The body style wars were bloody, but a clear victor has emerged. Sedans are dead; the crossover reigns supreme. Future generations will sing the praises of Mazda CX-5s and Acura MDXes the way we applaud ‘Speed 6s and Integras. Resistance is futile. But before you’re absorbed into the collective, the overlords will grant you one reprieve. You get to choose the crossover you drive for the rest of your miserable little existence, or perish. No body-on-frame SUVs, no vans, no wagons.
Gun to your head, which crossover would you drive for the rest of your life?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “When a marque dies, do its classics lose their luster or become more legendary?“.
There are no wrong answers for this one, just thoughtful arguments about how history views a defunct marque. BlitzPig said that high end cars like the Toyota 2000GT will persist, but values for normal I-wanted-this-in-high-school cars will decline when those buyers age out. Similarly, MWC70 a noteworthy cars only, Tucker Franxou asserted that if newer generations don’t grow up with a brand, it quickly fades.
Brakeservo offered the opposite take, that sometimes brand death has a positive effect with Bentley as an example where that did not happen. StreetSpirit gave the nuanced argument that it depends if the brand exited in decline or at the top of their game.
The winner this week was KMM In La Plata, who said it depends on the car’s position in the market and whether current generations remember its glory years.
Whether a marque is forgotten or becomes legend depends on the era of the vehicle, its position in the market, or the emotion the marque and models elicit. Why does a marque like Packard, who went defunct 67 years ago, still command a premium in the classic car market? It was prestigious marque owned by the rich and famous including movie starts, royalty–the Emperor of Japan had a fleet of Packards, and the rich and social elite. It lost its cache after World War 2 but still managed to turn out luxury cars before it ended. That resonated with people then and the elegant styling of many of the 1920s and 1930s Packards elicits a response be it emotional or admiration today. Many were also preserved and treated as much more than a daily driver as they were expensive when new.
On the flip side, Mercury was a fading star when it ended production. It was a brand that Ford struggled to define over time (senior Ford or junior Lincoln) and then cannibalized sales with the Thunderbird, the LTD, Eddie Bauer Explorer and Country Squire Wagon. I will take the controversial position that Pontiac was fading when it was shut down in 2009. Yes they had introduced the G8, the Solstice and the G6 convertible but they were struggling to find a postion in the market. Neither of these two brands had produced an aspirational model in a while which lead to declining market share and brand equity. They occupy a different market position than Packard or Stuz so that makes a difference. Both have collectable models–the first Cougar and the GTO and Firebird–but the decline went on too long for. younger generation to carry a torch.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
Pull the trigger.
I refuse to think too much about this, and I can empathize with BlitzPig’s response. But for the sake of my wife, I will chose something rather than perish.
I guess I’ll go with one of the OG crossovers. A 1st gen RAV4 Type G. The Japanese version that came with a BEAMS 3S-GE, I’ll take the 2 door variant and a 5-speed manual.
Gun to the head but yet I can choose the crossover? I love sports cars and hot hatches. You can get top notch performance out of many different CUV’s.
Darn, I guess I’ll have to settle for a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N with its 600 hp. Or maybe a Porsche Macan GTS or even a Tesla Model Y. As far as Japanese marques, the Mazda CX-50 is sharp looking and fun to drive. The current Honda HR-V is pretty sharp looking as well.
Infiniti FX50 Sebastian Vettel Edition.
You get the bones of a 350Z, a 5.0 V8, and a link to F1 World Champion and Nice Guy Seb. Honestly, apart from the fuel consumption it would seem like a liveable daily.
I’m with you. Owned an ‘06 FX45 as a first family hauler, and I quite liked it. If only it had been built to tow, I would have kept it. It felt more solid and mature than my built Forester XT did, plus it offered a sublime V8 burble.
A slammed 60-Series Land Cruiser.
Ford Puma WRC.
Rally proven Suzuki SX4. My partner loves her’s. Fun & the last of the big windows.
“Rest of my life” choice would be very different than “next 3-5 years”. There’s the Chevy Trax which at least doesn’t have a CVT but does have a wet belt low displacement/low pressure turbo that should be a 2.0NA. There’s the last generation Subaru Crosstrek that could still be had with a manual transmission. There’s the Mazda CX-3 where we won’t know if they’ve fixed their rustputation until the current models are about 10 years old…
Well, I think given the current situation in the automotive world (from Nissan’s and rest of Japan’s automotive industry’s road to endgame to Trump tarrifs) therefore as given the title of this post I think / suggest that crossover(s) for the rest of my life (if only future would’ve await) would have been the following shown / listed below. (But however, none of these would resonate much to viewers / people partially outside Europe / UK and places similar to it given the size like Australia.)
