Could Hyundai's Best of Both Worlds' Crossover Be a Winner?Have you ever woken up one morning with the realization that things have dramatically changed? The change may have taken
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| Is the world ready for a Hyundai crossover? (Photo: Hyundai Auto Canada) |
place some time ago, but nevertheless the realization is just as profound. While hardly earth shattering to anyone with a life outside of the car industry, about a month ago I found myself pondering how the crossover genre has not only introduced us to an entirely new market segment, but also how it has displaced an old one, for the most part: the common wagon.
Some automakers aren't even producing wagon versions of their sedans anymore, at least like they used to. And I'm not talking about Country Squire and Caprice faux-woodgrain wagons of yore, but more so cars like the Camry wagon, Accord wagon, Corolla wagon,
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| What happened to cars like Hyundai's Elantra wagon? (Photo: Hyundai Auto Canada) |
Civic wagon, Elantra wagon, and others. Some are just renaming their wagons SportCombi, in Saab's case, or Magnum, a "Sport Tourer" from Dodge, no less.
I suppose that the Dodge is an entirely new vehicle on the outside, which segues into the second group of new crossovers, those that are based off of the same general architecture as their sedan counterparts, but are unique in shape and character. Toyota's Matrix falls into this category, as does Ford's new Edge or Mazda's CX-7 - although Mazda breaks with the program and still builds a 6 wagon. So, while the underpinnings might be more or less the same, an
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| Ford's new Edge, based on its Fusion sedan, effectively takes over from the Taurus wagon. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada) |
automaker is capable of producing a vehicle that is much more intriguing than merely a five-door liftback version of a four-door sedan. Truly, while Ford's Focus wagon may be one of the more functional compacts on today's market, a version of its Euro-only SAV, based on the next-generation Focus being sold overseas, would probably be much more appealing to most modern-day buyers. The same could be said for Hyundai's compact wagon, if the Korean automaker still built one.
Instead we have the Tucson, but as good as it is it's more SUV than crossover, or at least it has been designed to look like a sport utility and with that, offer a taller ride height than many crossovers do. This means that there's room for something lower to the ground, sleeker, sportier; something more wagon-like, but heaven forbid it be named a wagon.
A good example of what this could be for Hyundai is the new Genus concept. Like Toyota's Matrix, et hoc genus omne (and everything of this kind), the new Korean CUV could easily
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| The Genus could easily be based off of the Sonata. (Photo: Hyundai Auto Canada) |
be based off of a current production sedan. As mentioned, the Matrix shares underpinnings with the Corolla, while the Genus measures close to the rather large "midsize" Sonata sedan, and therefore could potentially use its substructure.
While no Sonata wagon is forthcoming, and for good reason, the metallic-champagne painted Genus, or whatever it would finally be named, could potentially be a much more enticing midsize five-door model. It looks similar to Mercedes-Benz's R-Class; although a good argument could be made for it being much more attractive overall, while its dimensions are much more manageable.
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| Despite being a very good sedan, Hyundai isn't about to turn the Sonata into a cargo-hauling wagon. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press) |
As mentioned, it's about the same size as the Sonata, with an overall length 50 mm (2.0 inches) shorter at 4,750 mm (187.0 inches) and a 2,850 mm (112.2-inch) long wheelbase that stretches 120 mm (4.7 inches) past that of the popular sedan. Its overall width of 1,870 mm (73.6 inches), a number that may but most likely does not include the span between side-view mirror tips (the press material didn't say), is again similar to the Sonata either way. Given its CUV genus (the noun-form of genus being Latin for "a class, kind, or group marked by common characteristics or by one common characteristic" according to Merriam-Webster's Unabridged), it's taller than the Sonata, by 90 mm (3.5 inches), at 1,565 mm (61.6 inches).
