Perhaps it’s my Texas bias showing, but my assumption is always that pickup truck buyers are the most loyal segment in the car buying universe. They are not. Presumably, then, it’s the few people left who buy sedans? Again, not even close. Crossover buyers are about 50% more loyal than truck buyers and twice as loyal sedan buyers. That crossover buyers stick with their cars isn’t super surprising, though the extent of their loyalty certainly is. It gets even weirder when you look at what they buy next.
We’re going on a journey today, folks, through the mind of the average American buyer. We’re going to find out that, in fact, people aren’t just buying the largest thing they can get! While we’re at it, we’ll also look at Hyundai’s big investment plans, the craziness of the oil markets, and a Porsche recall that impacts at least one Autopian member.
Let’s do this.
Crossover Buyers Want Any Crossover Other Than The One They Own
Ok, look at this graphic below because it’s kind of interesting and is the basis for our big conversation today. It comes via market research firm S&P Global (you can read the mini-report here), which is a company that people in the auto industry pay a lot of money to understand what’s actually happening with cars. Up at the top we’ve got the overall trend of segment loyalty to the “utility” body style, which includes everything from Tesla Model Ys up to Range Rovers. On the lower half we’ve got loyalty to four major subsegments that make up the bulk of the utility market. Notice something weird?
People who buy utility vehicles keep buying utility vehicles. This graphic comes points out that the utility loyalty was 73% in Q1 of 2023, i.e., people who bought a crossover/utility bought another crossover/utility, even if it’s not the same brand or model. That’s a record high and shows that, basically 3-out-of-4 utility buyers are going back to the well. Compare that to trucks (48.8%) and sedans (35.6%) and you can see how massive a difference there is.
Where it gets weird is when you look at that lower half, which shows that compact (think HR-V or Model Y) and upper mid-size utility owners (think Tellurides or GV80s) are not going back to their same classes at the same rate. In none of these extremely popular categories does any segment even reach 50%.
What’s happening here? My guess is that there are three key factors and show that car buyers in the United States are potentially a little smarter than some give them credit for.
Factor 1: People Bought What They Could Find
It’s been hard to buy cars, especially with limited supplies. Assuming you have a BMW X3 and really want a new car and the X3 you’d like to replace it with isn’t available, maybe you’d be willing to look at a Kia Sorento. Data over the last three years on car buying preference is always going to be clouded by supply constraints.
Factor 2: Crossovers Are Where The Most Choice Is
Automakers like Ford and GM are decreasing their sedan choices and rapidly expanding their crossover and utility options. Saying “more people buy crossovers” is perhaps a little misleading when, frankly, every car is a crossover these days. If you’ve got two kids and a dog you could definitely get a sedan or a four-door pickup. People do that. However, if your family expands it’s not a leap to see you jumping from a Crosstrek to an Ascent. Crossovers make a lot of sense for a lot of people.
Factor 3: Crossovers Give People A Chance To Downsize
Probably the most important data in this graphic is the fact that compact utility vehicles and compact luxury utility vehicles both represent the most loyal part of the market. In fact, from Q4 2021 to Q4 2022, both upper mid size luxury utility and upper mid size utility buyers saw declines in loyalty while compact luxury buyers went the other direction (and regular compact buyers stayed more loyal than everyone else). For much of our history, more money meant buying as much car as you possibly could, but buyers seem to be rationalizing more and “right sizing” as opposed to “super sizing” their car choices. I’d like to see more data to confirm people aren’t just going out and buying Escalades, but even within these four categories the changes are obvious.
This is all good news, actually, because the efficiency of gas vehicles is going up and people are buying more efficient vehicles. The consumption of oil relative to GPD (this is called oil intensity) has steadily decreased over time, reducing our dependence on the stuff.
Did OPEC+ Blow It Or Did The Biden Admin?
Speaking of oil, last week, OPEC+ (the group of 23 countries that produce oil led by Saudi Arabia which is, basically, a price-fixing cartel) decided to surprise the world by announcing a cut in oil production by 500,000-1 million barrels per day. Why did this happen? Certainly, a move like this causes the price of oil to go up. It also created a bit of a short squeeze according to Reuters, meaning people who were short (i.e., betting on price decreases) were forced to buy futures (i.e. agreeing to buy oil contracts that have to be fulfilled at a future date) to cover their positions:
With its surprise announcement, OPEC+ successfully squeezed the shorts in crude petroleum, with bearish positions reduced to the lowest for 11 weeks since late January.
