Small ones (CR-V, Forester, etc) and especially smaller ones (Niro, Soul, HR-V) also called more accurately (but less attractive) “tall wagons”. That’s what I think of them.
thanks for the info! Makes a lot of sense! Really will companies would have a more standardized language for the size of their cars! It gets frustrating.
I have a Soul and there’s no way I’d call that anything more than a car. 
Only difference is it rides a little higher than a standard car.
Forester falls into a “small SUV” category and it is based on the small Impreza. No one calls it “crossover”. So what is it really?
The industry can barely tell the truth beyond their own marketing spin, let alone have a standardized language. A 5-door hatchback style vehicle designed on a modified 7 series platform is called a “5 Series Gran Turismo” and a crossover with a slightly sloped C/D pillar is called a “GLE Coupe”
The press have struggled to keep up too. IIRC, one of the magazines used to call anything taller than a Subaru Forester an SUV (before Crossover became the popular term for car-based “SUVs”). Now that the Forester is taller, perhaps your Kia Soul will be where their line is drawn.
So why is RX350 a crossover and Forester is a “small SUV”? 
AFAIK every magazine and every site like Edmunds, Autotrader, etc. define their own categories. Some use the term crossover and some don’t, therefore they would call something like a Forester an SUV.
Right, and now lets refresh how this started after I said that I did not see Niro as a Crossover 
[quote=“Ursus, post:29, topic:7952”]
Right, and now lets refresh how this started[/quote]
When writers, mags or sites use the term crossover, they use it with that definition I posted. If they don’t use the term at all, they default to calling them all SUVs. I’m sure you’ll find some inconsistencies within the same site or mag; copy is barely proofread these days let alone checked for styling consistency.
You can call it a wagon or hatchback or an SUV or anything you want; there is no official distinction between what is a tall wagon or HB, and what can be called a crossover. However denying it as a crossover based on size is to misunderstand the term.
sorry I asked. This just makes my head hurt. I’m just gonna use crossover and small SUV interchangeably whenever I feel like it.
The big thing for me will be to convince my dad that it’s a small SUV. If he doesn’t buy it, then it won’t matter.
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That’s what I’d call it also, don’t know why
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New user trying to create a new topic but getting a message “can’t use the requested resource.” This is the nearest tread to my topic. Here’s my post:
Looking for RV, MF, and lease incentives available:
Year: 2017
Make, Model, and Trim: Kia Niro Limited
Months/Annual Mileage: 36/15K
Zip Code: 33413 (South Florida)
Thank you!
Test drove a Kia Niro Lauch Edition in Kansas. Dealer gives 430 a month for 24/12k lease with 0 down.
Residual is 56%
Did not give me money factor