – like most regular cars are, i.e. they don’t have steel frames. As a result, crossovers are smaller, lighter vehicles.

From a marketing viewpoint, crossovers still offer many of the appealing qualities of an SUV, such as high visibility, and large cargo capacities. Those qualities combined with the looks of SUVs, All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) and good fuel economy make them appealing vehicles. What you don’t get with a crossover is the heavier weight and steel frame construction of an SUV that allows big towing capacity and off-road capability.

And they are popular. Crossovers are a huge force in the car business today. They have become so popular that they have officially overthrown minivans as the standard family vehicle. Just look at the statistics: last year, 2.7 million crossovers were sold compared to just 471,000 minivans. That’s a 5:1 ratio. The reason? Crossover styling is sportier and appeals to a broader consumer base. So if you are looking for a 4×4 or AWD vehicle, you have the option of either a SUVs or Crossover. At least now, you know what the actual difference between the two platforms is.

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