People's Choice: Br(C)ute Force

[amoore100]

Back in the early to mid 2000s I recall many of these little CUVs being labelled as 'cute utes' by the automotive press. Nowadays they have become an invasive species and aren't generally as cute, but in those times there were still some rather interesting and capable choices in the cute ute segment.

First up is Land Rover's Freelander. The first small road-oriented offering from the brand that majored in Defenders and Rangies, the Freelander was a good looking thing marred by a lack of reliability from its Rover powerplants. Nevertheless it was quite capable off-road!

Next is Jeep's Liberty. Basically a Cherokee replacement, the retro-styled Liberty was still quite capable off the pavement and came with a bevy of engines ranging from the PT Cruiser's 2.4 to a VM Motori turbodiesel or even the top-of-the-range 3.7 V6!

Finally Suzuki's Grand Vitara. Previous ones were full box-frame, but this one supposedly employs a partial unibody methodology. Plenty of nice little Suzuki 4s and 6s or a 3.2 GM High Feature V6! Renowed for its durability across the world and sold until 2019.

So do you think the Brits, the Americans, or the Japanese build the best 'capable cute ute'?

[facw]

@amoore100 I will take Freelander... and not tow a full-sized van with it:
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2017-08-04/shocking-footage-of-4x4-flipping-over-in-kent/

[Sam Blockhan]

@amoore100 I would take the Suzuki. It's simple, reliable, and capable enough for me. I find the Liberty one of the most disappointing redesigns in history, and the Freelander would be too costly to repair.

[ST80MND]

@amoore100 Well, none of the above wasn't a option, so I will say Suzuki because manual.

[amoore100]

@ST80MND hey, they all came with one in the right trim/engine combo!

[ST80MND]

@amoore100 Oh, I didn't notice anything past "Freelander" or "Liberty" lol. Also, the pic of the liberty sure looks slush boxy.

[amoore100]

@ST80MND !

[svend]

@amoore100
Freelander

[HFV]

@amoore100 Jeep Libertys are the most cramped, least fun vehicle I’ve ever had the displeasure of driving.

[HFV]

@amoore100 the only thing I see in the picture is the tiny footwell.