[volkman10]

Czechs are going crossover crazy. Skoda plans for 4 S/CUV's

Skoda gears up for the trendy crossovers and 4x4s segment.
SUV #1: a Tiguan-based crossover

1.First up is an SUV unashamedly borrowing the MQB running gear of the new VW Tiguan, unveiled at this week's Frankfurt motor show. It's a 4.7m-long 4x4 ushering in a new wardrobe for Skoda - with slimline, narrower and split headlamps and a tip-toe tall stance.

This car in to arrive late 2016.

2. X4-rivalling coupe

Skoda has designed a more sporting coupe-SUV based off its Tiguan-apeing crossover, with a dramatically sloping roofline and space for just five bodies.

It's researching its launch primarily for China, but admits it could be sold in Europe and the rest of the world if response is strong enough..Expect to see this in 2018.

3.The Yeti Replacement

The charismatic Yeti, a Tonka toy in Czech clothing, is being dumped in favour of a more vanilla SUV, styled as a baby brother to the bigger family SUV detailed above. The two share tech, parts and a remarkably high degree of style.

See the new Yeti in 2018.

4. The Nissan Juke rival proposal

It's a junior crossover to match the Juke and would draw from sister SUVs lined up from Volkswagen and Seat.

This car is still in the planning phase and yet to be green-lighted, but styling sketches indicate it'll be more adventurous than the family-oriented Skoda SUVs. And while they'll all offer 4wd, it'll be front-drive only.

This final crossover addition wouldn't be viable until the end of the decade.


http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/spy-sho...ossover-crazy/

[apachelongbow]

IMO it is pure psychology at play here. Let me explain. After a long time driving SUV (Safari first and Storme later), I happened to drive a sedan (Feista) for two days in city traffic. Believe me it was hard. There is an inherit fear of someone either scraping or denting your doors, bumpers, mirrors, or boot. You can't see very well ahead of you (in dense traffic), and can't anticipate a lane change for example. Nor can you confidently navigate traffic because every left/right turn, lane change you need to be very sure there is no moron waiting to scrape your sides.
A Suvish profile with higher ground clearance, better perch, easier view across all four corners and body cladding, makes it much much easier to navigate dense traffic.
That apart not many dare to bully a full sized SUV, but when driving a sedan, everyone including a bicycle thinks they can get away by bulling the helpless driver.
My experience made me feel that this compact cross over, hatchback on stilts trend is purely the result of drivers who want ease of driving in city traffic, and choose to accept the little shortcoming of higher gc, than for the better driving experience on highways the sedans provide.

[volkman10]

Crossovers / C-SUV's to be dominating the Indian market in coming months. Most manufactures are gearing for their share in this segment.

The new entrants in the MPV-SUV segment - compact SUV Creta and crossover S Cross -- between them have polished off nearly 22,000 units in less than three months

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes...sales/49132438

[Rahul Rao]

@apachelongbow
You summed it up perfectly, when i shifted from Innova to Polo as my daily drive, the smaller size was not a convenience, but actually a hinderance.

Rahul

[mukul32]

Just read this comparison between 4 such CUV's in the USA.
And the point to note there was that they were all called what they essentially are - subcompact crossovers. And having a look at them, just about every single car in that comparo comes with AWD in tow (the Kia Soul doesn't yet, but its coming soon) and have capable motors (the slowest car in the 0-60MPH run takes 9.5s, which is still a tiny bit faster than the hottest budget hatch in our country). Also all of them have far better overall apparent quality and levels of equipment, especially safety. And none looks really bad either, like what the Honda BR-V coming here soon does. The Jeep was actually a proper tough little car, which could tackle a fair bit of rough. Even the Hyundai iX25 is heading to the US in a year, and it is all but confirmed to have AWD and a better engine and all the safety kit that's standard there. And yet, I repeat, they are all referred to as 'subcompact crossovers'. And they are seen as what they are- small cheerful cars that can tackle a bit of rough if the time comes. And given that it is USA, the time does come occasionally. So they are sold and bought for purpose, not show. Nobody makes too much of a fuss about them.

