Photo: original image by autoevolution
The crossover is like the swiss army knife of the auto industry. It's good at almost everything and brilliant at nothing, but everybody still wants one. And while there have been some niche ideas that haven't worked, like the MINI Paceman, most have been very successful.
That includes surprisingly average and boring cars, like the Impreza-based Subaru XV Crosstrek. Despite being one of the few Subaru models sold without all-wheel drive as standard, it's proven incredibly successful. Despite not having the heritage of the Outback or Legacy, it was the third-best-selling Subaru in 2014 with over 70,000 deliveries. Another great example of "undeserved success" is the Mercedes GLA. As standard, it's just like a FWD hatchback available with a small engines and built in Hungary, yet a year after its launch, you can almost call it common.
I've seen lots of crossover concepts and production models here at the Geneva Motor Show, so I thought about which ones might become very successful after going into production.
Let's start with a really cool one, which is the SEAT 20V20 Concept. I think it's a really stupid name used to hide the identity of the most important car
the modern history of the company. Production will start in 2016 and all the things that make the Leon cool for young people will be kept. The MQB platform will be shared with the VW Tiguan II, but the design will be much sportier. Triangular LED headlights, bright paint and relatively powerful turbo engines will all be included.
Because it doesn't sell cars overseas, SEAT is basically the poorest of all the VW Group brands, with sales trailing way behind even Skoda or Audi. The crossover SUV will become their cash cow, probably the highest earning vehicle.
While we're in the neighborhood, why not check out Volkswagen and their T-Roc concept. It's a 3-door with is said to enter production some time in 2017. It matches with rumors of a Golf-based SUV coming, but the only problem with the concept is that it has 2 less doors than most people want. That hasn't hurt the Range Rover Evoque, so maybe Volkswagen has the right idea.
Another important debut in Geneva was the Infiniti QX30 Concept. They're basically going to build exactly what you see, but with door handles and smaller wheels. The big news is that Mercedes developed the whole car with minimal input from Nissan using its MFA platform, the same one that underpins the GLA. All this is good news, since Nissan doesn't know how to make a premium crossover or a small turbo engine as well as Mercedes.
A great thing about crossover owners is that they tend to drive more slowly, unlike all those barnstormers with their super-saloons you see up and down the highway. That means a plug-in hybrid drivetrain makes a lot more sense here than it does for an M5 or E63 AMG. That's where Kia comes in with
the Trail'ster concept that was revealed at the 2015 Chicago Auto Show. It's basically a Soul built without budget constraints and we think that makes sense, since that's Kia's most premium small car.
There are a great deal of things they got right with the concept. First of all, it has a much better engine, a 1.6-liter turbo making 185 hp, as opposed to the 164 hp you get from the 2-liter naturally aspirated unit fitted on the Soul 2.0. It's also got one of those folding fabric roofs and it's a hybrid, which makes it "about 25 to 30% more efficient". Nobody is going to complain about that!
Speaking of Korean companies, I think Honda Hyundai is on to something really interesting with the Santa Cruz concept. "Oh, but a pickup isn't a crossover" I hear you say, but that's not true. In fact, it's the definition of a crossover when you base it on a car or SUV, just ask the Subaru Brat or Baja. What they tried to do ith the concept shown at the Detroit Auto Show is blend the popularity of a Santa Fe with that of the F-150 to make the vehicle everybody in America wants. Of course, Hyundai knows nothing about pickup chassis rigidity or V6 diesel engines, but it doesn't need to. This truck is for the millennials, the GenY, which will tune it into a lowrider and but a television in the back.
As everybody knows, the last time Hyundai made a car specifically for young people, the Veloster came out and nobody liked it. But the Santa Cruz is different because the market is real, not that 3-door coupe bull... they tried to pull. The truck has weird doors too, small RX-8 like suicide ones that they should get rid in my opinion – there's no need for them on a $25,000 vehicle.
I usually like to end my coverstories with the worthy mentions. In this case, I have to point at Audi's TTQ, previewed by the TT Offroad concept in 2014. It's definitely going into production and will have more space than a regular coupe, but not as much as the Q3. That doesn't sound right to me, but maybe the Audi fans will like it. There's also the Acura SUV-X concept, Toyota's C-HR and the G-Code from Mercedes.
I've seen lots of crossover concepts and production models here at the Geneva Motor Show, so I thought about which ones might become very successful after going into production.
Let's start with a really cool one, which is the SEAT 20V20 Concept. I think it's a really stupid name used to hide the identity of the most important car
Because it doesn't sell cars overseas, SEAT is basically the poorest of all the VW Group brands, with sales trailing way behind even Skoda or Audi. The crossover SUV will become their cash cow, probably the highest earning vehicle.
A great thing about crossover owners is that they tend to drive more slowly, unlike all those barnstormers with their super-saloons you see up and down the highway. That means a plug-in hybrid drivetrain makes a lot more sense here than it does for an M5 or E63 AMG. That's where Kia comes in with
There are a great deal of things they got right with the concept. First of all, it has a much better engine, a 1.6-liter turbo making 185 hp, as opposed to the 164 hp you get from the 2-liter naturally aspirated unit fitted on the Soul 2.0. It's also got one of those folding fabric roofs and it's a hybrid, which makes it "about 25 to 30% more efficient". Nobody is going to complain about that!
As everybody knows, the last time Hyundai made a car specifically for young people, the Veloster came out and nobody liked it. But the Santa Cruz is different because the market is real, not that 3-door coupe bull... they tried to pull. The truck has weird doors too, small RX-8 like suicide ones that they should get rid in my opinion – there's no need for them on a $25,000 vehicle.
I usually like to end my coverstories with the worthy mentions. In this case, I have to point at Audi's TTQ, previewed by the TT Offroad concept in 2014. It's definitely going into production and will have more space than a regular coupe, but not as much as the Q3. That doesn't sound right to me, but maybe the Audi fans will like it. There's also the Acura SUV-X concept, Toyota's C-HR and the G-Code from Mercedes.
Google News