Since March 21, funds have purchased a total of 174 million barrels of crude, the fastest rate since December 2019 and before that September 2017.
Was this smart? The sudden rise in gas prices in the last couple of years led President Biden to release fuel from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (America’s big pot of backup oil) to push prices down. Now that those reserves have been reduced, in theory, it means that oil producers are in a better position to threaten the global energy economy and drive prices up. That’s the premise of this Forbes piece entitled “OPEC Is Back In The Driver’s Seat.”
These events highlight the risks of using the SPR for purposes other than emergency. Last year’s price rise was politically problematic, but it wasn’t a real emergency. But now that the SPR is substantially depleted, OPEC has been given far more pricing power than it had a year ago.
The U.S. can’t respond to the OPEC cuts in the short term, which means that oil prices in the intermediate future will be dictated by OPEC’s decisions. That is a consequence of last year’s decision to deplete the SPR.
Perhaps. But is this short-sighted? My favorite energy economist is a guy named Philip Verleger and, to be honest, he comes off as a nut sometimes. Still, he’s my kind of nut, and his instincts over the last decade have been pretty good. He’s got a paper out that says the opposite.
In this paper, Verleger says a bunch of stuff about how energy journalists are in the pocket of Saudi Arabia and calls Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a tyrant, which I’m not gonna touch. He also thinks the Crown Prince is mad that Biden basically took $100 billion from Saudi coffers through the SPR release. Maybe!
Here’s the key bit from his paper, however:
The organization’s decision is also a stupid mistake. The global financial system is facing contagion. Central banks are under pressure to cut rates. At the same time, the European Central Bank has warned that core inflation is far too high. The increase in consumer prices that follows OPEC’s output reduction will force central banks to boost interest rates higher. Banks will cut lending as more depositors move their cash to money market funds, which, in turn, will engage in reverse repos with the Federal Reserve. The likelihood of a severe recession has increased.
You know what’s good for oil producers? Oil consumption. While GDP and oil production have started to diverge as cars become more efficient and electric, net consumption still tends to improve as economies warm up. Risking that at a time when banks are considering lowering interest rates to spur growth is short-sighted. Again, more from Verleger here:
OPEC’s stupid action should be welcomed by those who want a rapid transition away from fossil fuels. Two tyrants, MBS and Vladimir Putin, have united in an effort to boost their income from fossil fuels. Putin led by cutting gas supplies to Europe, expecting a quick capitulation. Instead, Europe has since ended its reliance on Russian gas. Russia’s economy will be decimated, frustrating the dream he postulated in his doctoral thesis for St. Petersburg State Mining University. The Saudi action will have a similar effect on the oil market unless other oil exporters realize that MBS is hastening the stranding of a large part of the world’s fossil fuel reserves.
I think we’re a long way from stranding the Saudis, for various reasons, but it does make the Biden Administration’s approval of that Alaska oil project make a lot more sense, doesn’t it?
Hyundai’s Gotta Spend Some Money In Korea
While the Inflation Reduction Act has encouraged the production of electric cars in North America, non-American automakers (and American automakers, actually) still have to build cars elsewhere. In particular, Hyundai and Kia have to make it rain won (their currency) in their home market.
Hyundai Motor Group said on Tuesday it planned to invest 24 trillion won ($18.14 billion) in South Korea’s electric vehicle (EV) industry through 2030, bolstering its presence in a segment that is set to dominate long-term global automotive demand.
The investment plan by the group, which includes Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), Kia Corp (000270.KS) and Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd (012330.KS), came as President Yoon Suk Yeol attended a groundbreaking ceremony for Kia’s first designated electric vehicle plant.
Neat!
Attention Doug DeMuro
Autopian Member in good-standing Doug DeMuro, please note: Your car was maybe recalled?
This was first noted by Car And Driver, which pointed out that 489 cars out of about 1,300 made were being recalled. What’s going on here?
Porsche issued a recall for 489 Carrera GTs over an issue with the suspension components, which could increase the risk of a crash. According to a recent filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the spherical joints that connect the wishbone suspension components on the front and rear axles can fail due to damage from mechanical stress and corrosion.
