{"id":32786,"date":"2024-12-23T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T08:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/?p=32786"},"modified":"2024-12-19T13:23:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T13:23:11","slug":"famous-firsts-the-matra-rancho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/famous-firsts-the-matra-rancho\/","title":{"rendered":"Famous Firsts \u2013 The Matra Rancho"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s roads are teaming with so-called \u2018crossovers\u2019 – compact SUVs ostensibly marketed to those \u201cchasing an active lifestyle\u201d. Don\u2019t be fooled by their elevated stance and chunky appearance; these wannabe off-roaders are little more than jacked-up versions of regular hatchbacks and saloons without an iota of off-road ability. To make matters worse, with added height comes an elevated centre of gravity, dashing any hope of decent handling and resulting in a car that\u2019s neither at home on the tarmac nor off it. From our experience, most ride badly, are pig-ugly to look at, have surprisingly cramped passenger compartments and are ludicrously expensive to buy.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably gathered that we don\u2019t like crossovers.<\/p>\n

\"Matra,<\/p>\n

It\u2019s miraculous anyone puts up with them, but the sad reality for us petrolheads (lamenting the lack of new cars we\u2019d actually like to own) is that they sell like hotcakes. Buyers cite the commanding driving position, greater perceived safety and better fuel economy over a full-size SUV.<\/p>\n

The car-buying public\u2019s affair with the \u201csoftroader\u201d may well be a fairly recent phenomenon, but the crossover concept has been around far longer than you might think. It just didn\u2019t take off as it has today and we wonder if that\u2019s because there were other viable options. There was a time you could go out and buy a proper off-roader like a Range Rover<\/a> and insure it without having to chain the thing to a lamppost every night and sell a kidney to keep up with the repayments.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So what was the first crossover SUV? As with any search for origins, a debate of chicken vs egg profundity is bound to lie at the heart of the matter. But we\u2019d wager the first crossover didn\u2019t come from any mainstream brands that revel in its vast profits today. No, it seems to us that we have to thank (or rather blame) a company most people have probably never heard of\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We are, of course, talking about the Matra Rancho.<\/p>\n

The now-defunct French industrial conglomerate Matra<\/a> had made a name for itself building the rather unconventional Murena and Bagheera – both uniquely un-sporty sports cars. This wasn\u2019t the sort of company that did things by the book. These and the Rancho were the vision of Antonis Volanis, the Greek industrial designer who\u2019d later go on to pen the Renault Espace<\/a> – the world\u2019s first MPV, so he had previous as it turns out.<\/p>\n