At what point does a vehicle cross the line from SUV to wagon or vice versa? For example, my girl's HHR and my parents PT cruiser say SUV on the titles but I would hardly call anything built on a FWD car chassis an SUV. But, to be fair a 2wd Jeep Cherokee seems more like a wagon than an SUV to me. What do you think?
For me it's more about intended purpose. If it has 4WD or AWD and it's intended to go offroad, even mild offroad, I would consider it an SUV. If it's 2WD and appears made for road only I would call it a wagon. A 2WD Cherokee with street tires seems to be right in the middle to me.
Would you believe our 4runner with 31x10 tires and 4WD registers as a station wagon? The thing has seen more off-road action than I care to admit and it's a wagon. Go figure.
2WD Cherokee is still a SUV. Vehicle was designed as a SUV, so that's what it is, whether it has 4WD or not. Same with things like a 2WD Explorer, like we've got.....
...(excluding the wheel and tire combo....and how freekin low its).. maybe its just my world...but when they get closer to earth...they turn into wagons.. ...and maybe its just my need to build one
Consider also the Chivy/GMC suburbans. There is a guy on our street that has a 2wd Suburban and it's a street driver no off road type rig. It's not slammed/lowered with 42 inch wheels on rubberband tires. It's stock. It's also an SUV. In my opinion, any thing that has truck sheetmetal, ie Suburban, Explorer, Expedition etc is an SUV. If it is car derived, or shares a cars sheetmetal it's a wogon.
Ding, Ding, Ding we have a winner. A Wagon is a car with more cargo space. A SUV is a truck with more cargo space. A car with a truck bed is an El Camino There is also a category for the min truck n min wagon / SUV cross overs but that’s like the difference between a motorcycle and a scooter A KIA = moped
Ok, so what if the vehicle does not have another variation? There is no sedan HHR yet the wagon it's titled as an SUV. The Cherokee DOES have a pickup version (Comanche) so I guess tha answers the question on that particular model, it's an SUV. But, when I think of SUV I always thought that having 4WD was also a defining factor.
Many of the vehicles now marketed as SUV's come primarily as front wheel drive and four wheel drive is an option. We have two FORD Escapes at work. Identical. One is 4wd, one is front wheel drive, no rear axle. I would still consider both SUV's. I think the original vision of a "Sport Utility" was one of being able to take on the mountain trail and then head to the store for groceries. Now with the gas guzzler stigma and the new "cross-over" trend people still like the idea, but rarely put them to their intended use. There isn't a definete distinction, but as a general rule I personaly go by the "what is it bassed on" (truck or car) description.
