[suneel]

Can't make a boxy thread without one of the longtime flag bearers!

[Bibendum90949]

The list wouldn't be complete with this icon too. I've always loved cars with boxy designs.







From another thread

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

* Clean , Sharp , Simple and Straight Line designs(Loved and still loves Old Octavia , Laura , Vento , Polo , Omni , Gypsy , The 1st gen Honda City, Bolero , Pajero , X3 , X5 .Never liked the so called fluidic designs of Hyundai viz; Verna , i 20 and then Toyota 's Altis , Etios and Hondas)

Incidentally most of the aforesaid cars still look pleasing to the eyes as against the over styled ones in the corresponding era.I still look in awe and even drive behind the old Octavia 's and all of them aged so well

[TrackDay]

If one were to go by a strict rule to identify box shape SUV's the list would end at the Wrangler, Thar, Jimny, G wagon, Defender and a handful of others. But if we were to widen our perspective, we can certainly notice elements of boxiness here and there.


How can we skip the Duster. That was an everyday boxy ! Also needless to say all American pickup trucks and big SUV's have a squarish profile. The FJ cruiser and LC pickup also qualify.


The Volvo XC 90 also gives a slight boxy vibe. The rest the Pallisade, Telluride and Navigator also give a similar feeling.


Now you have to carefully look for this one. With the English Cullinan and Bentayga, it is the front that has a sense of boxiness, whereas with the German, the X7 and GLS has a slightly boxy rear.


It is obvious Dwayne Johnson gets only the Armageddon style SUV's in the franchise. But then he is the Cavalry! There is a market for such SUV's in the US for folks who anticipate the end of the World.


The upcoming Hummer and Landcruiser are signs that boxiness is here to stay


Apparently the The Karlmann King turns up as the World's most expensive SUV on most searches and it too is a bit boxy
https://blog.dupontregistry.com/deal...karlmann-king/
https://www.karlmannking.com/

[gkveda]

How come the king of successful cars, Toyota Qualis, is still not remembered by any one. This was one car which received maximum number of critics for its boxy design, but because of its quality and toyota service, (thus the name Qualis) it saw the biggest success of the decade.

Even today we can see Qualis cars that have run more than 10 Lakhs kms on the roads and drivers are confident to take them for long trips without looking at what is inside bonnet or service due dates.

[nuew]

Enzo Ferrari's famous quote is quite understandable considering the development of internal combustion engine was nowhere at its peak during the era. Cars weren't doing the speeds that are capable of doing now and aerodynamics wasn't as well understood. There were no strict emission norms too. But now, we have a much better understanding of the importance of aerodynamics especially at the speeds the supercars and hypercars are capable of doing now. Even Ferrari is in pursuit of achieving the lowest drag co-efficient possible along with increased downforce. It has reached a point where active aerodynamics is inevitable for hypercars.

As we move towards EVs, the need for better aerodynamics is understandable as bigger batteries aren't the only solution for achieving better range. But due to the conditioning over decades, most aren't open to accepting designs that are more efficiently engineered ones. Tesla had opted for designs that are more closer to conventional cars because Elon Musk understood that futuristic designs may not be appealing to the larger crowd as previous such designs had proved. The polarizing opinions on the Cybertruck had proved that as well.

Majority of what we call as SUVs now doesn't really conform to what the segment was built for at it's inception. The appeal of the most of the current SUVs are the road presence, sense of security, the high seating position that feeds the ego along with increased visibility, ground clearance etc. Most of them never see true off-road conditions and many of them don’t even have four wheels drive even as an option. Many of the current SUVs are capable of doing speeds that the sports cars of Enzo’s era were doing and that makes aerodynamics relevant.

There are commonly held ideas about what appeals to each gender. Boxy and squarish designs are found to be associated with masculinity and it is often applied to products that targets at each gender. The words brawny and butch are usually associated to SUVs and muscle cars whereas beauty, appeal, desirability etc. are associated with sports cars. As we understand more and more of the evolution of human psyche, the lines that differentiate gender preferences are getting blurred as well. Over time, efficient designs and engineering choices may get preference over pure aesthetics that conform to the generally accepted design stereotypes. But as things stand, that time doesn't seem to be now.