1. Renault Captur – shares much (except bodyshell) with Nissan’s Juke and former’s current generation model is also sold as Mitsubishi ASX (only for Europe except UK and Ireland) also Captur is crossover sibling to Clio (aka Lutecia in Japan only) and even Kangoo (light commercial vehicle) but also both Captur and Clio / Lutecia share the same parts with Dacia’s Logan and [Dacia] Duster (which are not even sold in Japan nor rest of the globe either)
2. Peugeot 2008 – another Gallic (French) subcompact front-wheel drive (FWD) crossover which even have siblings courtesy of Citroen (C3 and C4), Jeep (Avenger), Fiat (600), Alfa Romeo (Junior) and as well as Toyota’s ProAce
And that’s all, especially when reading one of the texts here meant that when I saw that it says “sedans are dead”, then I was even deeply curious how not just British English altered the word “sedan” with “saloon” for the same thing “wagon” is instead replaced with “estate”, but also, it was the Britons who’ve helped invent Jeep – before Land Rover (LR) – when the former American division of Austin remodeled the [Austin] 7 that even Nissan and BMW used the latter. (For that Jeep, Ford even had a role in it and so that idea of Jeep started life as British was similar to the Blue Oval with GT as GT40, which was also of British origins.)
For Renault, the Clio / Lutecia and Captur in its home market (Europe) appears to sell more along with its Romanian Dacia siblings and not that of Japanese Nissan (formerly Datsun) there, except Britain where its an irony that Nissan, its Qashqai and Juke (both gave birth from Renault) are selling more on British soil given that United Kingdom is where Nissan historically thrives (and even have connections with it) just as with Renault too even before 1999 (year which saw Subaru helped Renault to acquire Nissan), likewise, even Toyota struggles profoundly in Europe and UK (due to treatment of the marque there as bland, boring and less fun to drive plus the favoritism towards hybrids than diesels which Renault and Peugeot are also known for the latter) while at the same time Honda and other Japanese makes have no or less presence in European and Brit markets so it maybe leaving Renault Group’s Captur (plus its not available in Japan Dacia Duster from Romania) and Peugeot’s 2008 to be a deeply good recommendation… (I hope this these may help either way, but doesn’t matter as long as Renault and Peugeot have the lack of availability elsewhere overseas as I assume…)
I don’t think I’ve thought about it, but I offer an alternative to kick the can down the road (and perhaps some executive will read this), but my choice would be something that doesn’t exist: the Toyota Corolla Station Wagon Gazoo Edition. If we consider practicality with 300 hp engines, a 3-cylinder engine, and an all-wheel drive system in an attractive package, it could be the resurgence of the segment, or perhaps its swan song.
If SUVes counted, I’d get a 4Runner since it would never decrease in value and if I had to replace it with another one I could afford it.
But, I’m going to stretch my answer to the absolute limit of the rules. I’d get a 2009 Outback XT.
Subaru calls the current one an SUV which I feel is a much bigger stretch. So splitting that gap with what is a tarted up version of one of the best looking cars of the 2000s becomes an easy choice. You can pop on Legacy suspension and boom, you’re back to a wagon. You could even theoretically get it with a manual. Perfect choice
If you don’t like it, fine, a 2004 Forester STi.
Gun to my head? I cheat. Subaru Impreza Gravel Express. A GC8C WRX wagon in Outback Trim. A crossover is just a jacked up wagon anyway, so why not go to the source and buy from the people who invented the idea?
Time to finally live my life-long dream of owning a Mitsubishi Eclipse!
cross….
Several good picks already mentioned. While I think the newest 5MT RAV4 would work, I think the subsequent gen with the V6 stuffed in may be the best combo of cheap and reliable speed in that segment.
a Juke Nismo RS would be appropriately bonkers too
Sure i’ll cave but i’m gonna bend the rules to the absolute limit!
Wikipedia told me it’s gotta be unibody, raised ride height and basically a car cosplaying a truck.
well good enough, that means a lot of possibilities are left still.
i’m going AMC Eagle, it scratches quite a few itches i need scratched on wheels.
it’s old, it’s weird and if i find a way to mount pop up headlights on it and some other dumb stuff like a 240rs inspired bunch of mods i think i’ll be good.
come to think of it i just might hop on marketplace!
Well, if I’m going to drive these, might as well drive a nice one. I had thought of an old 5-speed CR-V EX swapped over with an H23A VTEC motor, that’d be pretty fun.
For something modern, I’d get the Mazda CX-90, in the hybrid configuration. I like the exterior design, it looks very graceful, and its curves actual make the big thing look pretty sleek. I think there’s definitely a bit of “Range Rover” in this design, something I found pleasing. The front wheels are literally at the front corners, and the tapered roofline really help with the “stretched” look.
Mazda has created the benchmark with their interior accommodations, and I feel they put a lot of attention to detail with their designs so that the consumers are pleasantly surprised upon these discoveries.
The powertrain is definitely a factor in this decision. Inline6 that’s turbo’d and hybridized; it’s taken some time, but large SUVs can get decent fuel economy nowadays!
So, I’m not a fan of crossovers, but the CX-90 would serve well. I would still make sure the CR-V gets driven when I look to row some gears.