Crossovers went from niche to nearly half the American car market
In 2000 crossovers made up under 4% of the US market; by 2018 nearly 40%. These car-based SUVs are built on a unibody platform rather than a truck frame, trading off-road toughness for comfort and economy, and in early 2023 one of them, the Tesla Model Y, became the world's best-selling vehicle.
The usual dividing line is construction. A traditional SUV mounts its body on a separate frame, like a pickup, while a crossover is built as a single shell, the way ordinary cars are. In practice the line blurs: the 1984 Jeep Cherokee had a unibody yet is rarely called a crossover, many countries simply call both types SUVs, and the US Environmental Protection Agency did not recognise the distinction. In 2005 MotorTrend suggested soft-roader might be a better label.
The AMC Eagle, launched in 1979 before anyone spoke of SUVs or crossovers, now counts as the first dedicated crossover: a unibody passenger car with automatic four-wheel drive and a raised ride height. Some point to the 1977 Matra Rancho, a front-wheel-drive lifestyle vehicle, as an even earlier forerunner. The first Toyota RAV4, released in 1994 on a modified Corolla and Carina platform, is credited with expanding the modern idea.
Crossovers boomed in North America in the 2000s. Fuel rules for light trucks, frozen at 20.7 miles per US gallon since 1996, began tightening by 2005, pump prices climbed, and by 2006 crossovers made up more than half of the US SUV market. In 2014 American sales of compact crossovers overtook mid-size sedans for the first time, and in 2019 nearly one car in four sold there was a compact crossover.
Compared with truck-based SUVs they ride more comfortably, burn less fuel and cost less to build, but tow and handle rough ground less well, and many lack four-wheel drive. Against sedans the penalty is modest: Consumer Reports found the three best-selling US crossovers of 2018 averaged 10% worse fuel economy than the leading mid-size sedans. Small crossovers are especially popular in India, where they took 75% of SUV sales in 2018.
Source: Crossover SUV
