Cars in the B-segment have stopped getting longer. Instead they’ve become taller, with the baby SUV format developing into a mainstream trend.
The success of the Nissan Juke (arguably the instigator of the entire phenomena) has been followed by the Mini Countryman, Fiat 500L, Peugeot 2008, Renault Captur and Opel Mokka, while Kia showed the Niro concept at Frankfurt’s IAA, pointing towards a possible sportier, hard-edged contender in the segment.
Crossover models such as Dacia Sandero Stepway and Volkswagen Cross Polo offer an alternative way into this market and Opel showed their take on this genre with the Adam Rocks high-rider concept at this year’s Geneva show.
Moving one class up we have the Mercedes GLA and new Qashqai entering the SUV crossover market, while Citroen’s Cactus concept shows a new rational product design approach, in sharp contrast to their DS premium sub-brand.
