If you’re listening to this story while driving, there’s a 50% chance you’re in a crossover or S-U-V. They’re the most popular types of vehicle in America right now since they can haul more but their reputation as off-roaders is getting soiled.
Be glad this is radio so you don’t have to see the CR-V Hybrid Honda loaned us trying to get up a steep dirt hill in Hyde Park Canyon. It is not a pretty sight as it spins its wheels and then backs down in defeat. Its main competitor the Toyota RAV didn’t make it up, either. But we’re guessing you don’t care, and automakers know that now.
When the two were born in the late 90s, in Japan there were micro off-road parks where you could drive them over dirt mounds and play rugged. The CR-V had a foldaway picnic table in its rear floor. They were simpler then, but now have all the bells and screens.
That’s the latest Dodge Durango. The new special editions feature engines and handling more in common with a muscle-car than an off-roader.
And the new Jeep Grand Wagoneer’s promo pics show it parked and driving on nothing not pavement. They brag about its luxury features, not off-road potential. Off-Road capability adds weight and cost, and when you want a rear DVD screen more than a center locking differential, why try to sell you one?
When Motor Trend magazine compared the RAV4 and CR-V head-to-head they didn’t even take them off-road this year.
So instead of dissing the easy-to-live-with Honda for not climbing a dirt hill, we’ll chide it for being late to the hybrid SUV party. But their best-seller is finally here as a hybrid, getting 38 mpg combined. And you might care about that.