[TaurusSHO]

The Bollinger B1. It's from a US based EV start-up that has taken a very utilitarian approach to EVs.
Nobody, at first glance, will think this is an EV.

[Vikram Arya]

I somehow always had an affinity for the body on frame SUV/4X4 platforms.

Some of my favorites SUVs are featured below though most of them are a bit long in the tooth except for the Ineos Grenadier.

In today's crowded market full of overly contoured crossovers/raised cars on stilts masquerading as SUVs, these vehicles stand out and you would have no problem in locating these in a crowded parking lot.



Ineos Grenadier



Lexus GX 460



Landcruiser Prado



Toyota 4 Runner TRD Pro

[BusyBoyKK]

SUVs were synonymous with boxy designs and they looked rad. A few that aren't mentioned yet.


Boxy cousins Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade.
Especially Telluride looks awesome. Giving L/R Rover vibe.
2022 Nissan Pathfinder is back into the boxy design world from being a mini-vani'ish look until now.

[sydras]

When I hearken back to days past, I recall having the best of times with family in a vehicle like the Tata Safari or Tata Sierra/Estate on road trips.

For most of the Indian middle class of a decade and a half ago or so, the humble Wagon-R was such a vehicle in which great times could be had with the family on road trips. The large glass area and roomy cabin allowed for wondrous sightseeing along with stellar visibility.

For those who could afford it, I'm sure they can recall similar experiences in a Suzuki Grand Vitara/Nissan X-Trail/Mitsubishi Pajero or even a Chevrolet Captiva or a Ford Fusion.

People movers like the Tata Sumo, Chevrolet Tavera and possibly the Toyota Qualis were a bit crude but were on par for the sightseeing experience.

I do not get the current trend of auto manufacturers simply following the trend of churning out soulless, pseudo SUVs and cars with garish, oversized front grills, taillights jutting out freakishly and for no good reason, useless features like touch controls instead of actual buttons, e-parking brake and push button start(ok..maybe this goes well with keyless entry) and a tiny glass to body ratio with claustrophobic interiors. I was recently shocked to note that a Jaguar F-Pace actually has a smaller rear windscreen than an Alto!! What's the point of dropping that much cash on such a big car only to get a feeling of a small car on the inside? Beats me.

If you ask me, in today's world a butch, American SUV with an automatic would be pure Auto Nirvana for both driver and family. Maybe we need to downsize large SUVs a bit keeping our road widths and parking areas in mind but the best things in life, the open road, the sun, sand, beaches and sights are free for everyone to experience and looking back, I can truly say that they can be experienced best in a good, boxy car or SUV.

[Sanjunair5]

But my question is - had boxy SUVs gone anywhere?

All the American nameplates in this thread (Hummer, Bronco, Land Cruiser) and some not mentioned (Escalade, Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, Ford Explorer, Expedition) were always boxy and continue to be boxy.

Ofcourse there were also the more curvy, less boxy designs that like the CR-V, Murano, Tucson that continue to be more curvy and less boxy. I would go further and say that Honda's SUVs (CR-V, Pilot, Passport, Ridgeline) started off as very boxy and evolved into more curvy form factors of now. Possibly the same for Nissan too. The Pathfinder and Armadas are curvier than their earlier generations. And the real boxy one they had in their line up - Xterra - has been discontinued.

So, sorry to sound not keeping with the spirit of the thread, but to me it is not a 'comeback', but two design schools existing together.

[clementw]

The Sumo was a box and the shape was utilitarian and grew on us. If the intent is to make a simple people mover then utility and space will outweigh the aesthetics. Box rules over curves IMO.

[Ravi Parwan]

How come no one mentioned the Maruti Gypsy? the original bad boy of Boxy?

[tushky]

Originally Posted by Ravi Parwan

How come no one mentioned the Maruti Gypsy? the original bad boy of Boxy?

Because this thread is about ALL NEW current generation boxy vehicles. Gypsy is pretty old now and it is from the era when all SUVs were boxy.

[SansGT]

Oh I love boxy design, especially if the same has a SUV tag associated with it. One of the major factors which drove me to get the XUV300 is its conventional boxy design. I feel it is much better and cleaner than quirky styling.

[Latheesh]

I would like to see shorter wheel base 5 seater HEXA. It can transform from MUV look to proper boxy SUV.