Manufacturers use several terms to define their cars and while most of them work to our advantage for purposes of classification, some just end up confusing us. The terms SUV and crossover are two examples of terms that are interchangeably used by many, making the layman wonder if there even is any variation. However, there are marked differences between the two in terms of power, performance, and design. The following article lists the major differences in performance between SUVs and crossovers, for you to understand them better.

• Performance on different terrains

If we consider the performance of the vehicles on different terrains, SUVs will certainly be the clear winner since they are strongly built and usually have more power. In addition, SUVs come with a 4-wheel-drive or 4WD, which allows them to pick greater torque and thus return more power. Crossovers, on the other hand, are more commonly front-wheel-drives, meaning the engine drives the front wheels only, while some of the SUVs will have the option of being accelerated with all four wheels. Thus, the performance in off-road adventures for SUV cars is much better than the crossover counterpart.

• Towing capacity

The power is more in an SUV, and thus the towing capacity of an SUV is more by default. Thus, an SUV wins when it comes to the major differences in SUVs and crossovers in this aspect as well. While most of the popular SUVs come powered with V6 engines, and some even with V8 engines, crossovers will mostly get smaller engines. Since a crossover is a combination of an SUV and a car, the power aspect is not the topmost priority in such type of vehicle.

• Comfort while driving

Crossovers can generally be considered to be more comfortable than SUVs since they borrow a lot of characteristics from sedans. On the other hand, SUVs are designed to be used in more rough terrains and thus the comfort found in city-centric vehicles is somewhat compromised. However, SUV tends to be more comfortable on other terrains. The car is suitable for wet, rocky, as well as snowy terrains, where features like 4WD come into play.

• Mileage

Mileage is one battle than is won hands down by the crossover. Since an SUV is more powerful than a crossover, there is certainly some compromise on the fuel economy and some of the SUVs might return mileage that is way lower than what you would get in crossover vehicles. SUV should not be your vehicle of choice if you are looking for mileage.

• Safety

In terms of safety, SUVs are certainly the bigger and meaner machines, also ensuring that people inside the vehicle are safe. The SUV has a bigger crumple zone. Crumple zone means the ability of your car to absorb impact, thereby transferring less impact to the passengers and keeping them safe. Since you can drive an SUV on different terrains, this vehicle is suitable for extreme conditions. Safety is a primary aspect to look into for SUV manufacturers because of the possibility of off-roading. Conversely, crossovers are meant to be driven on city roads as they will not have such a high crumple zone.

The major differences in performance between SUVs and crossovers mean there are clear preferences one can opt for if they are considering buying a car from either of the two categories.