Compact SUV
Encyclopedia
Compact SUV is a class of small sport utility vehicle
s with a length roughly between 4.25 to 4.6 m (167.3 to 181.1 in). This class should not be confused with mini SUV
, which refers to smaller vehicles.
(AMC) invented an all-new automotive segment—the compact sport utility vehicle with the original compact Jeep Cherokee
two- and four-door models.
The modern compact SUV models were introduced in 1983. General Motors released the two-door Chevrolet S-10 Blazer
, a four-wheel drive
wagon with a four-cylinder engine as standard. Mid-year, Ford brought out the Ford Bronco II
. Both models were body-on-frame
designs based on each automaker's small pickup truck
s, the Chevrolet S-10
and Ford Ranger
respectively. Chevrolet's S-10 pickup based baby Blazer came with an all-steel, permanent roof and a top-hinged rear hatch
. The Bronco II's general dimensions, drive train, and cab details were identical to those of the compact truck with differences in the interior only aft of the doors. Both were station wagon
-like vehicles with seating for four adults and an enclosed cargo area, while their similar compact truck versions that would normally fit two and have an open load bed.
The first purpose-designed monocoque
(unibody) compact SUV, and the first with four-doors, was the Jeep Cherokee (XJ)
. It was introduced by American Motors Corporation
in 1983 for the 1984 model year
and was produced almost unchanged through 2001 in the U.S., and 2005 in China. Automobile magazine called it a masterpiece of automotive design with room for five passengers and their cargo.
Although the compact XJ Cherokee shared its name from the full-size SJ
model, it had no true pickup truck heritage, but came in both four and two-door versions that were extremely capable off-road
. While the competing SUVs were adaptations of trucks, Jeep did not sell many pickup trucks so they designed a SUV first; starting with a 4-door version and featuring a very strong, lightweight unibody (monocoque) construction like most passenger cars, as well as with a lightweight "link/coil" suspension design that was praised by the automotive press for its superior ride, performance, and handling.
The compact Cherokee's design, appearance, and sales popularity spawned imitators as other automakers noticed that the Jeep XJ models began replacing regular cars. Compact SUVs have become an alternative to the minivans for families who need cargo space. While almost unchanged since its introduction, Cherokee XJ production continued through 2001 as one of the best-selling compact SUVs in the world.
or small family car automobile platform
. As with crossover SUVs, third-row seating became optional on most models, such as the 2006 Toyota RAV4
and the Mitsubishi Outlander
.
Some current compact SUVs have some features which resemble compact MPV
s and regular hatchback
s, but still offer many of the perks of standard SUVs, like increased towing capacity and ample cargo space; examples of this are the Honda CR-V
, SEAT Altea
, Nissan Qashqai
, and Hyundai Tucson
. Most automakers create new market niche
s by mixing segments with the goal of attracting new customers.
On the other hand, some compact SUVs appear SUV-like and are regarded as smaller-size alternatives to medium-size SUVs in a manufacturer's line. The Ford Escape
, introduced in 2001, is an example of this. Others, such as the Jeep Liberty
have precise handling with independent front suspension and a rack-and-pinion steering setup, but remain purposes built for off-road performance.
Sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...
s with a length roughly between 4.25 to 4.6 m (167.3 to 181.1 in). This class should not be confused with mini SUV
Mini SUV
Mini SUV is a class of small sport utility vehicles with a length under . This class should not be confused with compact SUV, which refers to slightly larger vehicles, from ....
, which refers to smaller vehicles.
Background
According to Bob Lutz, an executive at several car companies, American MotorsAmerican Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...
(AMC) invented an all-new automotive segment—the compact sport utility vehicle with the original compact Jeep Cherokee
Jeep Cherokee (XJ)
The Jeep Cherokee is a unibody compact SUV. It shared the name of the original full-size SJ model, but without a body-on-frame chassis, it set the stage for the modern SUV. Its innovative appearance and sales popularity spawned important imitators as other automakers began to notice that this...
two- and four-door models.
The modern compact SUV models were introduced in 1983. General Motors released the two-door Chevrolet S-10 Blazer
Chevrolet S-10 Blazer
The Chevrolet Blazer and the similar GMC S-15 Jimmy are mid-size SUVs from General Motors. Production began alongside the larger K5 Blazer and Jimmy in 1983 and lasted through 2005. In the United States retail sales after 2004 were limited to two-door Blazer models, all other models being sold...
, a four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
wagon with a four-cylinder engine as standard. Mid-year, Ford brought out the Ford Bronco II
Ford Bronco II
The Ford Bronco II was a compact SUV sold between 1984 and 1990. It was commissioned as a smaller complement to the full-size Bronco as well as to offer a Ford alternative to the Chevrolet S-10 Blazer, Jeep Cherokee , and Toyota 4Runner. The Bronco II was Ford's first compact SUV since the original...
. Both models were body-on-frame
Body-on-frame
Body-on-frame is an automobile construction method. Mounting a separate body to a rigid frame that supports the drivetrain was the original method of building automobiles, and its use continues to this day. The original frames were made of wood , but steel ladder frames became common in the 1930s...
designs based on each automaker's small pickup truck
Pickup truck
A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...
s, the Chevrolet S-10
Chevrolet S-10
The first compact pickup from General Motors was the rebadged Isuzu KB sold since 1972 as the Chevrolet LUV. The 1973 Arab oil embargo forced GM to consider designing a domestically-produced compact pickup truck. As usual, parts from other GM chassis lines were incorporated. The first S-series...
and Ford Ranger
Ford Ranger
The Ford Ranger is a pickup truck produced by the Ford Motor Company. The "Ranger" name had previously been used for a premium styling package on the F-Series full-sized pickup trucks since 1965. The name was moved to this line of North American compact trucks for the 1983 model year.In North...
respectively. Chevrolet's S-10 pickup based baby Blazer came with an all-steel, permanent roof and a top-hinged rear hatch
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
. The Bronco II's general dimensions, drive train, and cab details were identical to those of the compact truck with differences in the interior only aft of the doors. Both were station wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
-like vehicles with seating for four adults and an enclosed cargo area, while their similar compact truck versions that would normally fit two and have an open load bed.
