Compact sport utility vehicle

{{Short description|Type of SUV sized between a mini SUV and a mid-size SUV}} {{see also|Compact crossover SUV}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2019}} [[File:99-01 Suzuki Grand Vitara.jpg|thumb|Suzuki Escudo/Vitara 4-door (1998–2005)]]

A '''compact sport utility vehicle''' or '''compact SUV''' is a class of small sport utility vehicles that is larger than mini SUVs, but smaller than mid-size SUVs. However, there is no official definition of the size or dimensions for this market segment. Moreover, some manufacturers have marketed the same model name on different sized vehicles over time. The most common distinction between versions of crossover automobiles and compact-sized SUVs is that the first is based on a car-based unibody platform, while an SUV uses the unibody with welded-in ladder frame or body-on-frame chassis commonly used on trucks.<ref>{{cite web |last=DeMuro |first=Doug |title=SUV vs. Crossover: What's the Difference? |url= https://www.autotrader.com/car-shopping/suv-vs-crossover-whats-difference-215843 |publisher=Autotrader |date=July 2019 |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref> However, manufacturers and common usage has blurred the two terms.<ref>{{cite web |last=Loveday |first=Steven |title=SUVs vs. Crossovers: What's the Difference? |url= https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/best-cars-blog/2016/09/suvs-vs-crossovers-whats-the-difference |publisher=U.S. News and & World Report |date=September 21, 2016 |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref> Many recent vehicles labelled as compact SUVs are technically compact crossovers and are built on the platform of a compact/C-segment passenger car, while some models may be based on a mid-size car (D-segment) or a B-segment platform.

The modern compact SUV market segment began in 1983.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Jorgensen |editor-first=Janice |title=Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands: Durable goods, Volume 3 |year=1994 |publisher=St. James Press |isbn=9781558623385 |pages=252–253 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y10RAQAAMAAJ&q=The+birth+of+compact+sport+utility+market |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref> According to a Car and Driver review in 2019, the compact crossover and SUV market segment is popular because the vehicles "are right-sized, right-priced, and blend carlike refinement with a touch of utility."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stoklosa |first1=Alexander |title=Every 2019 Compact Crossover SUV Ranked from Worst to Best |url= https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g15380025/best-small-compact-suv-truck/ |publisher=Car and Driver |access-date=September 26, 2019 |date=May 15, 2019}}</ref>

== Background ==

Small-sized utility-type vehicles have been available since the advent of the first automobiles. The modern use of the "compact sport utility" category can be traced in the United States marketplace to the 1982-1994 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer and the 1984-1990 Ford Bronco II because they are considered compact-sized SUVs that were built on a compact truck chassis.<ref name="KingofHill">{{cite journal |first1=Jim |last1=Dunne |author-link1=Jim Dunne (automotive spy photographer) |last2=Keebler |first2=Jack |title=Compact four-wheel drives: Who's King of the Hill? |journal=Popular Science |date=January 1984 |volume=224 |issue=1 |pages=26, 28, 32, 34 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=eAAAAAAAMBAJ&q=newly+designed+Jeep+stand+up+to+the+more-seasoned+Bronco+II+and+S-10+Blazer+in+almost+every+category,+and+even+outperform+them+in+a+couple&pg=PA34 |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref> They were marketed alongside the Chevrolet K5 Blazer and Ford Bronco full-size 4x4 vehicles. The compact two-door 1983 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer featured four-wheel drive with a four-cylinder engine as standard and Ford brought out the similar Bronco II model.<ref>{{cite book|last=Foster |first=Patrick R. |title=The Story of Jeep |year=2004 |publisher=Krause Publications |isbn=9780873497350 |page=187}}</ref> Both were body-on-frame designs based on each automaker's small pickup trucks, the Chevrolet S-10 and Ford Ranger respectively.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Popular Science |volume=220 |issue=6 |title='83 Preview |first=Jim |last=Dunne |page=67 |date=June 1982}}</ref> The 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.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Popular Science |volume=222 |issue=5 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vn0-Z6cLphgC&q=Bronco+II+is+the+utility+four-wheel-+drive+version+of+Ford's+Ranger+pickup.+Its+general+dimensions,+drive+train&pg=PA85 |title=Ford's new off-road compact Bronco II |first=Jim |last=Dunne |page=85|date=May 1983 |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref> Both were station wagon-like vehicles with seating for four adults and an enclosed cargo area with a rear hatchback.

