[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by Dr Terry

I agree 100%, not many people realise what the 'S' in SUV stands for.

One of life's great mysteries, what is sporty about a Sports Utility Vehicle.

Dr Terry.

SUV = Sports Utility Vehicle or Suburban Utility Vehicle.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_utility_vehicle

A sport utility vehicle or suburban utility vehicle (SUV) is a vehicle classified as a light truck, but operated as a family vehicle. SUV's are similar to a large station wagon or estate car, though typically featuring tall interior packaging, high H-point seating, high centre of gravity, high ground-clearance and especially four- or all-wheel-drive capability for on- or off-road ability. Some SUVs include the towing capacity of a pickup truck with the passenger-carrying space of a minivan or large sedan.

Popular in the late-1990s and early–mid-2000s, SUVs sales temporarily declined due to high oil prices and a declining economy. The traditional truck-based SUV is gradually being supplanted by the crossover SUV, which uses an automobile platform for lighter weight and better fuel efficiency. By 2010, SUV sales around the world were growing, in spite of high gas prices.......

CUV = Crossover Utility Vehicle or Crossover.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_(automobile)

A crossover or crossover utility vehicle (CUV) is a vehicle built on a car platform and/or combining, in highly variable degrees, features of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) with features from a passenger vehicle, especially those of a station wagon or hatchback.

Using the unibody construction typical of passenger vehicles instead of the body-on-frame platform used in light trucks and the original SUVs, the crossover combines SUV design features such as tall interior packaging, high H-point seating, high centre of gravity, high ground-clearance or all-wheel-drive capability – with design features from an automobile such as a passenger vehicle's platform, independent rear suspension, car-like handling, lighter weight and better fuel economy than trucks or truck-based vehicles.

A crossover may borrow features from a station wagon or hatchback, such as the two-box design of a shared passenger/cargo volume with rear access via a third or fifth door, a lift gate – and flexibility to allow configurations that favour either passenger or cargo volume, e.g., fold-down rear seats.

Crossovers are offered with front wheel drive, rear wheel drive or all-wheel drive configurations. Crossovers are typically designed for only light off-road capability, if any at all.......

Sources indicate the term crossover began as a marketing term, and a 2008CNNMoney article indicated that "many consumers cannot tell the difference between an SUV and a crossover." A January 2008 Wall Street Journal blog article called crossovers "wagons that look like sport utility vehicles, but ride like cars".....

It would seem we need to catch up with the current acronyms