The Toyota Highlander topped the midsize crossover sales charts for November, outpacing nearly all other competitors to lead the second-place Subaru Outback by nearly 4,000 sales.
The Highlander’s sales were up more than 53 percent over November 2015 and for the year, sales are up more than 16 percent.
The Ford Explorer continues to be the top seller in the segment, nearing the 200,000 sales mark despite a 4 percent drop over 2015’s sales to date.
Most midsize crossovers are seeing huge gains over 2015, with the all-new Mazda CX-9 the most improved with a nearly 66 percent increase. GMC Acadia sales are also rebounding now that the crossover is all new and much improved.
This is the first month that TFL is tracking midsize sedan sales, mostly due to the difficulty in classifying such vehicles. Normally it’s easy – midsize crossovers share a midsize sedan platform, compact crossovers share a compact sedan platform, etc. – but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to use that base categorization.
For example, both the Jeep Grand Cherokee and its platform mate, the Dodge Durango, have a more traditional front engine/rear drive layout augmented by four wheel drive, but in price and size they compete with front-drive-biased midsize crossovers.
Some brands have multiple entries in the segment, too. Nissan has both the Murano and the Pathfinder, which are based on the same platform. Buick has the older Enclave and the newer Envision. Ford has the Fusion-based Edge and the Taurus-based Explorer.
There are also two crossovers, the Dodge Journey and Mitsubishi Outlander, that share the same compact-based platform but are stretched out to three rows of seating and may be better suited in the midsize category. Then there’s the upcoming Jeep Compass that, despite sharing a platform with the subcompact Renegade, has more interior space than the compact Cherokee, making it more appropriate in the compact crossover segment.
So we ask for your help. Should the Grand Cherokee and Durango be included here, or in their own list with cars like the Toyota 4Runner and Wrangler? Or do the 4Runner and Wrangler belong here? Does the Explorer belong here since it’s based on the larger Taurus? And should the Journey and Outlander be moved to the midsize list? Start the conversation in the comments below.
Midsize Crossover Sales – November 2016
| Nov 2016 # | Nov 2016/2015 | YTD 2016 # | YTD 2016/2015 % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Highlander | 21,241 | 53.4% | 165,954 | 16.2% |
| Subaru Outback | 17,769 | 35.9% | 162,203 | 19.1% |
| Ford Explorer | 17,245 | 13.9% | 197,264 | -4.0% |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee | 17,230 | -2.0% | 189,023 | 8.0% |
| Hyundai Santa Fe | 10,786 | 17.8% | 120,395 | 10.8% |
| Ford Edge | 10,757 | 32.2% | 121,897 | 7.1% |
| Kia Sorento | 9,698 | 7.5% | 102,951 | -0.4% |
| Chevrolet Traverse | 9,194 | 5.9% | 106,320 | -4.0% |
| GMC Acadia | 9,168 | 35.3% | 76,277 | -14.4% |
| Honda Pilot | 9,024 | -17.8% | 108,700 | -11.5% |
| Nissan Murano | 7,589 | 36.1% | 79,072 | 41.6% |
| Nissan Pathfinder | 6,801 | 33.5% | 72,333 | -1.8% |
| Dodge Durango | 4,934 | -13.0% | 62,678 | 10.0% |
| Buick Enclave | 3,508 | -24.7% | 48,228 | -14.1% |
| Mazda CX-9 | 1,994 | 65.9% | 13,457 | -20.1% |
| Buick Envision | 1,785 | NEW | 10,262 | NEW |
| VW Touareg | 348 | -12.3% | 3,827 | -41.6% |
Check out this related TFLcar video of the 2017 Nissan Pathfinder:
