SUV Cars

Tall, high-riding vehicles, from body-on-frame off-roaders to the car-based crossovers that make up most of the category.

213 models

The original sport utility vehicle was a truck with seats. A separate ladder frame, a body bolted on top, low-range gearing and enough ground clearance to make use of it. The Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco and Toyota Land Cruiser FJ are still assembled on that principle. The large majority of vehicles now wearing the badge are not.

What divides them is construction, not size. A crossover takes a car’s unibody structure and raises it; a body-on-frame SUV keeps chassis and body as two separate things. That makes crossovers a subset of this tag rather than a rival to it, and it is why a Toyota RAV4 and a Wrangler share a category while sharing almost nothing mechanically. Manufacturers stopped drawing the line decades ago and market both as SUVs. This tag follows them, and the crossover page carries the distinction for anyone who needs it.

Models

Abarth 600e
EV
Abarth
600e
240 hp333 km WLTPFWD
Aion V
EV
Aion
V
221 hp650 km CLTCFWD
View all 213 models →
Frequently asked questions
What does SUV stand for?
Sport utility vehicle. The phrase came out of the American market in the 1980s to cover trucks sold for private use rather than work, and it stuck long after the trucks turned into cars. It carries no technical definition, which is why it now covers everything from a Wrangler to a small front-wheel-drive car on taller springs.
Do all SUVs have four-wheel drive?
No, and most do not. Front-wheel drive is the standard layout for the majority of SUVs sold, with all-wheel drive offered as an option or reserved for higher trims. Ride height and body shape are what earn the badge, not the drivetrain.
What is a body-on-frame SUV?
One where the body is a separate structure bolted onto a ladder chassis, the way a pickup is built. The frame carries the loads, so the design tolerates towing, heavy off-road work and repeated chassis flex better than a unibody. It also adds weight and raises the floor, which is why almost every SUV sold for road use has abandoned it.
What is a coupe SUV?
A high-riding SUV given a roofline that slopes down to the tailgate rather than running flat to it. The mechanical package is usually unchanged from the standard model. What changes is rear headroom and boot height, both of which drop.
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