New Montero Sport 4x4, Fortuner 3.0 4x4 or Sta. Fe 4x4.

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The Montero Sport is derived from a Strada which is a pickup truck so is the Fortuner from the Hi-Lux which is also a pickup truck. So I say the MS and Fort are the ones TH to be SUV's but in reality underneath they are just pick up trucks sold as SUV that caters to 3rd world countries with 3rd world prices. Again its just me...

I think you have it the other way around. The first original SUV's were all truck based vehicles with ladder frames. Jeep Willys, CJ, and Wrangler; Land Rovers, Chevy Blazers, Ford Bronco, Toyota Land Cruisers, Nissan Patrol So if you go buy that definition the Sante Fe is a car(Sonata)trying to be an SUV.

Why? Does SUV necessarily mean it needs to go off-roading? The market is different now! Many manufacturers are trying to meet market demands. And the market demands for more crossover type SUV's rather than truck based SUV's. In the US, the truck based SUV's are slowly declining and crossovers are the taking market share from the truck based SUV's. That is the trend.

Because the the SUV category started as vehicles that could go off road and carry people and camping/hunting supplies. Some were used by people in rural areas who wanted to be able to carry people and other things like in pick up trucks. The 4 door pick up didn't come out in the US until the 2000 Frontier, SUV's served that purpose for them. People who wanted to just stay on the road and carry people and things drove around in station wagons during that time. The crossover category didn't start until Toyota/Lexus made the Harrier/RX300 in 1997. People who have used SUV's since their inception consider the crossover's glorified station wagons. The market changed in the US because alot of the people who bought the truck based SUV's in the 90's wanted a car with the height of the trucks. These were also the soccer moms who stopped using the minivan and bought the truck based SUV's. When the crossovers came out they got the elevated station wagons with better mileage than the truck based SUV's. The crossover's serve their purpose for people who want the image of an SUV but not the actual abilities of an SUV, alot are also sold as FWD as opposed to AWD. Crossovers will never be able to tow like the truck based SUV's because they don't have the chassis to allow it. The introduction of the crossover was the best thing to happen because now the buyers of truck based SUV's will actually use it for what it was meant for and not just to bling it out. Well except in the Philippines where they are status symbols and nobody actually uses a brand new pick up truck to carry dirt.