Acompact sport utility vehicle orcompact SUV is a class of smallsport utility vehicles that is larger thanmini SUVs, but smaller thanmid-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 ofcrossover automobiles andcompact-sized SUVs is that the first is based on a car-basedunibody platform, while an SUV uses the unibody with welded-in ladder frame orbody-on-frame chassis commonly used on trucks.[1] However, manufacturers and common usage has blurred the two terms.[2] 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 amid-size car (D-segment) or aB-segment platform.
The modern compact SUV market segment began in 1983.[3] According to aCar 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."[4]
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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 1982-1994Chevrolet S-10 Blazer and the 1984-1990Ford Bronco II because they are considered compact-sized SUVs that were built on a compact truck chassis.[5] They were marketed alongside theChevrolet K5 Blazer andFord Bronco full-size 4x4 vehicles. The compact two-door 1983Chevrolet S-10 Blazer featuredfour-wheel drive with a four-cylinder engine as standard and Ford brought out the similar Bronco II model.[6] Both werebody-on-frame designs based on each automaker's smallpickup trucks, theChevrolet S-10 andFord Ranger respectively.[7] 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.[8] Both werestation wagon-like vehicles with seating for four adults and an enclosed cargo area with a rearhatchback.
American Motors made the full-sizedJeep Wagoneer (SJ) SUV using a truck chassis, but developed a completely new and slimunibodyJeep Cherokee (XJ) line of two- and four-door compact sport wagons that were marketed starting in late 1983.[9] These are often considered the first compact American four-door sport utility vehicles.[10][11] 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.[12] 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.[13]
According toBob Lutz, an executive at several car companies,American Motors (AMC) "invented an all-new automotive segment—the compact sport utility vehicle" with the original compactJeep Cherokee two- and four-door models.[14] The compact Cherokee's design, appearance, and sales popularity spawned imitators as other automakers noticed that the Jeep XJ models began replacing regular cars.[15] Compact SUVs have become an alternative to the minivans for families who need cargo space.[16] 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.[17] There were over 2.8 million Jeep XJs built in the U.S. between 1984 and 2001.[18] According to a 1995 review by theAmerican Automobile Association, AMC's "clever marketing helped create the present demand for compact sport-utility vehicles."[19]
The Japanese 1988Suzuki Vitara is also considered to be a compact SUV.[20][21]
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