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Original poster

Why do people buy SUVs?

542 replies

MuskIsACnt · 08/01/2025 23:37

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)?

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WonderingWanda · 09/01/2025 06:40

When my Volvo v50 estate needed replacing the Xc60 was the closest thing to it size and boot wise. I didn't want a longer car for parking and the xc60 is surprisingly not too wide fits easily in parking spaces. We camp a lot so needed the boot space I alsp wanted a tow bar for the bike rack. I did drive BMW X5 for a courtesy car and it was too big to fit in spaces and much trickier on the country lanes, I was glad to give it back.

BigDahliaFan · 09/01/2025 06:41

I prefer parking my golf, it's lower for the dog to jump in the boot and she can see out to woof at Alsatian's.

But DHs SUV thing is much better on motorways, it's higher and I feel safer driving it.

Ilovemyshed · 09/01/2025 06:41

An SUV covers everything from a compact Nissan Juke to a very large Toyota Landcruiser, so some are pretty big cars, others normal size with extra ground clearance.

I have a medium SUV. It has a decent boot capacity and 5 seats. I have it because of the higher driving position which is safer, better road clearance which is good on the rural lanes around me, plus elderly parents can get in and out of it easily. Plus it fits in a normal parking space and is easy to drive.

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FeegleFrenzy · 09/01/2025 06:43

grumpypedestrian · 09/01/2025 05:52

We do camping with proper canvas bell tents and metal poles. I find it laughable when people use camping as an excuse to buy an SUV. We have an old estate, the boots of SUVs are tiny compared to what we fit in our estate.

Yeah, you’re not buying it for camping space! Our estate drives over muddy fields perfectly fine too.

I hate SUVs as they’re what manufacturers think everyone wants, so there’s few decent estates on the market for people who ACTUALLY want boot space and not a status symbol.

Oh you sound just like me 🤣. Even down to the bell tent! Though I’ve sold mine and bought a caravan…..which my estate tows just fine! My boot is huge.

When I bought it the garage were trying to sell me a Ford Kuga SUV instead….boot was smaller than my estate, boot is higher up as well so harder to lift bikes in and out of. Plus it had a lip to the boot, the main selling point of an estate boot to me is sliding stuff in and out. Maybe some SUVs have no lip to the boot, not sure. But I know the mpg on my estate was better than the fuel economy of any SUV I was looking at.

BigDahliaFan · 09/01/2025 06:43

Agree that the huge SUVs (98%of which can't or won't go off road), take up too much space in car parks.

TidyViper · 09/01/2025 06:47

For the same reason people buy anything else - they like it, can afford it and choose to. Nothing to do with anyone else.

(I don’t drive one, prefer a saloon to drive so that’s what I have, lots of petty jealousy on display here though.)

KnutsfordCityLimits · 09/01/2025 06:49

I can't say I would ever buy one but the one thing that I do worry about with my smaller car is that with an SUV parked next to it sometimes you're edging out of spaces without being able to see what's coming at all, which feels really dangerous. The more SUVs there are around the more that's going to happen and the more you feel pressured to join them.

AnnaQuayInTheUk · 09/01/2025 06:50

I've got a mid size SUV. It's a Renault Kadjar so definitely not a status symbol! We have a boat that needs towing plus DH has a hobby which involves needing to drive down muddy tracks in forests. It's easy to park.

HoneyBadgersClaws · 09/01/2025 06:51

username299 · 08/01/2025 23:41

It's a status symbol. Some people are very concerned about how they're perceived by others.

Or because of practicalities? I have one but it’s definitely not because of it being a status symbol 🤣. We have two dogs, a horse trailer to pull etc. I think for most people it won’t have anything to do on how others perceive them.

Thornybush · 09/01/2025 06:55

Just like to say that we have a people carrier and would much prefer an suv but sadly we can't afford it!! For me it's the safety aspect. I would feel much safer having my precious dcs in one of them. Ours doesn't look very robust.

CleftChin · 09/01/2025 06:56

In my case, I tried a little car, and if it was just me, sure it would be fine, but it's me and 2 growing boys, living rurally, so I wanted something a bit bigger (and it does have a bigger boot than a Yaris!) and sturdier (smaller cars tend to have lower safety ratings), higher up so I can see over hedges a bit on country lanes

I don't have any issues with parking no matter what I'm driving - reverse parking is safer and better (apart from if you need to load things into the boot), parallel parking is rare for me, but also fairly easy. And it's even more of a doddle with all the cameras these days. I can see if you struggle with that sort of of thing then a smaller car would be better for you though.

Otherwise, it's really no different from the 5 door hatchbacks I had when I was younger.