Now, if any of the above cars were to be sold in India, they would be first called and marketed as "Premium Urban SUVs", the AWD would be the first to get kicked out of the spec sheet, then the safety kit, and then the car would be equipped with the most low-cost, underpowered, fuel-efficiency oriented diesel engine available in the manufacturer's stable (which could also possibly be India-specific). If not, the Fiat Multijet would be hired for duty. Then 'luxury' beige interiors would be added, and then ' premium features' such as touchscreen media system, steering controls and the like which are standard equipment in all cars in the West, would be thrown in for convenience, and finally lots of chrome would be splattered wherever there is room on the outside.
And then this "Premium SUV" would be put up for sale with a rather ambitious price tag, and would be lapped up with pride and joy, withstanding long waiting periods by our public who would be upgrading from their trusty hatchbacks, to experience the pride of owning a 'big car' or 'premium car' or an SUV, and to show people that they have arrived.
Further, whichever car stays within its limits, and is not overambitiously branded as an SUV, or doesn't look like a 'big car', or doesn't come with a 'prestigious' badge on top, fails desperately, however fast, high quality or reliable it may be (yes, the S-Cross. Forget waiting periods, this is one Maruti with one lakh rupee discounts within mere months of launch).

That's the reason why the 'Cheapest SUV' in the world comes here and instantly becomes 'premium' or humble little compact crossovers become 'Ultimate SUVs'. No wonder many foreign car makers have spotted the opportunity to make quick money, and suddenly started taking India seriously. Somebody tell them that India is not to be taken seriously. India is to be taken for a ride. (Okay, in the metros, where some people's views have really matured recently, this may not always be the case, but there is a bit of this point of view in everyone out here in India) Whoever takes India seriously is punished miserably by our allegedly sensible and educated market.

[volkman10]

Make way for the Crossovers...err.... Micro Crossovers in India - 2016!

Maruti's Ignis, Datsun's Redi GO, Mahindra's S101 are the start of the Micro -SUV's to rule in 2016.
Apart from that the Crossovers like Vitara Brezza, Nexon is speculated to be the most anticipated launches next year!






http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes...india/49839337

[volkman10]

Indonesia Autmotive Trend 2016: Hatchback Weakens, Crossover Rises!

On 2016, small crossover or SUV, are claimed to become the hot item in the market, either in the car image or the sales number.It still unclear who start this trend before, as some people say that the Toyota and Daihatsu started it with the Rush and Terios, but some of it say that the SX4, and Nissan Juke are the pioneer.

the phenomena of peoples interest towards small SUV/crossover from hatchback are seen from 4-5 years in the past. With a simple reason, indeed the price tag of small SUV/crossover are quite similar as the hatchback, but it came with a slightly better road capability, especially for rough roads found in Indonesia region.

http://autonetmagz.net/indonesia-aut...r-rises/21143/

[volkman10]

Toyota Believes Compact SUV Demand Will Exceed the current Sedan (Camry) by 2020 in US and believes the RAV4 will take the crown.

the RAV4 has recently surpassed the Honda CR-V in the US sales chart. Right now, it’s just the best selling compact SUV, but by 2020, it could become the best-selling vehicle in America if you exclude the F-150.

Compact SUVs, have the comfort of mid-sized sedans, they’ve got competitive fuel economy, they’ve got all the amenities and the price is almost the same

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/to...20-102609.html

[dpkbehera]

Crossover Renaissance

Small utility vehicles might be considered boring by car-obsessive gearheads, but consumers love them and the vehicles have emerged as a major force in the industry since the start of the century, now selling at five times the rate they did in 2000. These small SUVs are selling at a pace of nearly 20 percent growth per month while demand for small and midsize sedans is falling.

“At that time the top-selling utility was the Ford Explorer, mid-sized and built on a truck platform; this year it’s Honda’s compact CR-V,” Stacey Doyle, TrueCar’s senior industry analyst, said in an email. “Consumers prefer smaller, car-based utilities.”

