Automobile phrases will be complicated, and so as to add to that, in addition they are inclined to evolve and alter over time. Amongst sport utility autos (SUVs), you’ve a number of footprints that vary from subcompact to full-size, two-row, three-row, and do not even get us began with “coupe-like” SUVs. One time period you hear which will appear a bit nebulous is “crossover” or “crossover SUV,” typically shortened to “CUV.”
So what precisely is a crossover, and what units it aside from conventional SUVs? Crossovers use a unibody platform, whereas conventional SUVs are body-on-frame.
Many early SUVs, such because the Toyota 4Runner, have been constructed on current pickup truck platforms. These platforms, often known as body-on-frame, begin with a sturdy ladder body to which the engine, drivetrain and suspension are bolted. The passenger compartment and physique are then affixed to the body. As SUVs exploded in reputation, carmakers made the shift away from body-on-frame truck bases to unibody building, which has been the norm for passenger automobiles for many years. There are nonetheless a number of body-on-frame SUVs nonetheless being produced, together with the Cadillac Escalade, associated Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe, Jeep Wagoneer and Wrangler, Toyota Sequoia, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator.
The Toyota 4Runner is a body-on-frame SUV.
Unibody automobiles lack the sturdy underlying ladder body and as an alternative use the physique and chassis collectively as harassed members. This swap got here with many advantages, together with a extra comfy experience high quality, a quieter cabin, lighter weight and improved gas economic system. On the draw back, most unibody SUVs could not match their truck-based rivals when it got here to towing or off-roading. After all, there are all the time exceptions because the all-terrain-capable Land Rover Defender is now a unibody SUV.
The time period “crossover” started to take maintain within the late Nineties as some current unibody sedan platforms have been being repurposed for SUV obligation. One of many earliest was the Lexus RX, which altered the construction of the prevailing Lexus ES, and Toyota Avalon and Camry. Along with the aforementioned advantages of going to a unibody platform, carmakers additionally save fairly a little bit of improvement cash in comparison with the prices of growing new autos and engines from scratch.
The Lexus RX is a unibody crossover.
Within the a long time since, the crossover time period has misplaced a lot of its unique which means, although in some instances it nonetheless applies. These days, it is used informally on most smaller SUVs, whether or not or not it is based mostly on a passenger automotive. Take Ford and GM for instance. Neither produces a sedan to base an SUV off of, however you are still more likely to hear “crossover” in a dealership or informal dialog, however much less so in official communications or advertisements. With the rise of electrical autos which can be constructed upon a skateboard-like platform, the traces will blur even additional.
You would not be technically flawed for correcting somebody’s misuse of the phrase “crossover”, however contemplating how generic the time period has develop into, you’ll probably be thought of annoyingly pedantic, so use this data responsibly.