Why do people buy SUVs?

[MuskIsACnt]

I need a new car and I’ve always had a small car but it seems every other car now is an SUV, so I’m wondering why and whether I need one.

The boot space is often the same as smaller cars, they’re more expensive and arguably harder to park. Am I missing some great benefit that I should be considering? Or does driving a big car just make people feel big (I used to drive a Luton van and that made me feel big)?

I just bought one as I like it.

A smaller Toyota SUV hybrid is pleasing two of my friends.
Low running costs and they have a full size spare, a higher viewing position and are easy to get into.

Boot space is not the same in a small car vis a vis an SUV, especially if you have one or more dogs or take your kids to ice skating/hocky/cricket etc and or carry larger musical instruments and a billion school bags. I bought my first SUV because all the cars on the school run were SUvs and the headlights in Winter were blinding when you are seated lower down in an estate or small car. Couldn’t see around/past them so felt vulnerable on the roads too.

Then there was the fact that my youngest is nearly 6ft4. No way to fit him in a small car and have room for someone else to sit in front/behind him easily.

My 15yo, 100k miles on the clock, extremely battered Volvo XC90 is definitely not owned as a status symbol 😂

We got it because - we've got three children, two of whom were in car seats at the time and it's useful to have the extra seats in the back when they have friends over, it does have a massive boot and we were doing a house renovation - the ability to fit four reclaimed doors into the car lengthways was an advantage, and most of all, the work I do takes me to a lot of residential developments during the construction phase and the road is one of the last things to be completed.

As it stands we will probably replace it in the next couple of years as it's not ULEZ compliant and we live right on the boundary.

To those saying they need an SUV for the boot space, space at the back and height (to go in and out of the car), the best cars you can get are vans, not SUV.

Cars like the Ford Tourneo, VW caddy etc…

It’s your own children and their friends around school and clubs that you are most likely to kill

We have several reasons for owning one, none of which are that we want one! I would dearly love to spend my driving time in a Golf instead.

The biggest driver for NEEDING an SUV is that until very very recently we have had 2 or 3 car seats to fit. We're now down to one car seat, but still need to get three kids across the back seat. There are very very few cars smaller than a 7 seater that can comfortably fit three kids across the back (one in a car seat). I realise that sounds ridiculous, because when we were kids three across the back was perfectly fine, but the manufacturers have added padding and shaping to the rear seat bench that very very clearly marks two comfortable side seats and a small flat space in between. My four year old's car seat doesn't fit in the middle space and so takes one of the "proper" side seats (and the shoulders of the high back invade the middle seat space) and the 10 and 14 year old kids don't fit comfortably next to it. It's doable for a short journey, but the bigger two kids are squashed together and the middle person can't sit straight.

I think needing three decent seats across the back is probably the reason for people needing an SUV. It could easily be fixed by reverting to less padded/shaped rear seats, but as cars all become more luxurious, the manufacturers aren't going to revert to an old style "bench seat" across the back.

We have other reasons for needing a 7 seater, but I totally realise these are less common reasons; there are 6 of us in the family, we tow a 6-berth caravan multiple times per year, and we camp in said caravan and so need a large boot for luggage/table/cool box etc.

So I don't really want an SUV/MPV but I don't have a choice. If someone could invent a Golf that'd fit 6 people including one car seat, tow a large caravan and fit a load of camping stuff in the back then I'd be willing to pay ££££ for it!

@JustKeepSwimmingJust

Well I haven't hit anything in 40 yrs so I'll take my chances . There's nothing people can say to stop me buying the cars of my choice .

I always had suv as company cars for driving position and because I was on the road a lot safety. Now I have a tiny but safe car and love it, easy to park very economical on fuel and it’s only me that uses it, take my husbands car if we need space.

Just to add, I don't have 6 people, a caravan a heap of luggage with me every journey. So on the majority of my trips I look like I have a massive car for no reason. Sadly I don't have the funds for multiple cars to suit the demands of each day!

There are def legitimate reasons to drive a huge SUV. Families with 3 or more DC, living rurally, having a horse, caravan, living on a farm, owing an HVAc business and a few other reasons..
But lets be completely honest, most people have it for the status..
A bigger car or SUV just looks more expensive than a tiny car. People are more impressed. ( not all but many) And people with no kids/or 1 -2 kids living in the city can spin having an SUV anyway they want (ohh i like to sit higher, but we have a 3rd house in cornwall, the roads are awful, the dc stroller is soooo large, my son does cricket and the kit is humongous, you name it), its about status and how you are perceived. Bottomline. Most SUV's on the road are not neccesary. Maybe 10% of them are..

I'm not saying its not fun to drive an SUV or be the bigger fish on the road, but those are not legitimate reasons for NEEDING an SUV.

Living on a farm? Only if you are driving the kids to music lessons and school. None of my family of farmers drives a SUV. Totally impractical

I got mine for my hobby (dogs and dog equipment) but I now don't need it and will downsize when I'm able to. However I've been looking for a nice midsize hatchback and the choices are dire - it definitely seems like every car is now an SUV. It's almost impossible to park anywhere because of the size of it and it costs a fortune! My tiny Peugeot 208 I used to have was far cheaper to run and I paid no road tax! I'd like something a bit more fancy than a Ford Focus but that kind of size. My neighbour has also downsized from an SUV to a little hatchback so I think people are getting fed up with them tbh

The boots can be really small! We hired a Kia Sportage abroad, whereas we usually hire a "mid size" car that's about the size of a Passat. Suitcases fitted easily into the mid size car but didn't in the Kia and nor did it have a parcel shelf, so anything you put in the boot was on show.