A Nation Of Pickup Truck & SUV Drivers
Demand for small utility vehicles, like the ubiquitous Honda CR-V, is expected to jump nearly 40 percent this month compared to last December as Americans shift to the modern version of the station-wagon. In terms of volume sales, pickup trucks rule as the country's vehicle of choice. The best-selling small SUVs this year include the ubiquitous Toyota RAV4 and Honda's CR-V. The list includes the recently redesigned Nissan Rogue, the Jeep Patriot and Hyundai's Tucson, each of which has seen more than 25 percent growth so far this year.Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to distinguish itself from global markets in demand for full-size pickup trucks, led by Ford’s F-150 and followed by GM's Silverado and Fiat Chrysler’s Ram.

http://www.ibtimes.com/us-new-car-sa...-rogue-2243093

[volkman10]

Hyundai is serious about leading the C/SUV market in India. To be unveiled at the Feb Auto Expo.

At the lower end the 'pseudo' Crossover i20 Active priced lower than the Perfect SUV Creta ( priced ~ 9 lakhs upward)

Now Hyundai will bring another Crossover priced between the Active and Creta .

The car will be front wheel drive, and will share the small car platform which spawns the i20, Active and Creta. It is also likely to share engines with the i20 Active, and the smaller 1.4-litre diesel from the Creta. Expect prices to stay between 7.5 to 10 lakh.

http://auto.ndtv.com/news/exclusive-...y-2016-1263245

[volkman10]

With the booming 'Cross'over/C SUV market in India, Now Ford eyes the same with a Figo Cross!

It depends on how well we execute it. We are looking at it. Indian consumers like the mainstream (products), so they like an Aspire or Figo, but they also like the new (segments). Yeah, the cross (Figo crossover) is an interesting concept

http://indianautosblog.com/2016/01/f...concept-212482

[volkman10]

VW gets serious of the Crossover segment.

Scraps the Taigun and position T Cross as its entry level CUV, buit on the Polo platform. Speculated launch 2018.

T ROC is a bidger SUV based on the Golf platform and will launch in 2017.



http://paultan.org/2016/01/28/volksw...nd-cx-3-rival/

[volkman10]

The subcompact crossover is phenomenal worldwide. This is now inline with what is seen in India too.

It's a statement about the importance automakers are placing on subcompact crossovers, a segment that didn't exist three years ago but in 2015 accounted for a whopping 21 percent of overall U.S. sales growth.

Subcompact crossover sales more than doubled in 2015, to 389,960 vehicles. And that growth is even more significant for the market segments that it's stirring up.

Who are the targeted customers?

One-quarter of the people who purchased one of six subcompact crossovers last year were younger than 45 and without kids, vs. 19 percent for the industry overall

Buyers also are coming from the other end of the spectrum: empty nesters who no longer need bigger crossovers, SUVs and minivans to schlep around their kids

Older folks -

"It's a lot easier for them to get in and out of."

The Strategic Vision poll on the six vehicles shows 54 percent of buyers were female, vs. 39 percent for the industry overall

What segments are they affected?

26 percent of subcompact crossover conquests came from buyers who turned in compact crossovers, downsizing to a Honda HR-V from a CR-V, for example

But the next three biggest categories were cars: 19 percent came from compacts, 11 percent from midsize and 8 percent from subcompact cars. And there are plenty of first-time new-vehicle buyers who are purchasing small crossovers

In USA, GM has enjoyed the segment's rapid growth without the presence of its two biggest rivals, Ford and Toyota. But that won't last.

Toyota is expected to slot the smaller C-HR below its RAV4 crossover this year. And Ford is widely expected to bring to the U.S. a version of its EcoSport small crossover sold in several overseas markets, possibly under a different name

http://www.autonews.com/article/2016...its-sweet-spot

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Is Maruti planning a new segment in India - The MINI Crossover ?

Though Maruti had the Ignis, it is Renault in India who has started the mini crossover look in the entry level segment with the blockbuster KWID.

Maruti Suzuki acknowledges this trend and the would the next Alto could get the SUV like body style.



Hyundai too can't be far behind, rumored to develop the rival to KWid too, code named 'AH'.

http://www.shifting-gears.com/2016/0...on-kwid-rival/

[volkman10]

Compact SUVs emerge the new force disruptor -growing at a faster rate than the sedan and hatchback ones.

Compact SUV sales at 30,000 units in April were nearly half of the 62,000 UVs sold in the same month. All the growth in UVs over last April’s 43,526 units has come from compact SUVs.

http://www.business-standard.com/art...2600500_1.html