The ‘90s was the decade when people finally started forgetting about the malaise era and started talking about horsepower again. But this was also the time when interest in sedans began to slip, making it the decade of the rise of the SUV.

With everyone wanting a big family car, automakers turned to churn out SUVs by the dozen. Many really cool and tough SUVs came out in the '90s and some of these nameplates are still around. On the flip side, many strange SUVs also came about, especially when it came to looks and features because each automaker wanted their SUV to bask in its own spotlight.

Not all of the designs worked, though, because sometimes enthusiasm to make things different leads to a mixed bag of results. So, here go 10 of the strangest-looking SUVs from the ‘90s, you may not have known about, or seen much.

10 Isuzu VehiCROSS: The Vampire SUV

1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS on rocky road
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The VehiCROSS was a two-door made by Isuzu and perhaps one of the reasons why this Japanese carmaker upped and left US shores. With a strange bumper design, horns on the headlights, fangs on the grille, and gray plastic everywhere on the outside, this was a strange SUV.

Silver Isuzu VehiCROSS on the road
Via: Bring A Trailer

The spare fit into a strangely curved tailgate and to top it, the key fob has a tailgate button on it that did absolutely nothing. This may be the inspiration behind the Pontiac Aztek, which is not necessarily a good thing.

9 Toyota RAV4 Convertible: The Soft-Top SUV

1998 Toyota RAV4 Convertible SUV
Via: Toyota

Toyota is undeniable 4X4 prowess. So once, Toyota decided to make a RAV4 convertible. Why? Because they weren’t sure that a compact SUV would sell and they decided that shelving safety for a soft-top SUV was the perfect answer. It was unpopular, of course.

1998 Toyota RAV4 Convertible SUV
Via: Pinterest

To have an otherwise safe SUV come with a soft-top roof, leaving your noggin exposed to some serious damage in case of a collision was not very well thought off by Toyota. Of course, the hardtop “normal” RAV4 managed to put things right.

8 Mercury Mountaineer: The Too Me-Too SUV

1998 Mercury Mountaineer SUV
Via: Pinterest

When you make a rebadged vehicle, you have to make the effort to give each of the four-wheelers their own identity. Like the Mercury Cougar and the Ford Mustang. But when Mercury decided it wanted a Ford Explorer of its own, they made the Mountaineer with a new but not vastly different grille.

1996 Mercury Mountaineer SUV
Via: Pinterest

It looked like such a blatant copy of the Ford Explorer that consumers decided that they’d rather have the real thing and the Mountaineer was left floundering at dealerships. Plus the front seats with integrated headrests were more irritating than comfortable.

7 Pontiac Sunrunner: A Pint Of An SUV

1990s Pontiac Sunrunner GT SUV
Via: Flickr

In case you are wondering why the Pontiac Sunrunner looks too darn familiar, we have a few names for you. Think of the Geo Tracker and the Suzuki Sidekick. Just another prime example of GM deciding to rebadge a car in every way possible, the Pontiac Sunrunner was sold in Canada, after GM dropped the Asuna marque almost as soon as it had picked it up.

1990s Asuna Sunrunner SUV
Via: Flickr

Power was decent, from a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine considering the tiny size of the car. Not a grand success, but a definite eye-catcher today if you see one.

Related: 10 Sickest Pontiacs No One Bought

6 GMC Typhoon: The GMC Syclone SUV

1992 GMC Typhoon SUV
Via: Pinterest

The GMC Typhoon was the SUV version of the performance pickup truck that was the GMC Syclone and just like the truck, it too could sprint 0-60 MPH in a flat 5.3 seconds. For the early ‘90s, this was stellar. But it remained a halo vehicle and not a big seller.

Black 1992 GMC Typhoon SUV
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The idea of an SUV back then was a gradual evolution of a family vehicle, so no one really wanted to be plastered back in the seats with massive acceleration with kids in the car. Plus, in the name of styling, all it looked like was a box on wheels.

Related: 10 Most Powerful 90s Trucks, Ranked

5 Acura SLX: The Poorly Rebadged SUV

1990s Acura SLX SUV
Via: Pinterest

The Acura SLX was a desperate move by Acura to get a large SUV in its lineup but instead of building one for themselves, they went to Isuzu and got themselves a Trooper. Literally. Isuzu was generous enough to have given the Trooper to anyone who wanted one, from Honda, Chevrolet, to even Holden in Australia.

1996 Acura SLX SUV
Via: Pinterest

Acura tried to fill it up with luxury but the looks were clearly that of the Trooper. Later, Acura added even more visual cues to the car but the consumer knew the skeleton inside and chose to go with other SUVs instead.

Related: The 5 Best Acura Models (& The 5 Worst)

4 Daihatsu Rocky: A Rocky Start And End

1991 Daihatsu Rocky SUV
Via: Mecum

The Daihatsu Rocky was part of a slew of strange ‘90s SUVs, including the Suzuki Sidekick, Geo Tracker, and even the Suzuki Samurai. Today, very few would remember this car considering few sold and barely enough remain.

1991 Daihatsu Rocky SE Mini SUV
Via: Mecum

It was a rough ride, had a short wheelbase but a high ride height, and bounced the passengers along in pleasant discomfort on less than stellar roads. Plus, it came with a hardtop or soft top, in case you truly wanted to live life dangerously.

3 Suzuki X-90: A Truck-Built SUV

1996 Suzuki X-90 2-Door Off-Road SUV
Via: Mecum

The Suzuki X-90 was a tiny, barely-there Kei SUV built on the chassis of a pickup. Honestly, it resembled a rollerskate with its narrow wheelbase and rather lofty height. A two-seat SUV (wait, is that a thing?) with a semblance of cargo space, this sub-sub-compact vehicle was the weirdest that the ‘90s got with car design.

1996 Suzuki X90 Mini SUV
Via: Mecum

Of course sometimes, weird turns into cute and today an X-90 on the road is likely to have all eyes on it, with most eyes bugging out of the head. But frankly, this is not a car anyone would ever need.

Related: 5 Legendary 90s Cars (& 5 Not-So-Great Ones)

2 Lamborghini LM002: The SUV That Was A Truck

1990s Lamborghini LM002 Truck-SUV
Via: Pinterest

If there was ever an SUV that used only the straightest lines possible, completely eschewing curves, it was the Rambo Lambo, aka the Lamborghini LM0002. Lambo called it an SUV although there was an open bed at the rear, so you technically call it a pick-up or a SUT.

90s Lamborghini LM002 Truck-SUV
Via: Pinterest

It was a crew-cab pickup that bore the V12 from Countach and came from 1986 to 1993 and was a very capable four-wheel-drive that jet 444 horsepower. Lambo priced it at $120,000 and made it so edgy, it could cut.

1 Isuzu Amigo: Not A Friend In Need

1990s Isuzu Amigo SUV
Via: Flickr

The Isuzu Amigo, known as the MU in Japan, came with optional power steering, and that in itself, spoke volumes. A basic and affordable SUV where aircon came only in the top trims, the Amigo’s soft-top option tended to fade at the dealerships itself.

1999 Isuzu Amigo SUV
Via: Pinterest

Not particularly well-built, it was nonetheless an affordable option for the younger crowd, some of whom did make the mistake of buying one. It was just another oddity in the odd time that was the ‘90s, especially in the automobile market.

Sources: TopGear, MotorTrend