Page 12 | Why do people buy SUVs?

MuskIsACnt · 2025-01-08T23:37:04+00:00

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)?

fashionqueen0123 · 09/01/2025 10:02

Conkers2 · 09/01/2025 09:34

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 I can name probably 20 family cars that people would have suggested 15 years ago that have been replaced by an suv.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

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I agree with part of this except that we wanted a bigger boot in our new car and all the (not massive style like a Range Rover) suvs had such small boots! They were like this big car but for what?! They had the same boot as my old Yaris! So got an estate style car with all the mod cons and easy to park.

Conkers2 · 09/01/2025 10:06

fashionqueen0123 · 09/01/2025 10:02

I agree with part of this except that we wanted a bigger boot in our new car and all the (not massive style like a Range Rover) suvs had such small boots! They were like this big car but for what?! They had the same boot as my old Yaris! So got an estate style car with all the mod cons and easy to park.

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100% agreed

We looked at lots where it felt the boot was 90% wheel arch or where the boot was odd shaped so not great for ferrying things about.

We ended up going for an older citreon, but are well aware that model is no longer being made.

All in all I just really miss the old style focus! Practical boot, not a huge car but could pick up second hand furniture in it when needed

Ohhbaby · 09/01/2025 10:10

Conkers2 · 09/01/2025 09:34

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

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Yeah, you're right, SUV's are being manufactured more.
I just think it started because people bought SUV's. If they made SUV's and only the 10% that really needed it, bought it, the other cars wouldn't have been replaced by SUV's.
I think people bought it because it looks and feels good. Yeah in 10 years time, they might have little choice, but that isn't/wasn't the case 5 years ago.

BTW, not hating on SUV's, I also like feeling higher and love driving one, bot most people don't NEED it in my opinion.

My only bug is that parking spaces weren't made for these incedibly large pick up trucks on SUV's so its really hard getting in and out with kids in car seats these days.

TidyViper · 09/01/2025 10:14

Conkers2 · 09/01/2025 10:06

100% agreed

We looked at lots where it felt the boot was 90% wheel arch or where the boot was odd shaped so not great for ferrying things about.

We ended up going for an older citreon, but are well aware that model is no longer being made.

All in all I just really miss the old style focus! Practical boot, not a huge car but could pick up second hand furniture in it when needed

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Loved my 2003 focus!

Was also in a near fatal car crash while sat in the back of one - solidly built wee car which saved my life.

Conkers2 · 09/01/2025 10:18

TidyViper · 09/01/2025 10:14

Loved my 2003 focus!

Was also in a near fatal car crash while sat in the back of one - solidly built wee car which saved my life.

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I had a whole series of them as each time they needed replacing I just got another focus but my 2003 was my favourite of them all!
My last was a 2009, but I found the ones after that lost the big old boot

Niallig32839 · 09/01/2025 10:23

Bigger cars are better for people with children in car seats/ hbbs etc and children are in them much longer than they were in the past. People feel safer in bigger cars too

FeegleFrenzy · 09/01/2025 10:28

I think the point about not all SUVs are big but most big cars are SUVs is very good one, choice is being taken away.

i just did a search on auto trader with certain distance and price and mileage parameters.

46 estates
over 700 SUVs
and over 1000 normal cars.

so I was initially surprised there were that many normal cars. But when I started looking down the list they were nearly all small cars. Fiesta type size and below.

so I added a filter of only 1.8 engine and above to try and capture larger cars only. Literally the only non estate or non SUVs were weird sporty looking Mercedes and BMWs. I admit I did not look at the whole list.

crackofdoom · 09/01/2025 10:29

XiomarasHandbag · 09/01/2025 00:08

Because I won't fit in with the rest of the school mums if I don't have a massive Wankpanzer to drive 2 miles down the road in the suburbs for the school drop off. Also, I need to fit in by parking it badly over two parking spaces in the school carpark and leave it there for 20 minutes while I gossip with my pseudo friends at drop off, and then piss off the local residents by driving it back home over the wrong side of the road because I have no spatial awareness. Also, DH said I need have one to make his dick look bigger with his mates at the golf club.

