Pontiac Aztek -- No Respect for a Crossover Pioneer
If Montezuma could see from the beyond this vehicle intended to honor his legendary tribe/empire, he might consider it another good reason to exact gastrointestinal revenge on the living. At least, that was the consensus of the motoring press when the production Pontiac Aztek debuted in 2001, basing their criticisms mostly on its unconventional looks. But to hear some owners tell it, the aesthetically rebellious Aztek was actually a competent vehicle, providing plenty of room, the coveted SUV high seating position, reliability and even reasonable fuel efficiency. One theory about what went wrong says that the Aztek premise was right on the money -- lots of people wanted a sporty, edgy and versatile vehicle. But by the time various committees had their way with it, the production Aztek was a far cry from the muscular and alluring concept that inspired it. Blogger Jeff Atwood carped, "The Aztek was actually a good idea at the right time. It was killed by poor execution...the Aztek is uniquely American. And too often, so is the least common denominator of design by committee."
Baby SUV. Cute ute. Compact SUV. The Toyota RAV4 was like a category unto itself when it rolled onto the automotive scene in 1994. For the U.S. market, the first- and second-generation RAV4s arrived at a time when U.S. auto buyers were just starting to suffer big SUV fatigue: many enjoyed the elevated seating position and perceived safety advantage of the sport utility vehicles proliferating in the mid-1990s. But for some, the almost big-rig proportions seemed like overkill, the ride quality was jolting, and well, SUVs' reputations as gas hogs are legendary.
The diminutive RAV4 (Recreational Active Vehicle, 4-Wheel Drive) solved many of those problems by attaching a downsized SUV body to the chassis of an ordinary passenger car. In the first- and second-generation RAV4's case, it shared its under-the-body bits with the Toyota Corolla. The RAV4 is in fact credited with being the first compact SUV [source: MotorWeek].
While today RAV4s are in fact classified as crossovers, it made our list because it came out in 1994, many years before the term entered popular use. And the ground-breaking RAV4 proved that even in a time when massive Hummers freely roamed the roads, that there was a market for the non-extreme SUV.
For more information about crossovers and other related topics, follow the links on the next page.
