When is an SUV not an SUV?

When is a car a car, and when is it an SUV? Or a minivan, or even a truck, for that matter? That's the debate that we've been having around here, prompted by a rash of small crossover vehicles that manufacturers have been rushing to market.

For instance, the 2007 Dodge Caliber. According to Colin's review, the Caliber "has many of the more desirable feature of a compact SUV," yet we've decided that it is a car.

How about the Toyota RAV4? At a glance, it has a very similar shape to the Caliber, but bigger. There's little debate that the RAV4 is an SUV.

So is size the primary determinant? Suzuki's upcoming vehicle, the 2007 Suzuki SX4, is advertised as a small crossover SUV on Suzuki's special preview web site. Yet we've decided that when we review the SX4, it'll be as a car.

Is SUV-dom really in the eye of the beholder? What do you think? Does a small crossover vehicle deserve to be called an SUV? Where do we draw the line?

Photo © Jason Fogelson