If you live where I live, you'd agree with the above.

Don't forget I also need it because we go on holiday to Cornwall once a year and need a load of space for all our paddleboards and unnecessary tat that we're going to use once, and we're then going to spend 2 weeks coming to a dead halt in the middle of one track lanes because we can't reverse the fucker and we're terrified of getting our expensive wankpanzer scratched. Sometimes we'll vary this by freaking out because we can't find a space in the busy car park right next to the beach, or getting wedged tight in the narrow lanes of picturesque fishing villages 🙄.

godmum56 · 09/01/2025 10:29

Londontown12 · 09/01/2025 09:14

Deffo status mostly unless u have a gang of kiddies !!
when I walk around and come onto the posh parts most people who have a lot of money have pretty regular old bangers on their drive way !!
when I walk in less posh areas people has brand new SUV cars lol 😂 !

Edited

my SUV is 12 years old and the previous one was older as was the one previous to that. How does that fit your theory?

FeegleFrenzy · 09/01/2025 10:29

Conkers2 · 09/01/2025 10:18

I had a whole series of them as each time they needed replacing I just got another focus but my 2003 was my favourite of them all!
My last was a 2009, but I found the ones after that lost the big old boot

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Dh has my old focus. It’s 2010 and an estate…..which had a boot size comparable to his old non estate mondeo. So 15 years old and drives like a dream. Massive boot, can tow a caravan. I loved that car. It’s a shame they stopped making them.

2025holidayplanner · 09/01/2025 10:31

I have something kind of in between an estate and an SUV. We got ours for more internal space for growing teens and a big boot was very high on our list so I don’t fall into the category of big car/small boot.

crackofdoom · 09/01/2025 10:33

crackofdoom · 09/01/2025 10:29

Don't forget I also need it because we go on holiday to Cornwall once a year and need a load of space for all our paddleboards and unnecessary tat that we're going to use once, and we're then going to spend 2 weeks coming to a dead halt in the middle of one track lanes because we can't reverse the fucker and we're terrified of getting our expensive wankpanzer scratched. Sometimes we'll vary this by freaking out because we can't find a space in the busy car park right next to the beach, or getting wedged tight in the narrow lanes of picturesque fishing villages 🙄.

Edited

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Oops....I nearly forgot this classic: I also need a brand new shiny BMW SUV so I can somehow park it on the beach on Newquay and realise I can't get it off again as the time's coming in....😱

Actually don't stop doing this people, it provides us with Cornwall's #1 spectator sport 😆

ElaborateCushion · 09/01/2025 10:34

fashionqueen0123 · 09/01/2025 09:57

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.

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I have the same concern, but for fatness, not height lol!

My car is a nice size that I can fit in car parks easily and low enough to the floor that I can roll out of onto the floor if absolutely necessary! 😂

DH has a large saloon car and his clubs fit nicely in the boot but the car is so big we don't take it shopping often, unless we're buying something big.

It's so big, we actually fit an entire shower enclosure door in it without having to move the front seats!

MajorCarolDanvers · 09/01/2025 10:34

I drive one. It’s a Skoda so not doing it for the status 🤣🤣🤣

I like the height and feel safer driving it with the better view of traffic

crackofdoom · 09/01/2025 10:35

klopteaklrd · 09/01/2025 07:54

I know people always come on here talking about horses, and muddy fields etc, but come on, we know the huge majority of people buying SUVs are not participating in 'country pursuits'

Apparently the Borough with the largest number of new SUV buyers is a tiny remote area known as Kensington and Chelsea 😆

crackofdoom · 09/01/2025 10:39

Chenecinquantecinq · 09/01/2025 08:12

I will get flamed but you're far far safer in an accident (by this I primarily mean my children). Reason enough for me.

Yet you're more likely to kill other peoples' children.

WorriedRelative · 09/01/2025 10:42

To tow my horse box. Find me a car that can pull 3tonne off a muddy field and I might consider ditching it.

Londontown12 · 09/01/2025 10:42

godmum56 · 09/01/2025 10:29

my SUV is 12 years old and the previous one was older as was the one previous to that. How does that fit your theory?

