Not so long ago, a key element in the process to decide MotorTrend's Sport/ Utility of theYear was to grab the year's new SUVs and head into the desert for a little off-roading.We didn't even have to discuss what to take; it was obvious just by looking at a vehicle whether it qualified as a contender.rnToyota's new 4Runner was an obvious starter:With its truck-tough demeanor and go-anywhere capability, it nailed the classic definition of an SUV. But, we realized with a shock, it was the only vehicle in this year's field that would. Everything else-everything-was clearly designed more with the suburban jungle in mind.rnAutomakers have rushed headlong into the SUV market over the past decade, desperate to grab a slice of what appeared to be the lucrative new heartland of the American auto market. There's been a not-so-subtle attempt to rebrand the genre in the past few years as something newer, cooler, more carlike and fuel-efficient: the crossover. But marketing alchemy can't disguise the trace elements of truck DNA that make an SUV an SUV, whatever it looks like or is called.
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