QOTD: Do You Dare Call a Crossover 'Sexy'?

This is not a knock on the usefulness and broad appeal of the vast crossover segment. It exists for a reason, and you still don’t have to buy one if you don’t want to. Yes, yes, buyers don’t know what they’re doing and should demand better/something else, but you’re stuck living your life and no one else’s. Face up to it.

While crossovers do perplex, annoy, or just plain bore a great many of us, the segment is not immune to style. Some models are, for sure, but the heightened competition of recent years has seen designers go bolder with their brushstrokes. Sculptors have grown more daring, more willing to envision a set of hips, and maybe… well, you recall those 1950s Cadillac bumpers.

Eyeing these new family haulers, is there a particular model you’d dare call sexy?

As the ill-fated private detective said in Psycho, “It’s not a slur on your manhood.” You can open up here.

For some reason, everywhere I’ve gone these past few days, a certain new-for-2019 compact crossover has followed. And while I’ve commended the premium marque for its skillful handling of the model’s redesign (buyers seem enamored, too), I’d never viewed one from its most attractive angle: side-on, from two parking spaces away, and while sitting behind the wheel.

Whoa, I thought — this thing has more shape than I gave it credit for. Strangely, not a single photo in the automaker’s media gallery shows this particular angle. And yet it’s arguably the model’s best look. Rakish, slim (if you can call a high-riding vehicle slim), with body lines and curves that — amazingly — hint at a much more utilitarian E-Type. Granted, the long nose/tapered roofline look is most definitely in these days. Ask Lincoln about that.

What was the model?

This. A 2019 Acura RDX A-Spec, which Acura apparently feels should only be seen from the front and rear quarter.

Acura’s not alone in designing a lowly (read: lucrative) crossover that’s actually worth looking at. The Range Rover Velar adopts a similar, if lengthier, profile, with less-busy flanks that could be seen as sensuous by the right observer. Porsche’s cayenne has gone coupe. BMW’s X4 and X6 … well, maybe those aberrations aren’t worth mentioning. But Mazda’s CX-5 and CX-9 might turn a few heads.

Admit it. There’s a crossover out there that’s capable of turning your head, and maybe, just maybe, stirring a sense of desire. What model deserves kudos for style?

[Image: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Acura]