Best of both the worlds: The rise of crossovers

People have always been fascinated by enormous cars gliding along the street, its occupants seated well above the rest, and a general sense of grandeur emanating from the vehicle. Though the craze for SUVs has had a strong foothold in the Indian market, people have started finding alternatives. Apart from choosing sedans and hatchbacks, buyers have started considering another segment as a promising option. This is the crossover segment.

A crossover is typically SUV styling on a hatchback and offers a few more features than its hatchback sibling. What this essentially means is that crossovers are built to handle most road conditions that our country has to offer, but do not usually have the off-roading capabilities of an SUV.

That being said, there is no denying the fact that crossovers are rapidly gaining attention and popularity. Popular brands like Honda, Datsun and Hyundai have begun investing in the segment. This has given us cars like the Honda WR-V, the Datsun Go, or the Hyundai i20 Active. These cars are primarily based on their hatchback cousin’s platform, but have a bigger body, broader frame and a higher center of gravity than hatchbacks. This helps the driver sit at a perfect compromise between comfort and visibility. In case of cars like WR-V, the company even offers amenities like telescopic steering wheel, and height adjustable seats, for a more personalized riding experience.

Even for the car manufacturers, it has become beneficial to encourage the sale of crossovers. One primary reason for this is since a crossover is a homologation of two other segments, it has a wider array of accessories and spares accessible. This directly translates to better after sales services, and consequently happier customers. Also, because they are not as big or as expensive to produce as SUVs, they can afford the be priced very close to their hatchback counterparts.

Apart from that, crossovers are also able to offer some features which are usually assimilated with only one generation; a classic example being the sunroof. All in all, a crossover is the choice to be for anyone who wants to experience the best of both the worlds.