CNN names Edge as one of eight great crossovers

[Blue Oval Staff]

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[Roadrunner]

Now here's where the "does this matter?" meter comes in: How many crossovers are on the market right now?

[syrtran]

Now here's where the "does this matter?" meter comes in: How many crossovers are on the market right now?

 

Let's see. The list has the Toyota Rav4, Honda CR-V, Mercury Mariner, Ford Edge, Mazda CX-9, Jeep Patriot, GMC Acadia, and Saturn Vue. You could add the siblings, like this: Acura RDX (based on CR-V), Ford Escape and (eventual) Mazda Tribute (Mariner clones), Lincoln MkX (*)(Edge & CX-9), Dodge Calibur (Patsy -er- Patriot), the Buick thingy (Acadia), and the Chevy Equinox and Pontiac Torrent (Vue).

 

Among the missing are the Subaru Forrester and Outback (the original crossovers)(unless you count the Concord-derived Eagle), the Acura MDX, the Pilot, the Highlander, the Murano and FX, Mercedes M-class, the Hyundai Tuscon/Kia whatever, the Ford Freestyle, the BMW X's, and stretching the definition a little, the Magnum, the PT Cruiser, the Mercedes R-class, and the Pacifica.

 

I've probably forgotten a few, but the list is fairly large as it is, definitely more than eight anyway.

 

 

(*) To me it will always be the Mark Ex, never the stupid EmKayEx.

[Roadrunner]

Answer received -- wow I never knew the crossover market is so big now. This whole market crept up on me, it appears.

 

//Still living in 2002

 

Is the Subaru Outback really a crossover? Really? I consider it a power-wagon.

 

And I guess a lot of cars that used to be considered "pussy SUVs" are now crossovers. I see where this went.

[swenson88]

Answer received -- wow I never knew the crossover market is so big now. This whole market crept up on me, it appears.

 

//Still living in 2002

 

Is the Subaru Outback really a crossover? Really? I consider it a power-wagon.

 

And I guess a lot of cars that used to be considered "pussy SUVs" are now crossovers. I see where this went.

 

I think originally crossover was intended to mean weird half-SUV/half-wagon things like the Pacifica and Freestyle, but then there's the "wimpy" car-based normal-looking SUV's (Pilot, Highlander, upcoming Patriot, Escape, VUE, etc), and then there's the "sporty" car-based SUV's like Murano, Edge, and others. I think the term is getting out of hand. I guess anything that isn't a BOF SUV is a crossover these days, but does that make my 2001 Cherokee a crossover??? It's unit-body, that seems to be a major requirement. There just doesn't seem to be any criteria right now.

[akirby]

Crossover means a car chassis with a SUV body.

[Roadrunner]

Thank you for the succinct description.

 

These wimpy SUVs won't tow sh-t though, so I wonder why people buy them? Posers?

[akirby]

Thank you for the succinct description.

 

These wimpy SUVs won't tow sh-t though, so I wonder why people buy them? Posers?

 

95% of crossover buyers don't tow anything anyway. Most buyers just like the high seating position but want a smoother ride and better fuel mileage and despise minivans (which is why my wife wants one).

[swenson88]

95% of crossover buyers don't tow anything anyway. Most buyers just like the high seating position but want a smoother ride and better fuel mileage and despise minivans (which is why my wife wants one).

 

Yup, you nailed it. CUV's are just in line to take the place of the minivan as the family hauler of the new millenium. 10-15 yrs from now there'll probably be something else. I won't lose any sleep over it.

[pictor]

I tow two boats to Maine in the spring and return them to MA in the fall, I don't need a towing juggernaut. What I do need is something that will take us back and forth to Maine through the summer with all out stuff and still get decent gas milage as a daily commuter. With insurance rates being so high in MA, a three car option doesn't make sense. The CUVs make sense for us.

I plan to replace my Escape (3500 lbs towing capacity) in the spring. The fact that the Freesyle has such a low towing rating has been a big disappointment to me. The four speed/DC3.0 in the 2008 Escape is just plain wrong, it's the same combination I have in my 2001. The Explorer and Exp. will get crappy feul economy in the stop and go type traffic of Metro Boston. The Edge is the leading candidate. I guess you have to have something for everyone.

[iluvford]

Worst CUV= Chevy Equinox. P.O.S.

 

(Sounds like sewing machine)

 

1) The Equinox is built on a Saturn Vue platform and has a push rod engine.

2) 3.4 liters and only 185 hp

3) The Equinox has the same cheesy little console-ette with shifter where it looks like it comes out of the lower dash instead of the floor. Looks low-rent.

4) That Equinox engine is made in China.

[Roadrunner]

95% of crossover buyers don't tow anything anyway. Most buyers just like the high seating position but want a smoother ride and better fuel mileage and despise minivans (which is why my wife wants one).

 

Very interesting.

 

I guess my family just wouldn't be in the market for one. For a car with a high seating position, recommend a 500.

[akirby]

Very interesting.

 

I guess my family just wouldn't be in the market for one. For a car with a high seating position, recommend a 500.

 

Not high enough. We're talking about sitting higher than most cars so that you can see better in traffic. Why they think they need to see better or why they think that makes it safer is beyond me. My wife drives 85 in her Aviator on the interstate and thinks that's perfectly safe but if I take an off ramp marked 35 at 45 even though I could safely do 60 she freaks out and thinks we're about to crash.