This is why driving in the US and France is completely different

So what’s the deal with all the hatchbacks?

Matthew DeBord/BI

Hatchbacks — compact and subcompact hatches, especially — are to Europe what SUVs are the USA. Europeans want versatile cars, but they don’t want em to be all that big, or to chug gas or diesel. (And yes, I acknowledge that some purists may accuse me of taking liberties here by calling small SUVs “hatchbacks” when the term properly describes more of a car-based vehicle.)

In fact, the Renault Captur I rented in France, while defined as a “subcompact crossover” and related to the Nissan Juke in the US, was one of the bigger hatches on the road.

At one point, I had the shocking experience of looking to my left and spotting beside me what I thought was a TRULY MASSIVE SUV!

It was a Honda CR-V.

Order was restored when I got home, however. On the ride home from the airport, I spotted no hatchbacks.

But the big SUVs, the really big ones, were back in force.