SUV Flops: Even Automakers Get It Wrong Sometimes

Everyone thinks SUVs are a sure bet in today's market. Slap some luxury badges on, jack up the price, and watch the money roll in, right? Well, not always. Even the biggest automakers sometimes whiff it completely with models that seemed like no-brainers on paper.

When Convertible SUVs Were (Briefly) a Thing

Remember when carmakers thought chopping the roof off SUVs was genius? The Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet was peak weird – a perfectly good family SUV transformed into a convertible nobody asked for. People buy SUVs for safety and practicality, then Nissan removed half the structure. Whoops.

Land Rover made the exact same mistake with the Range Rover Evoque Cabriolet. Beautiful standard SUV, strange topless version. The extra bracing needed to stop it from flexing like a wet noodle made it heavier, and off-roading in a convertible just feels wrong. Two years later – poof, gone.

Badge Engineering Gone Wrong

Carmakers love slapping different badges on the same vehicle and charging more. Sometimes it works, sometimes you get the Chrysler Aspen – basically a Dodge Durango with a fancy grille and higher price tag. Buyers weren't fooled, and it disappeared after just three years.

Lincoln tried the same trick with the Aviator (a rebadged Ford Explorer) in 2003. Same car, higher price, fewer features (it didn't even have low-range 4WD). The market said "no thanks" and it vanished after two years.

Too Tough For Their Own Good

Early in the SUV craze, companies thought buyers wanted serious off-road capability. The Isuzu VehiCROSS came with low-range gearing, torque vectoring, and wild styling – but sold poorly while Toyota's more road-friendly RAV4 flew off lots.

Kia's Borrego was yanked from the US market after just one year despite its body-on-frame design and V8 engine. Hyundai's Terracan suffered a similar fate. Turns out people wanted the SUV look without the truck-like driving experience.

Recent Head-Scratchers

Alfa Romeo's Tonale seemed promising until corporate cousin Dodge released the nearly identical Hornet for less money. Guess which one people are buying?

Dodge's own Nitro had chunky styling and a neat sliding cargo floor, but struggled outside its home market despite selling over 200,000 units in its four-year run.

And then there's BMW's XM – the plug-in hybrid monster that was supposed to be M division's halo vehicle. With only 1,974 sold in the US last year, it's being outsold by the aging Z4 roadster. At twice the price of other M models with less charm, it's no wonder buyers are staying away.

Sometimes even the surest bets in the hottest segment turn out to be spectacular strikeouts.