“The material used does not provide sufficient resistance to inter granular stress corrosion when exposed to salt and mechanical stress over service life,” Porsche’s defect notice reads. “This could result in cracks or fractures in the spherical joints, and possible [sic] the wishbone.”
The good news is, Porsche will let you borrow a suitable vehicle in the interim. I recommend a Dakar.
Are You Segment Loyal?
Are you going to buy a car that looks basically like your car? Or are you going to buy something else?
Photos: Hyundai, S&P Global
just “downsized” from a 2007 Honda Pilot to a 2023 Subaru Forester. Passenger cabin is effectively the same, but no third row and the cargo area (assuming third row folded down on the Pilot) is ~1′ shorter on the Subie.
Bought the Pilot when our daughter was 15 both for utility (modern station wagon, it was basically a pickup with a roof) and safety as she was learning to drive. I knew she would be a good, safe driver (and she is, zero accidents after 15 years of driving), but also that new drivers often don’t recognize when other are being idiots, so I wanted something she could survive being T-Boned in.
when the Pilot told us it wished to be euthanized, we knew we didn’t need as much car, but still wanted something that had some utility and was legitimately comfortable for 4 people. Subie fit the bill.
I guess if that segment is “First-gen EJ22 Legacy” then yeah.
I’m segment loyal but carbon fiber monocoque RWD range extended EV hatchbacks is, as far as I know, a segment of one, so I’ll be holding on to my i3 for the time being
“Are You Segment Loyal?”
As long as we agree to define the segment as “What is that? Why do you even have that?” then sure, my next purchase will probably fit in with the rest.
Ah, I see you’re a man of refined taste and culture as well! 😉
It’s true that I have been called many things.
“some of the quirks and features of this Porsche is the way the suspension tries to kill you”
– Doug
I’ve had 6 cars, 4 of them have been midsize sedans, but not out of any loyalty – more from comfort and features over a smaller car, since better-equipped small cars were a rarity in our market until relatively recently. If anything a midsize sedan felt impractical because it was just me in it most of the time but the cargo space wasn’t particularly useable for hauling anything. My GTI is far better in that regard and the right size for most of what I need, but I’m starting to think I miss the extra bit of space/comfort just for myself that I got used to in the midsize sedans. A Civic is now nearly as big inside as my Accords were, but I’m not sure if that moves the needle enough for me; I’m starting to think I want something with more utility, but don’t need a typical SUV or truck.
Many of my friends that are having kids have moved into crossovers, usually 3-row or about to jump into a 3-row one. They’re heavy on Subaru and VW however, interestingly – so the crossovers brought new buyers to those brands after other typically more common brands like Toyota or Jeep.
The closest thing I think we’ve come to actual segment loyalty I can think of is the string of minivans we had growing up, and that was only 3 of them. After getting used to the space, my mother wasn’t sure about downsizing, but now says her Rogue is a bit bigger than she’d prefer.
If you have a price-setting cartel on a critical, irreplaceable (in the short term) commodity, the final revenue will not be affected by lower demand – it will be adjusted by price increases. So an economist saying this was a stupid move from the OPEC should probably go back to school (sorry….)
Perhaps MBS is mad that Biden doesn’t want to refill the Reserve at higher prices, but releases from the reserve have absolutely no effect on gas prices at the pump. They are purely political posturing.
Inflation hits lower income people the hardest. Raising interest rates hits lower income people the hardest. And yet, governments’ only response to inflation is to raise interest rates. These are supposed to be the amongst most educated, accomplished, and intelligent people in modern society, and yet they cannot conceive of a single alternative to raising interest rates. Wonder why.
I’d like to know how they tracked the move from segment to segment. Did they somehow control for additional vehicles owned by the family?
On paper the 3 vehicles I’ve bought since my truck were a hatchback, wagon and sedan, but none of those meant I wasn’t loyal to the truck segment. I still have the truck. Similarly when my kids necessitate adding vehicles, that won’t reduce my loyalty based on what I continue to own.
Segment loyalty doesn’t really apply if you want vehicles to complement each other. I replaced my aging sedan with a hatchback because my wife had a newer sedan and we wanted something with more cargo flexibility. Her sedan is a hybrid and gets better gas mileage on longer trips. I imagine it’s the same situation with you having a truck for truck stuff.
