Totally agree they do not even look nice.

is this a niche that exists only in the minds of marketing men (and it probably is men in this case)?

True. Marketing people have discovered that if you put out a particular niche model , there will always be an idiot with more money than sense who will buy it. Can't blame them for playing to that kind of market.

Cars for people who don't know anything about cars

It's also transport for people who regard what they drive as some kind of fashion statement. "Look at me, I'm driving this xxxxxxx. What does it say about me?"

What it actually says about them is not what they imagine it says about them.

"or is this a niche that exists only in the minds of marketing men"

and those who need to look for ways to spend their money or who have more money than sense (lucky bXXXXXXs)

If someone wants a 4x4 coupe, they should buy an Audi A5 Quattro ;)

I think it's just an evolution from cars like the Ford C-Max, Vauxhall Meriva etc. Firstly small cars which had been crossed with mpv's. Then you get the large 4x4's which have been popular for a while. I think manufacturers had seen the types of people who were buying these 4x4's and what they were using them for and tried to make a smaller vehicle with a road presence of a 4x4. They also target people who previously drove the medium mpv's and present them with a practical car which seems better and safer to most people.