The SUVs That Shaped the Family Car Market

Back in the day, when a family wanted to go for a ride, they’d pile into the station wagon. Station wagons were the epitome of the baby boom generation and were insanely popular with families from the 1950s till the 1970s. You still see them, but they’re often masquerading as SUVs.Besides being more aesthetically pleasing than even the prettiest station wagon, SUVs' interiors are more versatile, and the vehicle itself can be frankly imposing. Here are some SUVs that have shaped the market for family cars.

There have been a few incarnations of this SUV, starting in 1974 and lasting to the present. The first generation, 1974-1983, sported full-sized vehicles. This was followed by the compacts, then the compact crossovers. After a break of three years, the Jeep Cherokee mid-sized crossover version is scheduled to arrive in 2026. It will have four-wheel drive and a unibody chassis.

Since making its debut in 1990, this SUV has become the number one best-selling sport utility vehicle in the U.S. It sold 207,673 vehicles in its peak year of 2022. There are six generations of Explorers, including those vehicles fitted out to be police vehicles. In 2020, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the Explorer its Top Safety Pick Award. 

The RAV4 is the SUV that started the trend toward compact crossovers, which are a hybrid between a compact car and your standard SUV. In 2020, the RAV4 sold close to 1 million units, which made it the best-selling SUV for that year. It comes in front-wheel and four-wheel drive layouts, and there’s an all-electric version.

Another compact crossover, this SUV first started production in 1995. Despite its compact crossover description, it’s roomy enough inside to accommodate a picnic table if the rear seats are folded down. Honda introduced the current incarnation of this spiffy SUV in 2022.

Believe it or not, the iconic Chevy Suburban has been around for 90 years. Of course, it didn’t look then like it looks now and indeed was one of the first station wagons made mostly of metal. Before, station wagons were mostly wood and canvas. Weighing in at nearly three tons, the Suburban can have a rear-wheel or four-wheel drive and a GMT T1XX platform, which General Motors uses for its trucks and larger SUVs.

Another compact crossover, this sporty SUV can put you in mind of a more glamorous station wagon and has been available since 2001. The Santa Fe sits six or seven people, and its head and tail lights are cleverly arranged to form an H. The pairs of headlights are separated by a light bar, and the pairs of tail lights are separated by the back bumper.

There are two versions of the Subaru Outback. The Legacy Outback is actually a five-door station wagon with a curvier and more aesthetically pleasing look than the old-fashioned kind. It can also come as a four-door sedan. The other is a hatchback called the Sport. It stopped production in 2011, but you might still see it on the road.

The name of this compact crossover is a mashup of the German words for “tiger” and “iguana.” Volkswagen began production in 2007, and the five-door vehicle debuted its third generation in 2024. It has a sturdy unibody chassis and can be had in front or all-wheel drive.