2013 Ford Escape (Ford)
Generally speaking, auto thieves gravitate toward cars, especially perennial targets like the Honda Accord and Civic. But as everyone knows, SUVs and crossovers are big business in America, and they're not immune to crime.
Which SUVs and crossovers rank highest with the nation's ne'er-do-wells? The National Insurance Crime Bureau pored over police reports, insurance claims, and other sources to find out.
Its rankings are based on vehicles reported stolen over a three year period, from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013. To simplify matters, the organization focused solely on three model years: 2011, 2012, and 2013. Using those criteria, NICB was left with 21,711 SUV and crossover thefts to analyze.
Given the popularity of compact crossovers, it's not too surprising that they were the biggest targets. Large compacts came in second, followed by their mid-size kin. Here's a rundown of thefts by class:
- Compact crossover: 6,981
- Large crossover: 3,206
- Mid-Sized crossover: 3,204
- Large SUV: 2,902
- Premium crossover: 2,394
- Premium SUV: 1,560
- Compact SUV: 856
- Mid-Sized SUV: 555
- Pickup SUV: 53
American models were more far popular targets for theft than their Asian competitors. (No European model made the top-ten list, though that could change if Volkswagen gets its way.) NICB's ten most-stolen SUVs and crossovers for 2010-2013 were:
- Ford Escape: 1,421
- Ford Edge: 1,140
- Ford Explorer: 958
- Jeep Grand Cherokee: 912
- Kia Sorento: 725
- Chevrolet Traverse: 720
- Nissan Rogue: 695
- Honda CR-V: 688
- Toyota RAV4: 665
- Chevrolet Equinox: 648
Several of those models have been on NICB's top-ten list for a while. In fact, the Escape was #1 in the last survey we saw -- though back then, Ford didn't manage to take the #2 and #3 spots, as it did this year. Maybe Ford should take that as a compliment?
For complete details about the NICB's study, check out this PDF.