These are small utes in a small niche, because “compact” becomes “mid-size” as soon as the vehicle’s length stretches much beyond 181 inches—the length of the Acura RDX, as a matter of fact. This ruled out a few SUVs we might otherwise have included—the Lincoln MKX and the Lexus RX350, for example, both with strong V-6s and luxury aplenty. They would have fared well in this group, but both were more than five inches too long. Ditto the Infiniti FX35, eight inches too long. The 183.9-inch-long Toyota FJ Cruiser might have been granted special dispensation, but no one would consider the funky FJ luxurious unless he’d just moved here from Kazakhstan.