I am not segment loyal for the most part, my favorite cars I have owned have both been 2 seat convertible sports cars, but I have over the last decade owned a luxury sedan, a hot hatch, a couple 4 seat sports cars, a truck, a couple normal sedans, the only consistent thing for us is my wife’s minivan. But those we keep a lot longer than my cars, so in 10 years we are only on our second one of them. A third will come eventually, but as for me I have no idea what comes after the current hot hatch.
When we started a family, went from X3-X5-X5-X7, really need full 3rd row that is not one of the big 3 behemoths, never a minivan. I actually tried to convince the wife to add an X3 to the stable and keep the X7 for road trips or 5-6 people, but it didn’t go over well. Adding a truck she might go for vs another SUV/crossover. I have 2 sedans don’t plan on parting with, a coupe, a roadster and a newer rust free DT i3. But I am a true auto enthusiast that is an blip on current car buying trends, oh plus 3 are MT’s.
Two things re: the main discussion here:
1). Another positive I glean from this that I’ve been saying here for a while is that people are rediscovering hatchbacks. Folks love CUVs, and as someone who owns one and has driven several, most of them are literally just hatchbacks with some clever marketing behind them and a little extra headroom. For some godforsaken reason “hatchback” is a dirty word in America, probably due to the absurd and pervasive MY CAR’S GOTTA BE BIG TOUGH AND ANGRY attitude of many buyers.
If companies have to raise them an inch and call them SUVs to sell them so be it. I invite any of you to come take my Kona N for a rip and then tell me with a straight face that it isn’t a hot hatchback. Don’t let the CUV marketing fool you.
2). I really don’t like this “a family of four with a dog can get by fine with a sedan” stuff. I put it in the same category as the “a manual Toyobaru is the greatest daily of all time” in that the journalists and commentators perpetuating it seem a bit out of touch. I’m not sure how many kids and furry friends the folks espousing it have been around but it doesn’t feel like many. An infant or a youngin takes up a lot of space when what they need/their car seats are factored in.
If you’re doing a trip with your pup you’re likely hauling along a kennel of some sort, their bed, and a pile of stuff for their needs like food, toys, etc because they deserve it. It takes up way more space than you think, and I’d know because my sister in law had a kid a year ago, my wife and I are trying to get pregnant and have a dog, and I grew up with a pair of siblings and both parents in a household that always had a Labrador in the equation as well.
Good luck fitting all of that in a sedan, then getting little kids all strapped in, then getting the dog in, etc. In the real world it’s not doable. I think a sedan makes for a great second car for a family of 4 but as the main hauler? Hell no. That’s gotta be an SUV, wagon, or van. You WILL need the space.
I think a lot of car enthusiasts are a little out of touch with that. If you’re single or it’s just you and a partner, you live in the burbs or country, and you don’t do long trips then sure a Miata can be a fun daily. But when it comes to families you aren’t just hauling around the people, you’re hauling around their stuff too.
Anyway I am segment loyal to a degree but it’s mainly due to having to compromise with my wife. She’s essentially fine with me having anything as long as it seats 4 and has a hatch. She’s a normie who un-ironically loves midsize SUVs for their form factor and she essentially wants us to be able to use either of our cars interchangeably. It makes sense but basically relegates me to hot hatches for now not to mention she can’t drive stick and isn’t super keen on learning. I’m sure it’s easy to see how I’ve gone from GTI to Kona N.
My next car is probably going to have to be a spicy luxury crossover like an X3 M40i or Macan or something…although she could likely be sold on an S5 sportback. Now if only Honda and Toyota would stop forcing all its sporty compact buyers into manuals…I’d go buy a CTR, Integra Type S, or Circuit edition GRC in the next 2-3 years if they offered an auto. But alas, manual only is part of their schtick at this point so I don’t see it happening.
…is Father Douglas on this site? I know he’d pop up at the Orange site from time to time but if he’s here he’s done a good job of staying incognito. I was really happy for him when he got the CGT. The dude has worked his ass off and is a great ambassador for car culture. Usually I roll my eyes at car influencer types getting another supercar but if anyone has earned it and deserves it it’s Doug. It was cool to see how happy and grateful he was in the first video. I’ve never met the guy but I’ve exchanged a few emails with him over the years and he grew up near me/we have some mutual friends. I’ve never heard a bad thing about him and I hope I run into him eventually. If you’re out there hit me up when you’re back in the DMV Doug!
