If you haven’t heard, the crossover craze is flying high and mighty. Trucks, SUVs, and other car-based utility vehicles dominate the sales charts. Naturally, this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit came with its fair share of high-beltline (and high-profit margin) rides. From leather-lined mall crawlers to six-wheeled diesel workhorses, here are five of the hottest trucks and SUVs from America’s dearest auto show.
2020 Cadillac XT6
Caddy is getting back into the three-row crossover game with its 2020 XT6. Bar the Escalade, it’ll be the first Cadillac to come with three rows of seats since the first-generation SRX went out of production in 2009. If you’ve got a thing for Cadillac and have lots of humans to haul around, the XT6 will probably be a great fit…unless you frequently appear on MTV circa 2008. In that case, you’re gonna want to get the Escalade.
2020 Kia Telluride
Like what the XT6 offers but don’t really have Caddy money? The 2020 Kia Telluride may be worth a look. The new Kia SUV combines three rows of seats and plush furnishings with a boxy, rugged exterior design—how a proper SUV should look, as far as I’m concerned. Those shying away from the Telluride for badge-related reasons can, perhaps, instead find bragging points in the fact that it’s literally the largest Kia ever made.
2019 Ram Power Heavy Duty and Power Wagon
If you prefer your off-road vehicles to be less show and more tow, the newest pair of Ram pickup variants should be right up your alley. The Power Wagon has been optimized for off-road adventures with Ram claiming it to be the most capable pickup out there for crawling over jagged rocks, wading through rivers, and whatever else “off-roading” actually entails. The Heavy Duty, which boasts an outrageous 1,000 pound-feet of torque, dedicates itself to towing extremely heavy loads with a maximum towing capacity of 35,100 pounds. In car terms, that’s the equivalent of 15 Mazda Miatas.
2020 Ford Explorer ST and Hybrid
While it’s been a whole week since we first clapped eyes on the sixth-generation 2020 Explorer, Ford brought a duo of variants to Detroit with seemingly opposite target audiences. The fuel-sipping Explorer Hybrid appears to cater to the buyer who would really rather drive a Focus Electric while the sport-tuned, 400-horsepower Explorer ST seems to be tailored to the driver who not-so-secretly would rather get a Focus RS.
Even if you aren’t in the market for an Explorer of any stripe, it’d probably be best if you got familiar with it anyways. Your local highway patrol will be getting a hold of ’em as police cruisers soon enough.
Infiniti QX Inspiration Concept
The QX Inspiration Concept from Nissan’s luxury arm is a fully-electric crossover that’s said to preview Infiniti’s future EV design language. It made headlines on Monday when it awkwardly failed to show up to its own unveiling, forcing the company to reschedule the press conference. Let’s hope Infiniti’s production EV rollout goes a little smoother than that.