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lol I’ve not come on for a spat about every single persons cars lol I’m just using my observations when I’m out and about ! And that is generally what I see and I didn’t say every single home has a brand new suv !

user2848502016 · 09/01/2025 10:46

DH has one because he has a boat to tow and launch so drives on the beach/sometimes in the sea.
Other than those sorts of reasons I don't know. It's a pain to park in normal sized car parks and isn't exactly "nippy"!

VesperLind · 09/01/2025 10:46

SneakyLilNameChange · 09/01/2025 09:50

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.

Same. I changed my Golf R for a Tiguan and find the Tig much easier to park and more economical. We are currently en route to the Alps in it and it is stuffed with kit. I have cross-climate tyres which add to the all wheel drive capability and it’s been great this week in the snow. It’s definitely not a status symbol, it’s the pipe and slippers of the SUV world 🤣

turul · 09/01/2025 10:48

We changed from a saloon to a VW Karoc, Does that count? The higher seat is easier to get into for DH who has a bad back. Can average 60mpg on a journey, usually 50+ inc town use.

ruffler45 · 09/01/2025 10:49

Trouble with SUV's is that they obstruct the views of us mere mortals at normal car levels, especially when they have blacked out windows.
That and their headlights are set much higher and blind us mere mortals

WorriedRelative · 09/01/2025 10:56

Conkers2 · 09/01/2025 09:34

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

Show quote history

You do not need an SUV for a tip run 🤣

I took a whole fitted kitchen to the tip in a hot hatch because our council won't allow pick-ups without a commercial licence (which we don't want to pay for as we only use the tip for our own household waste).

Small hatchback cars often have great load space better than bigger cars. Our first SUV was rubbish for load space.

Conkers2 · 09/01/2025 11:08

crackofdoom · 09/01/2025 10:35

Apparently the Borough with the largest number of new SUV buyers is a tiny remote area known as Kensington and Chelsea 😆

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I wonder if this is correct. Even if it is I suspect that it's a fudged stat. The density of any form of car is going to be much higher in one of the higher populated areas of the country.

I suspect it's also due to the likelihood that they have newer cars. We'll over 50% of cars manufactured in the last 3 years are suvs.

I also reckon that if you live in central London you have a car for big trips.
My aim would typically to be as a household to have a smaller car for everyday use, commutes, shopping etc and a bigger car for things like tip runs, holidays, taking dogs in.

I think if I lived somewhere with better public transport, I wouldn't need the small car.

The reality is even if you only need a car to put suitcases in a few times a year to travel to your 2nd home, or your monthly trip to the ski lessons... you'll still have to own that car all year round. As a previous poster said most people don't have different cars for different ocassions

Conkers2 · 09/01/2025 11:16

WorriedRelative · 09/01/2025 10:56

You do not need an SUV for a tip run 🤣

I took a whole fitted kitchen to the tip in a hot hatch because our council won't allow pick-ups without a commercial licence (which we don't want to pay for as we only use the tip for our own household waste).

Small hatchback cars often have great load space better than bigger cars. Our first SUV was rubbish for load space.

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The decent size hatchbacks being manufactured are few and far between, is that hatchback still being manufactured with the same size boot?

The car manufacturers are really pushing the choice as suv or compact, with a smaller amount that are comparable to the regular cars I used to have.

I had an old focus in loved and was perfect for that kind of thing, then it got redesigned with a smaller boot (and different shaped), and now is being discontinued completely because of the push to suv. Ford is literally planning on only selling suvs and mustangs to my understanding (in the uk)

We ended up not getting an suv because we bought an older car in the end, but really struggled to find anything from the last 3 years ish, that had a comparable boot that wasn't an suv

(Volvos were out of our price range, and even they tried to go suv only, and a volkswagan has difficult peddles for my short wife)

It's fine while there's still lots of options around second hand but at somepoint they will age out and aren't being replaced.

As over 60% of cars being made in 2023 were suvs then over 60% of cars in the second hand market in 10 years will end up being suvs

Why do people buy SUVs?

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