I thought it was also caused by trying to translate the face of the car range (often trying to make the car seem low and wide) into the greater vertical real estate and so making it seem long and square. Alongside the technical requirements for safety etc.
It will be interesting to see what develops as the changing requirements of the electric car collide with the design. Reduced cooling means the need for air slots will be reduced to improve aerodynamic performance so the super-sized grills will be even more glitzy and fashion based.
Our current SUV was the first as we wanted to try to see what the big thing was. The view is an improvement but otherwise I don't really get it. The E Estate that came before it was a better living experience for our needs. I guess if you have a couple of big dogs the larger load bay may prove useful. Otherwise the carrying capability of the E was just as good. I prefer the lower CoG, better braking/performance/handling etc of the lower car. Nice but little benefit for us.
I agree re the Bentley, terrible. Ditto the earlier Porsches, it has improved a bit now but still not something I could love. I also feel the Alfa SUV has suffered due to the stretch of the face shape. I like what Range Rover have done with the new models. But that shape does not need to blend into a car shape. I do like the Rivian shape which is unashamedly SUV blocky.
