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SMALL SUV PRICING: KIA SPORTAGE, HYUNDAI TUCSON COST LITTLE; GMC DEMANDS MUCH FOR TERRAIN

A Graph published earlier today by The Good Car Guy manifested the great strength of GM’s new crossovers, the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain. The brand new Kia Sorento was chugging along, as well, becoming the best-selling Kia in the U.S. in January. This is a growing segment, one which produced the best-selling “SUV” in America last year and the five best-selling SUVs in Canada.
Why the popularity? It’s too late to ignore the love North American consumers feel for jacked-up ride height. Nobody’s kidding themselves anymore – these vehicles do not head off-road. More important than a view of traffic or interior space is price. Consumers get what they want with small SUVs (“cute-utes” or “soft-roaders” work, too) without paying through the nose.
Every vehicle mentioned in the earlier Sales Stats article is listed below, in addition to the Mitsubishi Outlander. This time, scan downwards as the base MSRP rises upwards. In brackets, Canadian residents can find the .ca sticker price.
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Kia Sportage: $16,695 ($21,745)
Hyundai Tucson: $18,995 ($22,999)
Suzuki Grand Vitara: $18,999 ($27,995)
Kia Sorento: $19,995 ($23,995)
Subaru Forester: $20,295 ($25,995)
Nissan Rogue: $20,340 ($24,698)
Honda Element: $20,525 ($26,990)
Mazda Tribute: $20,840 ($23,450)
Ford Escape: $21,020 ($24,499)
Dodge Journey: $21,165 ($18,745)
Honda CR-V: $21,545 ($26,290)
Mitsubishi Outlander: $21,605 ($25,498)
Toyota RAV4: $21,675 ($24,595)
Hyundai Santa Fe: $21,695 ($25,999)
Mazda CX-7: $22,300 ($27,995)

Chevrolet Equinox: $22,615 ($25,995)

Volkswagen Tiguan: $23,200 ($27,875)
Mercury Mariner: $23,560 (N/A)
GMC Terrain: $24,250 ($27,465)