I really don’t like this “a family of four with a dog can get by fine with a sedan” stuff. I put it in the same category as the “a manual Toyobaru is the greatest daily of all time”
I agree, but not because I think that CUV’s are the answer, but because WAGONS (and hatchbacks) are the answer. Cheaper to make, more efficient, safer for everyone outside the car, and just as practical.
I’m pushing a wagon for our eventual family car hard but I don’t think the wife will budge. Wish me luck comrade.
Save your back and get the van, CUV, or SUV until they can climb in and out and buckle themselves.
With 40mpg hybrid RAV4s and CR-Vs out there, it’s pretty unlikely you’d get someone to spend the same coin on a wagon Camry or Accord (if they existed). The higher step-in and not having to bend is just more comfortable for a lot of people.
I don’t have kids but have friends with midsize sedans that served as their primary or “nice” car before having a kid (and already had a dog or two), and they’ve complained about hauling said kid out from the back seat with their lower rooflines.
Yep, this is a big deal. I’m not even that old, and am in decent shape, but loading kids into my wife’s Sienna is 10x easier than stooping to buckle them into my SS. Doubly so for the middle of the back seat (I have 3 kids).
As a human, I agree. As a parent of little kids, disagree. Getting kids and carseats in and out of a CUV is so much easier than getting them in and out of a car.
I think part of the problem with most CUVs, especially on the cheaper end of the spectrum, is that there ISN’T that much space. I gripe about knee room a lot – I am very long in the thigh – and I find I have to get pretty high up in the range before I can comfortably fit in one. It’s partly a side effect of the more upright seating position but I find that in almost all of them I have a ton of difficulty actually getting comfortable.
This is especially true if someone’s in the back – friends of mine are both larger gentleman and own a Bronco Sport, and if I barely fit in the back and getting my feet around the seat anchors is a challenge. My ex, meanwhile, has a Hyundai Sonata and two fully grown, over 6 foot men can go one behind the other with no problem. And there’s not a ton of room in the way back either – the square footage in a CUV is mostly on height so it can be a nightmare to get everything back there.
Crossovers just don’t have the space they should, because they’re so badly packaged most of the time.
That upright seating position that most people like in the CUV/SUV segments can really suck for taller people. It’s fine for around town, even kinda nice, but give me my sedan over my wife’s SUV for a long trip every time! After a couple hours of upright seating the knees start to bother me and I can’t stretch out the same way I can in my sedan, so I’m uncomfortable the rest of the way.
Exactly! Not only does advertised space often seem smaller than one might expect for the size, but useable space is even worse because so much of the volume numbers are worthless height.
The US has very little influence over middle east oil anymore, China & Russia are the colluding partners now. Everything they do is to maintain and increase their wealth, they don’t need the US’s help anymore. That Saudi venture fund is diversifying and trying to buy the world. Consumption of oil should dictate the market, except when it is being controlled by greedy tyrants.
I’m on my second tall hatchback, a segment that fits (no pun intended) a happy medium between sedan and crossover for me but has all but disappeared since it doesn’t impress the neighbors and from an automaker’s standpoint requires leaving those sweet, sweet “light truck” classification benefits on the table.
One of those that was a definite turnoff to me is tinted windows. A big reason why I went with the Honda Fit over a Kia Soul last time was the latter’s mandatory dark tint even on the extra-base manual transmission model (which didn’t even have power locks/remote locking, in 2020).
If I were in the market now I’d probably go electric and get on the waiting list for a non-EUV Bolt.
As a Southern California resident, it is difficult for me to fathom any driver not wanting tinted windows. And I prefer factory-tinted windows because aftermarket tints are almost uniformly crap.
Does every Autopian member get the personal recall service, or is that for Velour level and up?
It’s for the secret Autopian Gold subscribers. You can’t sign up, you can only be invited. 😉
The segment to which I am “loyal” no longer exists, at least in this market. My preference was two-door hatchbacks, with an emphasis — making allowances for budget — on hot hatches.
I would buy a Fiesta ST if so many used examples hadn’t been heavily thrashed — I marvel at how many offered for sale have salvage titles — and Ford had not killed them off.
Of course there were exceptions along the way. None were SUVs (or “crossovers” or whatever you want to call them), but all were old enough to be considered classics.
