Sport utility vehicle (nonfiction)

Sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a category of motor vehicles that combine elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.

There is no commonly agreed definition of an SUV, and usage varies between countries. Some definitions claim that an SUV must be built on a light truck chassis; however, broader definitions consider any vehicle with off-road design features to be an SUV. Crossover SUV is defined as an SUV built with a unibody construction (as per passenger cars), however in many cases crossovers are simply referred to as SUVs. In some countries—such as the United States—SUVs have been classified as "light trucks", resulting in more lenient regulations compared to passenger cars.

The predecessors to SUVs date back to military and low-volume models from the late 1930s, and the four-wheel drive station wagons and carryalls that began to be introduced in 1949. The 1984 Jeep Cherokee (XJ) is considered to be the first SUV in the modern style. Most SUVs produced today use unibody construction (as per passenger cars); however, in the past many SUVs used body-on-frame construction.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the popularity of SUVs greatly increased, often at the expense of the popularity of large sedans and station wagons. More recently, smaller SUVs, mid-size and crossovers have become increasingly popular. SUVs are currently the world's largest automotive segment and accounted for 36.8% of the world's passenger car market in 2017.

Due diligence

10 Top SUVs for Towing the Largest Loads

When it comes to big-time pulling power, the top suvs for towing offer tons of it, with some able to haul more than 4.5 tons, to be exact. That’s not quite up to the mark of the top full-size pickups, but it is more than enough for a wide variety of campers, boats and trailers, and SUVs further deliver some key benefits that even the best pickups can’t. For example, most of these are full-size sport utilities that feature an extra row of seating as compared to even double-cab pickups, while additionally offering extensive in-cabin storage.

Just note that many of these entries do require special upgrade packages to reach their maximum tow ratings, so the numbers indicated below are for vehicles “when properly equipped”; also, models offering more than one wheelbase choice are still only listed once.

https://www.autobytel.com/sport-utility-vehicles/car-buying-guides/10-top-suvs-for-towing-the-largest-loads-128736/

• 2015 Ford Expedition - backed by the popular and powerful 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, the 2015 Ford Expedition is the heaviest hitter here ....

• 2015 Lincoln Navigator - Ford Motor Company’s other full-size sport-utility vehicle, the 2015 Lincoln Navigator, also stands out as one of the country’s top SUVs for towing.

• 2015 Nissan Armada - the 2015 Nissan Armada technically ties the Lincoln Navigator for second place among the SUVs with the highest tow ratings, thanks to a similar 9,000-lb. limit, but it slips down a spot based on our alphabetical ordering.

• 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe

• 2015 GMC Yukon - a Professional Grade partner to the Tahoe, featuring the same powertrain, a slightly lower 8,500-lb. towing maximum, and a noticeably higher level of refinement.

• 2015 Infiniti QX80

• 2015 Cadillac Escalade

• 2015 Toyota Land Cruiser - The Toyota Land Cruiser has a surprisingly low profile for a vehicle with more than 50 years of off-road heritage behind it, but it also has a high enough towing mark to serve as one of the best SUVs for pulling a trailer: 8,200 lbs.

• 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Sport - The best SUVs for trailering, based on towing grades, could in truth include any of the three Land Rover vehicles: the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and LR4 all post the same maximum tow rating of 7,716 lbs

• 2015 Porsche Cayenne

Fiction cross-reference

• Gnomon algorithm
• Gnomon Chronicles

Nonfiction cross-reference

External links:

• Sport utility vehicle @ Wikipedia