Why are there so many SUV's on the road?

[Sausagenbacon]

I've just had a wonderful cycle ride (we used to cycle a lot during lockdown but not since).
We really noticed how busy the roads were, which was unsurprising, but we also noticed that most people drive suv's now, which is a pita.
Why is this, and how do people afford them?

Car finance I think is a major contributor. Also a kind of size race, people would not have them if others didn't.

My solution would be to have SUVs and high performance cars as a separate category of licence. A period of a clean licence before you would be eligible (say five years), higher medical standards (as you do with lorries and buses), and perhaps have to take your theory and maybe practical test again. Even having to take your theory test again would put some people off.

I'd also have higher parking charges (or lower ones for smaller cars) and a much higher taxation of them.

So you are one of the 1% or maybe 2% who have a good reason for them.

Surely what really matters is how any car is driven (from a cyclist’s point of view) rather than the type of car? Obviously a bigger car being driven dangerously is potentially more damaging. I cycle and ride horses and I’ve certainly been on the receiving end of some dangerous and inconsiderate driving but that’s generally been from idiots flying around in small hatchbacks or vans.

I have a large 4x4 which I originally got for towing and transporting multiple children. I could downsize now but it’s expensive to change cars and these days I’m grateful for the car’s ability to manage horrendous potholes everywhere. It’s 10 years old and has done 110k miles and is good for many more. It’s a hybrid so I’ll soon be penalised for the electric and the petrol engine, if that makes you feel any better @Sausagenbacon?!

As for SUVs being everywhere, I’m sure that’s true. Manufacturers seem to be moving towards that type of car so I guess it’s what is on offer. I think people also like a slightly higher seating position etc and I suppose for some a particular type of car is a status symbol (in their own tiny minds).

What’s the particular PITA element?

This

I've owned a "compact" SUV, a diesel Vauxhall Mokka, for nearly ten years now and it's been a great car. I've never been a particularly confident driver, so it suits me perfectly to have a higher driving position with good visibility, plus a feeling of solidity and enough power to get me out of trouble without being scarily fast. It's also comfortable, reasonably economical and not too expensive to insure. What's not to like?

They’re fashionable so there are more of them around / for sale etc. I think the trend will swing back to space saving, tiny cars soon but I have the Mumsnet standard enormous sporty teenage children and big dogs so am enjoying the large boot and extra leg room for now.

I’m with you, OP.

They are a PITA because they are excessive on their materials use and therefore bad for the environment; they are too big for parking spaces (meaning that the rest of us need to squeeze into our cars when we find one has parked in the next space; and they completely block the line of sight at junctions etc for those of us in normal-sized cars.

I think that the answer seems to boil down to howe selfish you are.
We took our 3 children to France in a Nova, and it was no problem at all.
And, for those asking why they are a PITA, just try cycling. They take up a disproportionate amount of road, but the owners don't care (as evidenced by this thread).

My SUV is smaller in width and length than a Ford Focus Estate car. Should drivers of estates have to have special licences too? Or am I being penalised purely because my car is 25cm higher?

Do you mean SUV or do you mean big 4x4s?

Technically my Puma is an SUV but it’s no bigger than a Focus. I love it - much safer higher up out of everybody’s spray and better visibility. It also has great fuel economy and an absolutely massive boot. If it had adjustable front seatbelts it might actually be perfect.

I agree how it’s is driven is important, plenty of PITA driving in small cars. But the thing is the quality of driving is pretty poor generally, I’m sure we all see relatively frequently bad driving, and when those people are in SUVs the impact is higher!

I love it - much safer higher up
yes, so that your headlights dazzle everyone else.
But that's OK, as long as you feel safer.

Could say the same about cyclists tbh.

I love my SUV, can’t say I love cyclists though!

Mine is also electric so less emissions and costing me around £30 per month to drive my fifty odd mile commute to work which is great compared to the little A1 I drove previously.

Oh, inconsiderate cyclists annoy me as well, but driving an SUV gives an air of 'fuck you' to everyone else.

You can buy one for £1,000

Mine is also electric so less emissions and costing me around £30 per month to drive my fifty odd mile commute to work which is great compared to the little A1 I drove previously.
you are aware that most pollution is caused by tyre detritus, which, the heavier your car, the more pronounced it is? Plus the amount of materials it takes to make them.

Why would you consider anybody else's choice of car a you to anyone else? That is absurd.
It's personal choice surely , the same applies to you choosing to cycle no? You seem ever so disturbed by a really very mundane subject. The is a baffling thread to have started OP.

just try cycling country lanes then, or trying to park next to one, then you'd be less dismissive.
In the meantime, you saw what the thread was about, why bother to engage, if it's that petty (IYO)

Agree, they are proven to be incredibly dangerous to children.

This. I find them generally ugly and the height of the lights is an absolute pain in the arse. Each to their own though. No one’s forcing me to have one

Ah, Mokka is cute. I don’t really thinkt of that in the same class as massive SUVs it’s a normal size really

Your responses are starting to look like the biggest problem you have with SUVs is the chip on your shoulder OP. Comments like ‘gives an air of “fuck you” to everyone else’ says more about you than the attitudes of the drivers. I wouldn’t mind betting your Vauxhall Nova is no green machine. You should have cycled across France, that’s what I did with my family.

My SUV is shorter in length than my old estate car so is much easier to park. The room inside is in the height. I have a big dog so the boot is perfect.

And if you’re being dazzled by oncoming headlights, it’s nothing to do with the physical size of the vehicle, it’s the level of the beam. This is set at Mot and should be maintained by the driver. They can be adjusted, especially if the vehicle is carrying a heavy load.

Presumably you don’t have an issue with the headlights on people carriers, vans, ambulances, lorrie’s, etc?