Compact Sports Utility Vehicles: Blazer/Jimmy/Envoy, Durango, Explorer, Passport/Rodeo, Cherokee, Discovery II, RX300, ML320/430, Mountaineer, Montero Sport, Pathfinder, Bravada, 4Runner
By Bob Storck
This is the fastest growing segment of the market. Fifteen years ago,
the sport utility vehicles on the market could be counted on one hand.
Now there are at least 26 different brands offering varieties of SUVs in
the US.
Toyota, Isuzu, Nissan and Mitsubishi all tried the market in the
mid-80s, then Ford came along with the Explorer, and showed they had the
measure of the buyers with car-like ride and comfort amenities. Suddenly
dealers found that people who were previously bought station wagons now
were buying "trucks." At the beginning of this decade only Jeep and
Range Rover had four doors -- now two-door models are a rarity.
Most buyers are moving from passenger cars, and this is their first
truck. The market exceeded a million units this year, third only behind
mid-size cars and minivans. Most of the compacts are available only six
cylinder engines. The exceptions are the Explorer, Mountaineer, Mercedes
and Range Rover.
The domestics have been growing in sales, while most import figures are
nearly stagnant. Women account for about half of SUV sales. Current
products have had strong involvement from women in their development and
styling.
Ford continues to expand their Explorer variety with a thrifty two-door
Sport. Mitsubishi Montero Sport and Nissan Pathfinder base their new
models on more potent V6s, while Mercedes' ML55 has the 342 hp V8 from
their AMG performance group. Land Rover goes back to the basics with its
spartan Defender II, equally at home in Atlanta or Africa. Infiniti QX4
and Nissan Pathfinder have been revised from the inside out with new
interiors and potent 250 hp engines.
Compact Sports Utility Vehicles
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