'Tweener' cars are creating a market

More SUV than station wagon, but definitely not a mini van, the cross over is a "tweener" car that is fast carving an identity all its own.

Mazda dropped minivans in favor of the sporty five-passenger CX-7 and seven-passenger CX-9 crossovers. At Ford Motor Co., the Edge may be the best new vehicle the automaker has developed in decades. And Kia North America, which expects crossovers to be a key contributor to its booming growth, has the Rondo.

"We've got huge interest in this car," Len Hunt, Kia North America chief of operations said of the Rondo. "You've got the high driving position, you've got the third row of seats available, you've got a V-6 or a four-cylinder. It's easy to park. It's flexible. It gets the fuel efficiency of a car and it's under $17,000. It appeals to a young family, but it can also appeal to an empty-nester couple."

Crossovers borrow elements from SUVs, such as high seating and optional all-wheel drive; from classic spacious station wagons, with a carlike ride owing to the car platform underneath; and yes, even from minivans, such as those with three rows of seating.

One family that appears to be made for a crossover is the Bettigoles of Wellesley.

Kyle Bettigole said he and wife Bridget "have three young children who will kill each other if they're squished together in one row of seats. So we're interested in finding a four-wheel-drive vehicle with a legitimate third row of seats." And neither another minivan nor an SUV appeal to them, he said.

Crossovers tend to be smaller than SUVS, less boxy than minivans, and roomier than station wagons. And they can be sporty. For example, Mazda's CX-7 drives like a sporty sedan, while the MPV minivan, which Mazda has dropped, was a tight box in both appearance and handling.

Analysts and industry officials say crossovers are the fastest growing segment in the American car market helping to offset a decline in sales of SUVS, pickups, and minivans. One reason is that aging baby-boomers, their children gone, have decided they don't need big SUVs anymore. And younger buyers are put off by the image of the minivan as a soccer-mom conveyance.

Neither Ford nor General Motors, for example, will build minivans anymore. GM spokeswoman Kathleen Hamilton said the space inside crossover vehicles will appeal to minivan customers, but the crossover has "the form and design that minivans can never have because they have to be boxy."

Crossovers don't have the cultural baggage of minivans, as the idea of being tagged as a soccer mom drove some women buyers to SUVs and four-door pickup trucks.

The Chrysler Group appears to be making room for an as-yet unannounced fleet of crossovers. However, the company will continue to make minivans, though in fewer varieties.

"The sliding doors are a huge factor," said Chrysler spokeswoman Kathy Graham said of minivans' appeal to parents of young children. The sliding doors allow easy access in congested parking lots.

Still, Chrysler is in diminishing company. Kia will add to the Rondo with another, jazzier crossover called the Soul that aims for a younger audience. Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Nissan, and Chevrolet are already in the market. Audi is bringing in a smaller crossover to complement its big rig, the Q-7. Even Volvo and Saab have crossovers on the way.

Meanwhile, the Edge is a departure for Ford from the boxy truck-like SUVs that came to define the American automaker. The Edge has a sloping front, from grille to roof, muscular sides, and a hunched rear. With a quiet, powerful motor and full complement of safety measures, the Edge has a blend of style, safety, and refinement not usually associated with ford SUVs and minivans.

Royal Ford can be reached at ford@globe.com.