The Urban Crossover Concept is Peugeot's proposal for a global SUV in the B-segment and it was unveiled today at the Beijing Auto Show.
The French carmaker says that the world’s population is increasingly concentrating in urban areas to the point that by 2050, 5.3 billion people will be living in mega-cities. Compact cars are perfectly suited to city transport, but they have to evolve in order to cover their owners' needs both in and out of the urban environment.
Peugeot cites its vast expertise in compact cars, having produced more than 15 million units of the 200-series models and the commercial success of its 3008 C-segment SUV as key ingredients in creating the new concept.
Peugeot’s design teams in Paris, Shanghai and Sao Paolo developed the Urban Crossover. According to the French carmaker, the concept study “marries the elegance and refinement of a saloon, the cheekiness, the mischievousness of an SUV, with the multi-role capability and unusual spaciousness for this market segment.”
Even though Peugeot claims that its concept “transcends borders of vehicle style and segmentation”, with a length of 4.14 m and a width of 1.74 m, the Urban Crossover clearly belongs to the small SUV class (i.e. Nissan Juke and the Ford EcoSport).
The Urban Crossover Concept adopts Peugeot’s new design DNA with a “floating” grille, and sculpted bonnet and front wings that we’ve already seen in cars like the 508 and the 208. The rear sports distinctive curved lights with LED technology, while the double-bubble roof is inspired by the RCZ coupe.
