Blob-shaped crossovers dominate our roads. It’s impossible to avoid them, each more devoid of appeal than the last. Aerodynamics and safety standards have shaped today’s cars to be largely the same flavor of bland. A few special vehicles break from that mold.
Boxy, squared-off designs once thought too sharp for modern passenger vehicles are cropping up more by the day. Whether it’s the retro-inspired Ford Bronco, the excellent Lexus GX, or the futuristic Kia EV9, boxy SUVs have surged in popularity for the first time in decades. We asked three designers why they returned, and whether boxy rigs are here to stay.
How Did We Get Here?
Photo by: Toyota
Up until recently, Toyota sold mostly blobby SUVs. The lone black sheep, the Toyota 4Runner, was first sold in 2009, a rare angular holdover in Toyota’s lineup. That changed with the Land Cruiser, fully redesigned and reimagined for 2024.
“I think it was missing from the lineup,” says Kevin Hunter, president of Calty Design Research, Toyota’s design studio. We were gravitating towards more crossover-type products and sexy SUVs because that’s where the market was moving. As trends go, they cycle in and out. I think maybe the market just got a little tired of the same genre.”
Hunter isn’t alone in that thought. Fashion is cyclical, as is car design. While aerodynamics often beg for a capsule-like design, consumers also just wanted something different, a break from the mold. Robert Desnik, head of exterior vehicle design at Mercedes-Benz, echoes that thought.
“If you work for a brand that, let’s say, does not have a heritage, then you might do something different, something that pops out of that sea of sameness, that sea of round cars,” Desnik says. “The [goal] for the designer of a certain brand is to do something unique, something with the individual style. So you want to stick out of the crowd.”
SangYup Lee, head of the Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center, turns that onus to the buyers.
“The customers are a moving target,” he says. “Back in the day, all SUVs were boxy. Then, crossovers started to become mainstream. And then, in the last 10 years, the outdoor lifestyle became a global trend,” he adds. “And it really accelerated when the pandemic hit.
So the cycle continues.
Carmakers know if they can drum up emotion, there’s a better chance of making a sale. Designers bear the brunt of that challenge. First impressions are everything, after all. And right now, people want something that suggests ruggedness and adventure, even if that’s ultimately not their use case.
“When you have a car that looks capable, that looks strong, of course, a boxy style is a very attractive choice for a customer,” Lee says. “Look at the Bronco and the Land Cruiser.”
“We did Santa Fe because of that,” he said. “The outdoor [appeal], the efficiency, the big space inside.”
‘When you have a car that looks capable, that looks strong, of course, a boxy style is a very attractive choice for a customer.’
Hunter saw this rising desire and used Toyota’s history to capitalize on it.
“We thought there was an opportunity and a missing gap in our lineup that we could utilize, and bring Land Cruiser back to its roots, back to its origin,” says Hunter. “[The overlanding crowd] wanted to see the Land Cruiser come back to its authentic roots.”
Mercedes, on the other hand, used its heritage to ensure nothing would change at all.
“You always have to see how successful the product is,” says Desnik. [The G-Class] was, in the year 2017, still successful after 38 years on sale. And so we said, ‘Oh, don’t, change it.’ If it’s not broken, don’t mess with it.”
Actually, Tech Is Good
Mercedes G580 with EQ Technology
Efficiency is more important than ever, and common sense tells you a boxy design is less efficient than a round shape. But thanks to clever engineering, boxy cars can have their renaissance without destroying the environment.
The Mercedes G-Wagen has looked virtually the same since its inception in 1979, despite vast changes in emissions and crash laws. That’s thanks to the people behind the scenes, says Desnik.
“The turn indicator on the fender,” he brings up as an example. “The engineers said, ‘Ok, forget this. It won’t work because of pedestrian protection.’ Then I said, ‘No, the turn indicator is important.’ So they spent a lot of time on that, so that if a pedestrian hits it, then it would fall into the fender.
“It’s a very tricky one, how to make it feasible,” Desnik added. “You have to put in much more effort, thinking, and clever engineering.”
He goes on to say icons like the G-Class are more difficult to design since they have to stick to a central ethos. At least if you start from scratch, you don’t have to adhere to any borders.
Adjusting shapes to better cut through air isn’t the only way to keep boxy cars alive. Huge leaps in hybrid tech have allowed cars with traditionally dismal fuel economy to remain practical.
“Utility vehicles are hard on MPG, there’s no doubt,” says Hunter. “But the fact we have a hybrid in the Land Cruiser, that helps. It also gives us a bit more performance, so there’s an efficiency part of that, but there can also be a performance aspect as well.”
Here to Stay, or Just a Fad?
The one constant with car design is that there’s no constant. A decade from now, the landscape will look totally different, a dozen trends having come and gone. Whether that spells a doomsday clock for the boxy car craze is anyone’s guess. But some designers are more hopeful than others.
“I hope we can continue with some continuity, whether it’s 10, 20, 30 years from now,” Hunter says. “Land Cruiser is Land Cruiser, and maybe we’ll introduce some new products along the way that expand our market base a bit. But, fundamentally, I hope we stick to the core of what it represents.”
Despite the G-Wagen persevering for so long, Desnik remains a skeptic.
‘If it’s not broken, don’t mess with it.’
“For the future, it’s going to be even more tricky. If you talk about this theme in five years, and the [G-Wagen] still looks how it looks, then you’ll know why we get our money,” he says.
Similarly, Lee understands that nothing is ever set in stone. Tastes change, so the cars will change too.
“At the same time [as these boxy cars], everybody still loves [normal crossovers],” he says. “At some point, people will look for something else, a different type of candy. This is why we really have to observe and watch the customer and their lifestyle. But right now, I must say that boxy is mainstream. It’s the global trend at the moment.”
Chris Perkins and Jeff Perez contributed to this story.
