Top Ten Best-Selling SUVs and Crossovers in 2016 in the U.S.

For a start, none of the American brands are in the top three

We recently talked about people’s desire for SUVs, and why that might be a little stupid, considering the alternatives and, more important, the environment. Of course, the problem’s not at the buyer’s end but in the carmaker’s marketing department.

Every automaker is playing along nowadays, so the SUV/crossover universe has a lot of diversity to offer. Now let’s see who are this year’s ten best-sellers in the segment, as of September 2016.

#10 Chevrolet Equinox

With prices starting from $24,000 and four trims to choose from, the Equinox qualifies in this top 10, with 15,261 units sold – a whopping 29,1% drop compared to last year’s similar period. As for the year-to-date statistics, the Equinox shows an 18.8 percent decline in sales, compared to January-September 2015.

#9 Subaru Forester

Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel-drive system made Forester (and the rest of the carmaker’s line-up, for that matter) a star in the off-road universe. The 15,883-unit sales figure is recording a 3.4% rise compared to previous year’s September, with 0.8% more units sold when comparing this year and last year’s YTD numbers.

#8 Subaru Outback

Outback is what Forester was several years ago: an ambiguously-shaped all-terrain vehicle, part-SUV-part-station-wagon. It is still appealing to the public, considering it performed better than its sibling: 16,978 vehicles have been sold this year, a 12.2% appreciation over September last year (and 16.6% 2015/2016 YTD).

#7 Jeep Cherokee

With 17,995 copies sold, the facelift-awaiting Cherokee compact SUV is experiencing a 12.2-percent drop over the previous year’s September – with an easier flop (1.2%) when looking at the January-September 2015/2016 period.

#6 Jeep Grand Cherokee

The mid-size-but-only-a-bit-bigger-than-Cherokee Grand Cherokee is performing much better than it’s odd-looking sibling. 18,507 vehicles sold, it’s 17.8% more desirable in buyer’s eyes than it was the September before. As for the YTD sales statistic, it’s experiencing an 8.6% bounce.

#5 Ford Explorer

Although “it says confidence in-and-out,” as the Ford brochure states, the full-size, recently-facelifted Explorer didn't receive an excellent rating yet, sales-wise. Compared to September 2015, Explorer recorded a 7.6% drop, from 20,715 to 19,156 units sold. January-September period looks much better than the month-period sales figure, although it still has a negative value (-0.9%).

#4 Ford Escape

The compact Escape (known as Kuga in most places) is the highest-selling American representative on this list, with 25,065 copies sold in September 2016 (a 12-percent drop over the last year’s similar period). In the overall, year-to-date comparison, the numbers aren’t as grim: 2016 shows a .8% climb over the January-September 2015.

#3 Nissan Rogue

Second-generation Nissan Rogue (also known as X-Trail) claims the third position is 2016 SUV/crossover segment sales, with 26,459 units sold (a 5.6-percent increase over September 2015). The Japanese compact crossover SUV is also boasting an impressive hop (13.3%) in year-to-date comparison.

#2 Toyota RAV4

Another Japanese representative climbed in the top-three SUVs/crossovers sold in the US is the RAV4, with 29,438 vehicles sold in September 2016 (8.6% more units compared to September 2015). Regarding the nine-month period comparison, the RAV4 experiences this top’s highest growth in sales, of 14.2%.

#1 Honda CR-V

The list of top ten US best-selling SUVs/crossovers in 2016 is completed by the CR-V, another Japanese the Americans grew fond of. 31,884 units have been sold in September, a 6.5-percent raise over the same period last year. From January through September, a total of 263,493 cars found their owners, 1.5% more than twelve months previously.