Sport wagon

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

Using unibody construction typical of passenger vehicles instead of the body-on-frame design of light trucks and the original SUVs, the crossover combines SUV features – such as a tall interior, high H-point seating, high ground-clearance, and AWD – with those of an automobile – including independent rear suspension, car-like handling, and 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 and cargo volume with rear access via a third or fifth door, a liftgate – and flexibility to allow configurations that favor either passenger or cargo volume, e.g., fold-down rear seats.

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

The term "crossover" ermerged as a marketing tool. A 2008 CNNMoney 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."

Among the earliest ancestors of what evolved into the modern crossover was the 1948 Willys-Overland Jeepster convertible coupe, which combined car-like features with Willys' proven off-road capabilities. In 1955, the Russian GAZ-M20 Pobeda was modified into the M-72 version to become the first unibody all-wheel drive car. A concept car using a Jeep Wagoneer (SJ) drivetrain was designed in Greece as a luxury limousine and four vehicles were made by Neorion. The Russian off-road Vaz 2121 Niva was introduced in 1976 featuring a unibody body and some mechanical components from the VAZ-2101 compact sedan, the Fiat 124-based Lada, and it saw success as a vehicle "best described as agricultural." Another contender before the crossover description became common was the 1977 Matra Rancho.

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Wikipedia