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What Does SUV Stand For?

2021 GMC Yukon AT4
Photo Credit: GMC

What Does SUV Stand For?

SUV stands for “Sport Utility Vehicle.” SUVs make up the most popular and fastest-growing segment in the market.

Originally, SUVs were based on pickup truck designs, engineered to offer the sportiness and utility of an off-road truck with the spaciousness of a wagon or minivan.

Today, most SUVs are crossovers — based on cars instead of trucks — designed more for urban driving than off-roading.

1936 Chevrolet Suburban2
1936 Chevrolet Carryall Suburban / Photo credit: GM

SUV History

The term “SUV” was coined in the 1980s, but these versatile vehicles trace their origins back to the 1930s. Known as “depot hacks,” early SUVs were designed to pick people up at train stations. There was no air-conditioning back then, so these depot hacks looked like big, open-air wagons with attached motors. They typically had three rows of seats and plenty of room for travelers and their belongings.

Over the decades, depot hacks evolved into family-friendly station wagons and rugged military vehicles. Chevrolet is credited with designing one of the earliest forebears of the modern SUV when it launched the Carryall Suburban in 1935.

The large footprints and low fuel efficiency of SUVs drew the ire of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the 1970s. The federal agency mandated automakers market SUVs as work vehicles, effectively closing the market to a broad swathe of consumers.

American Motors stepped in to save the SUV, lobbying the EPA to classify its Jeep Cherokee as a truck instead of a work vehicle — and this tweak in phraseology helped birth the modern SUV.

2020 Chevrolet Suburban
2020 Chevrolet Suburban / Photo credit: Chevrolet

The Appeal of Today’s SUV

Today’s SUVs keep pace with consumer preferences, frequently adding new features and capabilities. Today, every automaker – including renowned sports car brands such as Lamborghini, Aston Martin, and Maserati – features at least one SUV in its lineup.

Some models are even faster than sports cars and more powerful than pickup trucks. Some are built as rugged off-roaders; others are designed as practical, city-driving people-movers. Many have good ratings for fuel efficiency, reliability, and safety.

Over the past two decades, SUVs have become an attractive alternative for families who don’t want the station wagon or minivan their parents drove. Family-friendly features include roomy cabins, comfortable seats, and updated safety and infotainment technology.

Today, luxury carmakers such as Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have thriving portfolios of SUVs whose performance rivals their quickest cars. With sleek and sculpted exteriors, these premium SUVs showcase elegant cabins accented with leather upholstery, wood trim, and aluminum. Drivers and passengers can enjoy massaging and ventilated seats, ambient lighting, and reclining and sliding rear seats.

4WD Toyota 4Runner and AWD Toyota Highlander
Toyota 4Runner SUV and Toyota Highlander crossover / Photo credits: Toyota

Crossovers vs. SUVs: What’s the Difference?

Both crossovers and SUVs are roomier and sit higher off the road than a car, and both can accommodate up to eight passengers across three rows of seats. But crossovers and SUVs are constructed differently. Traditional, larger SUVs feature body-on-frame construction, wherein an independent body is joined to a ladder frame. This gives SUVs their truck-like towing and hauling capabilities.

Crossovers, meanwhile, feature unibody architecture, where the body and frame are formed from a single structure. This unibody design means crossovers drive more like the cars with which they share a platform; they’re lighter, safer, and more cost-effective than body-on-frame SUVs.

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