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SUV Crossovers

by Heather

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SUV Crossovers

A Crossover SUV is a vehicle that is derived from a car. However, the characteristics are borrowed from a SUV. It’s also known as a crossover or a crossover utility vehicle (CUV).

Design of Crossover Vehicles

Design features of an SUV that are maintained in a crossover are the all wheel drive capability, high ground clearance, high H-point seating and tall interior packaging. The design characteristics of an automobile that are carried over in a crossover are economy, ride and car like handling. The most crucial point is that a crossover uses the unibody or monocoque construction of a car instead of the construction of the SUV, which is of a body on frame type. The design of the crossover is for just light off road capacity.

Sales of Crossover

Crossover SUV’s were thrown in the limelight in the United States in 2006. In their first year sales of crossovers made up more than half of the total SUV market. In the year 2007, there was an increase of 16 percent in the sales of the crossover market segment. Here, it must be noted that the crossover is one of the segments of the light truck market where domestic brands are led by imported brands. The crossovers have a very strong appeal with baby boomers.

Types of Crossover Vehicles

Crossover sport utility vehicles can be classified into three basic types. The first is compact to mid sized sedan derived crossovers. Some examples of this variety are the BMW X3 or the Lexus RX330.

The second is the station wagon or hatchback derived crossovers. Some examples of this type are the Subaru Forester, Cadillac SRX, Ford Taurus X and Volvo XC90.

The third type is the minivan like vehicles. Some examples of this variety are the Chrysler Pacifica or the Dodge Journey. The large MPV or the European MPV may be broadly similar to the crossover. The vehicles included in this type are Ford S-Max, Renault Koleos, Ford Kuga and VW Golf Plus.

History of Crossovers

A very initial example of a crossover is the Moskvitch 410. This came in the market in 1957. This is a 4WD version of the Moskvitch 402. In 1977, the Lada Niva was launched and in 1980, the appearance of the AMC Eagle took place.

The Eagle blended the moderate off road functionality of the AMC Concord platform and bodywork with a raised ground clearance. Some vehicles which were created before the crossovers, match in their characteristics with the crossovers rather than the SUV. A couple of examples of this type are Subaru Outback and Subaru Forester. If the same ideology is applied, some of the SUVs have the trademark unibody construction of the crossover. An example of this type is the Jeep Cherokee (XJ).

Examples of Building Platforms For Crossovers

The Honda Pilot and Acura MDX Crossovers have the Honda Accord platform. Similarly, the Saturn VUE and the Chevrolet Captiva have the GM Theta platform. The Ford CD2 platform can be seen in case of three crossovers – Mercury Mariner, Mazda Tribute and Ford Escape. The GM Lambda platform is in case of the crossovers Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia.

Crossovers are a logical choice when you’re looking for the advantages of an SUV blended with the features of a car.