Compact SUVs Taking Over City Streets

SUVs have always been popular in America’s car market, but these days a new type of SUV is taking over. Compact SUVs, which are often called compact crossovers, have enjoyed a surge of popularity all over the country, but especially in cities. Why are compact SUVs so popular?

Popular models of compact SUVs include the Hyundai Venue, Nissan Kicks, Mazda CX-30, and Chevy Trailblazer. These SUVs have a lot in common, including a four-door layout, higher ride height vs. a car, and supreme maneuverability.

Cabin Room and Cargo Space

Despite their small size, compact SUVs are extremely roomy inside. Many offer nearly as much room as a mid-size SUV and much more storage than most cars. The Hyundai Venue is an excellent example of this with 19 cubic feet of room behind the rear seats and as much as 32 cubic feet of space when you fold the seats down. Other compact SUVs with tons of room and storage include the Toyota RAV-4 and Honda CR-V, but both of these are a bit bigger than the Venue overall.

Compare this to a popular sedan like a Honda Accord, which only manages about 15 cubic feet of trunk space, and you can’t fold flat the rear seats to gain more space. Cabin space in a compact SUV also tends to be better with more leg and headroom.

Fuel Economy

Full-size SUVs might be great for things like towing and hauling a whole raft of passengers, but what if you’re just a single driver in the city? Fuel economy is likely more important to you in this case. If you want great fuel economy but you also want the versatility, high ride profile, and cargo room of an SUV, that’s where compact SUVs are perfect.

For example, the Hyundai Venue gives you 30 MPG in city driving and 34 MPG on the highway. The Nissan Kicks provides similar gas mileage with about 33 MPG combined. Even the Mazda CX-30 with its more powerful than average engine delivers 31 MPG on the highway and 24 MPG in the city. Larger SUVs typically deliver only around 20 MPG in the city.

Affordable, Versatile and Maneuverable

Compact SUVs occupy a special space where they can perform like cars in many areas while still offering the additional versatility of a regular SUV. It’s not surprising that many large SUVs aren’t that great in city driving. They don’t get great gas mileage at slow stop and go speeds, they can be hard to maneuver, and they’re unlikely to fit in most compact parking spaces. A compact SUV meets all these conditions.

However, compact SUVs also easily stand up to cars by offering more versatility in bad weather with better outward visibility, often-standard AWD systems, and a higher ride profile. The other great thing is that they’re extremely affordable. Large SUVs can start at upwards of $50,000. A compact SUV like the Hyundai Venue starts under $19,000, which is comparable to many popular sedans while offering a lot more.

Considering everything the compact SUV segment has to offer, it’s no wonder they’re taking over city streets as more and more drivers rush to own one.