By John Goreham
Reprinted with Permission from torquenews.com
We summarize the biggest news for the sub-compact crossover market this year.
Automakers are hoping that subcompact crossovers will grow to be as large of a segment as the compact crossover segment has. That has not happened yet, but each brand is rapidly developing their smaller than RAV4, CR-V and CX-5 vehicles. 2015 was a big year for the Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3, both of which entered production in that year. This year we will start our news with Toyota’s new competitor, the C-HR.
Toyota C-HR Debut
The new Toyota C-HR will be shown in Detroit next month. We do know that it looks like a Nissan Juke and will mimic the role the HR-V plays for Honda. The real question is will it be sporty, like th eMazda CX-3 or an economy vehicle like the Honda? “2018 Toyota C-HR Ready To Take On Mazda CX-3 and Honda HR-V”
Honda HR-V Lives Up To Expectations
Our own Parks McCants found the Honda HR-V quite satisfying in testing this past year. What made his test unusual was that the test car was a base EX model, not a loaded trim. See what Parks had to say at “Base model 2016 Honda HR-V EX Surprises”
CX-3 Wins Over New England Press Group
The New England Motor Press tests and awards vehicle in winter testing each year. For 2016 the Mazda CX-3 was found by the membership to be the best subcompact crossover for winter. The group arrives at its conclusions through winter driving of the nominated vehicles. “NE Motor Press – 2016 Mazda CX-3 Best All-Weather Subcompact Crossover”
Nissan Juke Dresses For the Show
Nissan’s Juke is mainly unchanged in 2016m but it did see a very special edition for the LA Auto show: “Nissan JUKE Gets More Extroverted; Exclusive “Black Pearl” Edition is Coming to LA”
Don’t Buy a 2017 Crosstrek?
Our own Denis Flierl is a big fan of the Subaru brand and the Crosstrek in particular. See why he warns that there are, “7 Reasons Not to Buy a 2017 Subaru Crosstrek”.
