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)?

To show off.

I have a small SUV because I wanted it. I compared emissions and footprint and it's barely different to medium sized non SUV cars.

The town where I live has a huge number of affluent pensioners who have the very expensive range rovers, the ones that are over £100k. The proportion who just park them across a number of spaces as they are too big, surely it’s stressful for them. I always say i have poor spatial awareness and consequently drive a fiat 500 but that doesn’t seem to bother other people.

if you aren’t challenged and can drive them I assume you have them as they are comfortable and a status symbol.

Mines a 2006 piece of junk so definitely not a status thing 😂😂. But the boot space! I can get the pram in the “family” car as it’s advertised, and then the boot is full. In the SUV I can get the pram, a big shop and still have a bit of room.

I like the higher driving position. I like the sturdy feeling of it. And it's four wheel drive.

I'm a good parker so no issues with reversing into spaces.

And I especially like being an extremely courteous SUV driver and confounding all the twats who think that owning an SUV makes me pretentious/rude/an idiot/iuncaringofotherpeople etc etc.

Yeah, I'm not ashamed to say that at no point during car shopping did I say to myself "Maybe I should pay a small fortune for a small impractical car on the off chance I hit someone after 20 years of being accident-free".

I don’t have an SUV but I do have a big 4x4 pickup. I live in a rural area which is prone to flooding. When it does flood I’m usually one of the only ones able to leave the village (and give others lifts to leave/come back) as mine has a snorkel and breather kit.

I use it a lot for towing. I neee the capacity and weight of it for safe towing.

My DP is looking to change his small car to an SUV this year for the same kinda reason. I usually do his towing for him or lend him my truck if he wants to go somewhere without me. Most of the time that is fine but last year we both needed to tow cars to a show. We ended up with him using my truck to tow his heavier car and me using my car to tow my very lightweight car. My car is capable of towing my little vintage car around but it’s close to the tow car’s weight limit. That is ok every now and then but i wouldn’t want to be doing it on a regular basis. So he is looking at getting an SUV to use as a daily car plus towing his vintage car around. We don’t live together so it is a bit of a faff when he has to come to mine every time (30-40 minute drive) to get my truck to go back to his into get his car, then the same at the end. Plus if he has his own he will be able to use it for work towing purposes if he wants to and more practical for picking up larger items for work than his small current car.

Another reason is that I have a slipped disc. I once got ‘stuck’ during Covid trying to get out of my car as I couldn’t lift my leg up over the sill to get out. I was there for about 20 minutes and nearly had to call my neighbour for help. It was much easier for me to get in and out of my truck as it is higher up.

Pajero or Outlander. I've had both and loved them.
Can I ask when people from the UK say an "Estate" is that the same as a station wagon?
And is a "saloon" the same as a sedan?
Just interested.
Btw just bought a 2nd hand Kia Stinger. Now that is a fun car. Though not as good as my beloved 1990 Toyota Celica . It had flicky headlights. I've been looking for one for years but everybody seems to be hanging on to them. 😥
I had an SUV for years and if you have more than one child there isn't much else to buy. Station wagons which were hugely popular appear to have disappeared so that's the only option left if you want to fit the kids in and have a big boot.

Because I need to be able to get to work in winter. And go to the countryside.

Because they're a bit dim?

Because humans grew larger as well, outwards and upwards

Oh and my big truck is 100 times easier to park than my car. You are parking a big rectangle in another rectangle. The car is curved so not as easy.

Mmm....how they're perceived by others is quite open-ended. There may be a lot of different perceptions.

The bigger the car, the teeny-tinier I look as I drop the kiddos to school.

See also: massive sunglasses, massive handbag

Because I need a vehicle that will reliably manage Highland and deeply rural roads that I regularly see other cars struggle with, and in which I'll have a reasonable chance of survival if my car comes off those roads (coming off those roads often involves cars going down steep slopes into trees or rocks). My current vehicle has a good safety record and drives on those roads like a dream even in bad weather.

I went from car to SUV mainly because I wanted something higher up, but still like a car (as opposed to Range Rover type) but also had the capability of dealing with worse weather etc. mine has been brilliant in this latest weather and I have volunteered to transport staff into the local hospital who couldn’t get in.

A selfish factor was also I was sick of being dominated in the road by big thumping 4x4 vehicles and it definately makes a difference…selfish I know. Parking is definately a downside though compared to small vehicles

You have a car shaped like a banana?

Everyone on this thread claims their huge cars are easy to park. But out in the real world I see countless school run mums arriving early because they will struggle to park their SUV unless they take up two spaces, and I see SUVs taking up double spaces all over supermarket car parks. Or taking ridiculous amounts of time to get into a space.

We should very much think of the 'off chance' we will hit someone.

My husband has a large car but that’s because we have 4 children. If one or both of the seats are down then there’s a lot of boot space which we need if we’re going away anywhere. I refuse to drive it and continue with my old car but I can’t fit in extra passengers if I have the kids in and with a large car seat in the back, they’re also very squished. It’s necessary for us but if you don’t need one then I really wouldn’t bother.

While driving, sure. But not when it comes to buying a car.

I have to put my hand up and say I HATED them, I find them obnoxious and assumed they were penis extensions (and whatever the female equivalent is). It does my head in that people buy big cars they can't drive and am sure most of the time it is a status symbol. We've always had hatchbacks and managed just fine.

But, but, but. We are car shopping at the moment and have gotten into a few and I do understand a bit more now how it feels behind the wheel of one, it is does feel more luxurious. I still think most are unnecessarily big, and only weighing up between Audi Q2 or Q3 so not entirely selling out, but I do get it a little more now...but really don't think the majority of our roads and parking spaces are designed for the big ones.

Not sure how to even respond to a comment this stupid

I presume you don't own a car then.

Goodness me, why? You'll end up spending half your life searching for a charging point that works, then when you find one, the other half of your life waiting for your car to charge.

EVs are a massive con.

But this is a bonus from an actual driving feel pov. I love being in a low down vehicle, they drive so much nicer. 😁