BobnLen · 09/01/2025 07:01

A small car is ok if you just commute or go to the shops but for anything else they are quite useless, you can't even do a proper tip run in them

NattyFish · 09/01/2025 07:06

I used to think this way when we lived in a city. After moving to a rural area and having our little beemer scratched, dinged and scraped beyond recognition (as well as frequently getting stuck in mud / grass verges / not able to drive through flooded roads) we're getting a 4x4 SUV for our next car! Plus we have two growing kids and a dog so it's a squeeze.
Also I'm tall and if I wear my hair in a bun it gets squashed against the roof 😂

Anyotherdude · 09/01/2025 07:07

I got mine so that I could take stuff to the dump, as the OH’s car is a 2-seater.
There must be a huge number of reasons for getting an SUV, ease of access and spaciousness being only 2.
As a status symbol might be one reason, but I know very few people who have an SUV for this reason!

Winterskyfall · 09/01/2025 07:07

username299 · 08/01/2025 23:41

It's a status symbol. Some people are very concerned about how they're perceived by others.

I agree, although I think they should rethink their strategy because I do not look on those who drive SUVs in a city setting positively.

Gnomegarden32 · 09/01/2025 07:08

They have been marketed as safer but in fact the opposite is true as the centre of gravity is higher so they are more likely to turn over in a collision. They are also far more likely to kill pedestrians in an accident as the front is higher. Even if they are electric the emissions involved in making them are much higher than for small cars. I was 😮when I was shopping for a new car and found all this out. I think it's justifiable to have one if you live rurally or have back problems or something and find them easier to get into but otherwise they are pretty indefensible imo.

MessyNeate · 09/01/2025 07:09

I went big (rav 4) because 3 teenage boys who play sport and the boot was massive

Now they are older I downsized some what to a CHR which is classed as a mini suv

I do fine bigger cars easier to park though!

PurpleFlower1983 · 09/01/2025 07:09

We’ve got one, 7 seats when needed, fits the dog crate, all out camping things when needed. It is a gas guzzler though! I’ll need to do EV next to counteract the carbon footprint!

IBlameYourMother · 09/01/2025 07:12

We have one of the smaller SUVs. We camp and take bikes, and needed something we could dump the back seats down and have loads of space with good height. It doesn’t take up much more space than the hatch it replaced, it’s a bit longer but no wider, and obviously higher.

It also allows us to get out of the village with the standing water after it rains heavily, which I couldn’t do with the golf. And my elderly grandmother can get in and out of it for hospital trips, which she also struggled to do in the golf.

It does look tiny when we park it next to one of the massive rangerovers though. Some of them are like bloody tanks.

GiddyFawn · 09/01/2025 07:14

I drive a 4x4 because I work in a rural area and frankly it is dangerous down some of the roads I drive on in the winter even in my car.
At the weekend we tend to go everywhere in DHs car (Fiat Panda) as it is more suited to nipping about and takes less space to park. He works across our nearest city and the panda is much more manoeuvrable in city traffic than mine.
I think the panda has a similar upright and higher driving position to mine so while I don’t like to drive low to the ground with my legs out in front there are plenty of non SUV cars that give that position.

ForSale2024 · 09/01/2025 07:16

I have one because I have 2 small DC and it’s SO much easier getting them in and out of the car seats in an SUV. I also find my SUV easier to park than other cars I’ve had. I think because I’m higher up I can see the ends of the car more easily.

User2123 · 09/01/2025 07:16

We needed three rear facing car seats across the back and didn't want a hideous people carrier. Also feels safer as we're now the same size as all the other SUVs rather than feeling bullied in the tiny car we had before.

FeegleFrenzy · 09/01/2025 07:16

It does look tiny when we park it next to one of the massive rangerovers though. Some of them are like bloody tanks

one of my friends has a Range Rover, I joke to her that I need to bring a kiddy booster step to get into it. I’m only short and have to clamber up into it.

NarNarGoon · 09/01/2025 07:18

Mainly comfort - I have a foot issue and the angle of where the foot sits using the accelerator when I am sitting higher up is far less painful.

Safety - I live in Australia, 3+ hrs from major city. It’s far better for driving on the really bad country roads and feels safer when driving surrounded by B doubles on a freeway.

BarbaraHoward · 09/01/2025 07:19

I don't think SUVs are status symbols any more, they're the default car type now like saloons were when I was wee. Certain brands, yes.

We have a Kia Sportage, and before that a Hyundai Tucson (same car). What I once saw referred to on here as "School run Utility Vehicles" which I thought was brilliant and apt. Definitely not status symbols. We bought the first when DC2 came along and we needed to fit two suitcases and a buggy in the boot, and liked it so stuck with the same when it needed to be replaced.

They're easier to drive and park than the Astra we had before them.