Luxury automakers have been answering a question that seemingly nobody had asked, pushing ahead with an incongruous design called the SUV crossover coupe. This is proof that you can call anything a coupe, even a high-riding fastback 4-door hatchback. And it’s further proof that in today’s wacky world of automobiles you can call anything an SUV.
Acura perhaps was the architect of the modern version of this amalgamation of what the Germans called a four-door “coupe” crossover with its short-lived ZDX, built between 2010 and 2013 before it was scrapped for lack of sales. Honda also created a version for its mainstream brand called the Crosstour. It’s been on sale since 2012, but in very small numbers.
Likewise BMW has developed two SUV-like vehicles endowed with sporty styling and a more aggressive driving demeanor that truly puts a new meaning into the sport portion of sport utility vehicle. Unfortunately, the utility part of the equation is lost in translation. The rather impractical luxury mid-sized X6 SUV, with seating for four and meager cargo capacity, came on the scene in 2010, the same year as the Acura ZDX. Not only does it live on (in performance M trim as well), it now has a sibling in the smaller X4 Sports Activity Coupe, which reaches the marketplace this year as a 2015 model.