I used to drive sedans but over the past 20 years it’s been CUV-minivan-CUV. My wife will only drive a crossover as she likes the height and visibility. I am a large oaf and don’t fit in most small cars or sedans. crossovers check a lot of boxes, and when you can only afford one new car at a time, you go with what works. AWD for crap Minnesota winters, room for kids. dogs, and gear, easy to get in and out (especially us old folk), room for cargo, some towing ability, etc. etc. etc. Pickup trucks have become massive ego-massaging horrors, but the Maverick could work….
“My wife will only drive a crossover as she likes the height and visibility.”
This is such a self-fulfilling prophesy. I drive a small hatchback and the only reason visibility isn’t fine is because everyone’s in a goddamn SUV or CUV (or a giant truck with nothing ever in the bed FFS). So everyone buys CUV’s so they can see, but that’s only gonna result in people wanting even bigger cars so they can see over the CUV’s. Where does it end – when everyone is in F250’s?
You’re not wrong, there is a size/ride-height war in parts of the market- (pickup trucks)
However, the data referenced in the article literally states that small crossover owners are more likely to purchase another compact crossover vs owners of mid-large crossovers, which contradicts the phenomenon you suggest.
It’s fairly clear that compact CUVs like the CRV/RAV4 represent a ‘just right’ place in the market, and if anything, the segment is further centring on those type of vehicles vs trending upwards.
Visibility is just one part- we’re talking what, a few inches at most? I would argue it’s more about ergonomics- CUVs are right on the sweet spot of not needing to stoop OR climb to enter, which makes them some of the easiest wagons (that’s right I said it) to load and live with on a daily basis. Throw in a an extra inch of tire and suspension for crumbling roads and it’s a no brainer.
CUVs have basically replaced midsize sedans and wagons for most people with no downsides, and with the path to electrification ahead, are clearly trending lower and more aerodynamic, quietly mimicking their hatchback fore-bearers.
The downsides include driving experience and various other coolness factors. CUVs are super duper practical, but a nice sedan or wagon makes for a better ride in my opinion. They look cooler too!
Yeah I totally agree, I’m a Volvo wagon guy.
You gotta remember back in the days of sedans and wagons dominating the market, cars were a lot less sporty overall. Sedans sat higher, had softer suspension and tall tires- similar to crossovers in many ways. Most normal people didn’t care about performance, and they still don’t.
I had to scroll back up to make sure Steph wasn’t writing the morning news today.
Well, I went from a Subaru Outback to a VW Alltrack, so I guess I’m loyal to the “lifted 4WD wagon” segment. It’s lonely.
Am I segment loyal? Maybe? Depends on how you define it. I’d love to get a newer version of what I currently have when it gets to needing replacement, but I have to wonder if anyone is going to make a non-crossover station wagon when that happens…
Are You Segment Loyal?
No. The segment I buy has always just followed need. From hatchbacks and coupes to a sedan, a wagon, minivans, and now the I don’t anymore car seats, back towards coupes with a crossover as needed.
This, and while the post focused on body style, I would also add EV/PHEV vs. ICE now as a consideration. Likely the next few purchases will see fleets split between EV and ICE. My mom just traded a Chrysler Pacifica PHEV (and recall magnet) for a Kia Niro PHEV – for her downsizing was important, but so was maintaining the hybrid component.
This as well. I’ve owned well over 40 vehicles of nearly every type and size over the last 20 years, with most filling a specific need or requirement (though some were just too cheap to pass up). My current stable reflects my current needs, and as my needs change in the future so will my vehicles. The concept of “I will only drive one type of vehicle” is an oddly foreign concept to me, but then again so is the thought of being a picky eater – there is too much variety in life to hold fast to only one type of food or vehicle.
I’ve gone from sport compact sedan, to sport compact coupe, to sport coupe and added 2-door truck. I’m loyal to not buying any more doors than are needed, but I also don’t buy new, am I out of touch? No, it is the children who are wrong.
The average ownership duration of a vehicle is about 10 years. During that time, families expand, contract, break apart, combine, and gain and lose affluence. It is not surprising that they would change the size of their crossovers from purchase to purchase.
The nice(?) thing about owning a coupe, a sedan, a van, a truck, and an SUV is that pretty much anything I buy will look like something I already own.