The first purpose-designed monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
(unibody) compact SUV, and the first with four-doors, was the Jeep Cherokee (XJ)
Jeep Cherokee (XJ)
The Jeep Cherokee is a unibody compact SUV. It shared the name of the original full-size SJ model, but without a body-on-frame chassis, it set the stage for the modern SUV. Its innovative appearance and sales popularity spawned important imitators as other automakers began to notice that this...
. It was introduced by American Motors Corporation
American Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...
in 1983 for the 1984 model year
Model year
The model year of a product is a number used worldwide, but with a high level of prominence in North America, to describe approximately when a product was produced, and indicates the coinciding base specification of that product....
and was produced almost unchanged through 2001 in the U.S., and 2005 in China. Automobile magazine called it a masterpiece of automotive design with room for five passengers and their cargo.
Although the compact XJ Cherokee shared its name from the full-size SJ
Jeep Cherokee (SJ)
The SJ series Jeep Cherokee was a full-size SUV produced from 1974 through 1983 by the Jeep division of the American Motors Corporation...
model, it had no true pickup truck heritage, but came in both four and two-door versions that were extremely capable off-road
Off-roading
Off-roading is a term for driving a vehicle on unsurfaced roads or tracks, made of materials such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain.-Off-road vehicle:...
. While the competing SUVs were adaptations of trucks, Jeep did not sell many pickup trucks so they designed a SUV first; starting with a 4-door version and featuring a very strong, lightweight unibody (monocoque) construction like most passenger cars, as well as with a lightweight "link/coil" suspension design that was praised by the automotive press for its superior ride, performance, and handling.
The compact Cherokee's design, appearance, and sales popularity spawned imitators as other automakers noticed that the Jeep XJ models began replacing regular cars. Compact SUVs have become an alternative to the minivans for families who need cargo space. While almost unchanged since its introduction, Cherokee XJ production continued through 2001 as one of the best-selling compact SUVs in the world.
Current models
Most current compact SUVs are crossover SUVs, of monocoque construction and limited off-road capabilities. These models are often derived from a compact carCompact car
A compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...
or small family car automobile platform
Automobile platform
An automobile platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of automobiles, often from different, but related marques...
. As with crossover SUVs, third-row seating became optional on most models, such as the 2006 Toyota RAV4
Toyota RAV4
The Toyota RAV4 is a compact crossover SUV from Toyota. It was the first compact crossover SUV, introduced in Japan and Europe in 1994 and beginning sales in North America in 1996...
and the Mitsubishi Outlander
Mitsubishi Outlander
The Airtrek was first introduced to the Japanese market on June 20, 2001, priced from ¥1.7–2.3 million. It offered a choice of either a 4G63 2.0 L or a 4G64 2.4 L GDI, mated to a standard INVECS-II 4-speed semi-automatic transmission. Both front- and four-wheel drive were available...
.
Some current compact SUVs have some features which resemble compact MPV
Compact MPV
A compact MPV is a car classification used in Europe to describe multi-purpose vehicle versions of small family cars , fitting between the mini MPV and large MPV sub-segments...
s and regular hatchback
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
s, but still offer many of the perks of standard SUVs, like increased towing capacity and ample cargo space; examples of this are the Honda CR-V
Honda CR-V
The Honda CR-V is a compact suv, now called crossover, manufactured since 1995 by Honda. It was loosely derived from the Honda Civic to satisfy a public demand for a sport-utility vehicle from Honda. There are discrepancies as to what "CR-V" stands for, with Honda sources in different markets...
, SEAT Altea
SEAT Altea
The SEAT Altea is a compact MPV produced by Spanish automaker SEAT, S.A. and named after Altea, Spain. The vehicle was designed by the Italian Walter de'Silva and launched in 2004 as the first example of SEAT's new corporate look...
, Nissan Qashqai
Nissan Qashqai
The Nissan Qashqai, known as the Nissan Dualis in Japan and Australia, is a compact crossover SUV produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Nissan since 2007...
, and Hyundai Tucson
Hyundai Tucson
The Hyundai Tucson , or ix35 in Europe, or Hyundai JM in Japan, is a compact crossover SUV built and marketed by the Hyundai Motor Corporation. In Hyundai's lineup, the Tucson fits below the Santa Fe and Veracruz....
. Most automakers create new market niche
Niche market
A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing; therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact...
s by mixing segments with the goal of attracting new customers.
On the other hand, some compact SUVs appear SUV-like and are regarded as smaller-size alternatives to medium-size SUVs in a manufacturer's line. The Ford Escape
Ford Escape
The Ford Escape is a compact SUV sold by the automaker Ford Motor Company introduced in 2000 as a 2001 model year and priced below the Ford Explorer. Although technically it's a crossover vehicle, it is marketed by Ford as part of its traditional SUV lineup rather than its separate crossover lineup...
, introduced in 2001, is an example of this. Others, such as the Jeep Liberty
Jeep Liberty
Inspired by styling from the Dakar and Jeepster concept cars, the Liberty was intended as a replacement for the discontinued Jeep Cherokee . Three trim levels were initially offered; the top end Limited, a more rugged looking Renegade and the base Sport. All were made available with either 2WD or 4WD...
have precise handling with independent front suspension and a rack-and-pinion steering setup, but remain purposes built for off-road performance.