DH plays golf and wants to be able to leave his clubs in the car if he can't be arsed to bring them in

He was really keen on some of the sporty SUVs like the Audi Q4 or Mercedes GLA but, while they're massive cars, there's no way he'd fit his clubs and trolley in the boot.

As to why people have them, my SIL has one as does a friend. Both of them say they like the higher driving position for visibility. They are both short, but I'm not sure if this is a coincidence! 😂

Genuinely if you want a car that can do an tip run, ikea trip or hold a push chair with your shopping then you are looking at suvs 90% of the time (if you want a post 2020 reg)

Car manufacturers simply aren't making the mid size cars. Lots of the cars that I've had, my parents had are now replaced by suvs in the newer car market

Eventually as the second hand car market dries up with older models of estates and people need ulez compliance, or whatever the new petrol shunning fines are then lots of people will struggle to avoid an suv.

There are only a handful of estate type models still being produced. I can name probably 20 family cars that people would have suggested 15 years ago that have been replaced by an suv.

Lots of the people in this thread who've said they don't have an suv, have a car who doesn't have a modern equivalents

This exactly.
I love my mini but I don't feel safe driving it in the dark because of modern headlights and increase in SUV's on the road.
I am seriously considering getting an SUV primarily for the above but also as the roads in our area tend to flood more often now.

I remember similar arguments when the seat belt law was brought in. People were incredulous that the state was going to ‘nanny’ them and there were lots of similarly spurious arguments to the tune of if there’s any risk at all in life we might as well not bother reducing them.

That’s not a sensible argument to my mind. Why would you not reduce serious risks if you can? There’s a balance between accepting some risk because the pay off is worth it, while looking to take sensible measures to reduce the risk down where we can and it’s feasible to do so.

For most people it is very feasible to buy a safer style of car.

Isn’t it a bit of an arms race where everyone around you is driving SUVs so you worry your kids won’t be as safe if there’s a car accident? That’s the only reason I can think of for getting one.

The safety argument is not something you need to ‘buy’ or not. The stats are clear that SUVs are more dangerous and it is for a number of reasons.

They are heavier, so will damage you more, especially children, plus the raised height means they strike you at chest and head height (children) leading to more catastrophic injuries than if they hit legs. It’s not that hard to comprehend, surely.

Genuinely look at the current huyundi offerings or ford offerings.
The focus is widely rumoured to be discontinued this year

There is only compacts and suvs being produced.

Soon people won't have a choice

We had a VW golf which I loved but got a Tiguan as our next family car and I have to say it's so much better. So much more space for the kids, can fit 3 comfortably in the back rather than squashed, more boot room etc. Its also more economical with petrol than our old car. I don't like massive range rovers etc especially in cities but its been a good swap for us.

I've been repeating this all over the thread because I think people need to be aware because if they don't want an suv or suvs to be everywhere then they need to put pressure on car manufacturers

Car manufacturers are mostly focusing on producing compacts eg yaris size cars, or suvs

Ford for example has axed things like mondeos,fiestas and is supposed to be getting rid of the focus in favour of producing suv equivalents

The car options people used to have are disappearing as the second hand market ages

Soon people will have very limited options but suvs If they need a decent boot.

I understand what you’re saying but I’m not sure a 4x4 driver is more likely to hit a pedestrian than anyone else. New cars have automatic braking systems so I would suggest are safer generally. To say nothing of the fact you should be watching where you’re going and not going too fast so you can stop in time. If you’re hitting a pedestrian it’s because of poor driving, the type of car you are driving is irrelevant.

Screaming safety over and over again doesn’t mean you win the argument. If weight and size is the issue what about buses? Trucks? Delivery vans? Why not just do away with vehicles altogether? If we all walk everywhere that would be safer but it’s not practical.

There’s a balance to be struck between reasonable safety precautions and practicality. Which is why we have speed limits, traffic calming measures, zig zags at schools (pet hate of mine seeing parked on them) and ultimately enforcement against people who break the rules.

I wonder if those saying you don't need an SUV are those that haven't experienced two+ DC in rear facing car seats until 4. I had a Peugeot 308 prior to my 3008 and it became difficult for tall DH to drive safely with DC sitting behind.

Also with regards to safety, I now have a 3008 SUV and I would say the visibility is much better, so whilst my car may cause more damage if I hit someone, I'm much less likely to hit them in the first place. My 3008 has lots of features, cameras for parking, alarms when approaching another vehicle, lights showing cars in blindspot that my 308 didn't have.

I think on this threads people's definitions of SUVs vary. My car is an SUV, it is the same range as a Ford Kuga, Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Karoq. Not like these huge American cars. And the cars in this range are better for the enviroment than most Saloon cars with huge engines.

Haha! I’m short but I do not want the hassle of trying to squeeze one into various parking spaces. I have an estate style car now. The boot is big but car is the same width as a smaller car.