SUVOCABULARY

If you are considering joining the crowd buying a sport-utility vehicle or pickup, you should know some essential terms before you walk into a dealership. Here’s a basic primer to ensure you are on the right (perhaps muddy) path.

Four-wheel-drive systems— usually used with pickups and truck-based SUVs—use a selectable transfer case that can shift the vehicle’s power to both the front and rear drive shafts when needed. The transfer case also