American Motors made the full-sized Jeep Wagoneer (SJ) SUV using a truck chassis, but developed a completely new and slim unibody Jeep Cherokee (XJ) line of two- and four-door compact sport wagons that were marketed starting in late 1983.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dunne |first=Jim |title=PS 4,000-mile test Mini-Jeep |journal=Popular Science |date=January 1984 |volume=224 |issue=1 |page=22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eAAAAAAAMBAJ&q=PS+4,000-mile+test+Mini-Jeep&pg=PA28 |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref> These are often considered the first compact American four-door sport utility vehicles.<ref>{{cite book |last=Statham |first=Steve |title=Jeep Color History |date=1999 |publisher=MotorBooks International |isbn=9781610590556 |page=112 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dR3wmKlfnrMC&q=It+was+the+first+compact+American+four-+door+sport+utility+vehicle,+and+was+the+top+seller+in+its+class&pg=PA112 |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Foster |first=Patrick R. |title=The Story of Jeep |year=2004 |publisher=Krause Publications |isbn=9780873497350 |page=246}}</ref> While the competing SUVs were adaptations of compact pickup trucks, Jeep did not have one, so they designed an SUV first; starting with a four-door version and featuring a very strong, lightweight unibody 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.<ref>{{cite web|first=Evan |last=Boberg |title=History of the Jeep Liberty |url= http://www.allpar.com/model/jeep/liberty-history.html |publisher=allpar.com |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref> The original Jeep XJ combined a passenger car comfort with a rugged chassis for ease of driving in difficult conditions, and established the modern SUV market segment. ''Automobile'' magazine called it a "masterpiece" of automotive design with room for five passengers and their cargo.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/20_greatest_cars/0604_jeep_cherokee/|first=Robert|last=Cumberford|title=20 greatest cars|journal=Automobile Magazine|quote=Great designs never grow old, a truth no better confirmed than by designer Dick Teague's masterpiece, the Jeep Cherokee. Possibly the best SUV shape of all time, it is the paradigmatic model to which other designers have since aspired|date=April 2009|access-date=September 26, 2019|archive-date=January 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118013709/http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/20_greatest_cars/0604_jeep_cherokee/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to Bob Lutz, an executive at several car companies, American Motors (AMC) "invented an all-new automotive segment—the compact sport utility vehicle" with the original compact Jeep Cherokee two- and four-door models.<ref>{{cite book|title=Guts: 8 laws of business from one of the most innovative Business Leaders of Our Time |page=83 |first=Robert A. |last=Lutz |year=2003 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=9780471463221}}</ref> The compact Cherokee's design, appearance, and sales popularity spawned imitators as other automakers noticed that the Jeep XJ models began replacing regular cars.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bradsher |first=Keith |title=High and Mighty: SUVs - the World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way |publisher=PublicAffairs |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-58648-123-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/highmightysuvs00brad/page/41 41] |url=https://archive.org/details/highmightysuvs00brad/page/41 }}</ref> Compact SUVs have become an alternative to the minivans for families who need cargo space.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Power report: Volume 20 |year=1998 |publisher=J.D. Power and Associates |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=oT9PAAAAMAAJ&q=Compact+SUVs+have+become+an+alternative+to+mini+vans+for+families+who+need+cargo+space |chapter=At a Glance: competition between the segments |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref> While almost unchanged since its introduction, Cherokee XJ production continued through 2005 in China, and was one of the best-selling compact SUVs in the world.<ref>{{cite book|last=Foster |first=Patrick R. |title=The Story of Jeep |year=2004 |publisher=Krause Publications |isbn=9780873497350 |page=242}}</ref> There were over 2.8 million Jeep XJs built in the U.S. between 1984 and 2001.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2mEBgAAQBAJ&q=2.8+million+Jeep+Cherokees+produced+between+1984+and+2001,+the+XJ+was+one+of+the+most+popular+SUVs+ever+made&pg=PA9 |page=9 |title=Jeep Cherokee XJ Performance Upgrades: 1984-2001 |edition=Revised |first=Eric |last=Zappe |isbn=9781613251768 |publisher=CarTech |year=2015 |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref> According to a 1995 review by the American Automobile Association, AMC's "clever marketing helped create the present demand for compact sport-utility vehicles."<ref>{{cite book |title=AAA Autotest 1996 |date=1995 |publisher=American Automobile Association (AAA) |page=161 |isbn=9781562511838 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bLlZAAAAYAAJ&q=The+Cherokee+was+the+first+compact+4-+door+sport-utility+wagon,+and+its+clever+marketing+helped+create+the+present+demand+for+compact+sport-utility+vehicles+(SUVs) |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref>

=== Japan === The Japanese 1988 Suzuki Vitara is also considered to be a compact SUV.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mathioudakis |first1=Byron |title=Forester for the trees |journal=Wheels Magazine |issue=November 2018 |page=87}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Suzuki Vitara: Everything You Need To Know About All-Grip |url= https://www.pakwheels.com/blog/suzuki-vitara-all-you-need-to-know-about-all-grip/ |website=www.pakwheels.com |access-date=8 December 2018 |date=13 January 2017}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

Category:Compact sport utility vehicles Category:Mini sport utility vehicles

it:Sport Utility Vehicle#Compact SUV