The recent Kia Carnival (name for US market IIRC) is an interesting response to this phenomenon. It's a true minivan that's just styled as if it's an SUV.
My theory is that there's (in USA) a pervasive emotional connection to driver seat height that's driven/exacerbated by the arms race to build larger and taller vehicles. Everyone wants their family to be in the safest vehicle possible, and higher driver seat height is a tactile, intuitive way to feel like you're in a larger and ostensibly safer vehicle, than other cars on the road with lower driver seat height.
Around where I am, the Kia Telluride is much more popular than the Carnival, which I think is telling.
