There might have something to do with the taxation, considering SUVs are registered as a light truck there. As trucks are at least suppposed to be a work vehicle, eventually when a business issues a vehicle to an employee, let's say a sales representative for instance, it may actually seem to make more sense to issue some random soccer-mom SUV than a hatchback like the Chevrolet Onix available in some parts of Latin America (while in others only the sedan is available, sourced from China instead of Brazil, having previously also been made in Mexico before its production there was phased out and the Onix sold in Mexico is now also sourced from China, clearing space at the San Luís Potosí factory to make the Equinox for export, increasing the total output as the Ramos Arizpe factory is still making the Equinox too).
Truth be told, it's not as small as a Suzuki Swift/Chevrolet Metro, but it also has a 3-cyl 1.0L engine (or 1.2L for some export markets) either naturally-aspirated or turbocharged (with the 1.0L being the only turbocharged option even for export markets).
