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

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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?

Our suv is a VW which we got when I was 3 years old and cost £27k, which we paid cash from savings. I love it. Easy to park, lots of comforts - heated seats and steering wheel etc, fits 3 teens in the back, plus dog, paddle board and kayak. Wouldn’t manage that in a fiesta.

Critical thinking is fine, but you are overlooking the time constraints, practicalities and logistics that many owning these cars are factoring into their decision-making. It's all very well adopting idealogical policies if you can, others don't have the same luxury, in some cases too I am sure they just think they are keeping up with others by buying one.

Yeah, that’s mostly self justificatory bollocks though.The kind of people who own massively fuel inefficient vehicles - and very expensive to buy - are people who have choices and who just dont want to hear it.

I come from poverty myself and have generally found that environmental principles, with the requirement for efficiency, chime well with low economic capability. And of course that anecdote is matched by the data showing that it is the richest who use the most of the world’s resources, not the poorest.

Btw I eventually found an Aygo that does 60 mpg on the way home from work.

See below... 'Mini' now vs the original mini

But safety regulations means they could not be the same size today. All cars are bigger not just SUVs

I hate them. Always think to myself where are all the “normal” family cars. My friend has one for just her and a 6 year old. She can’t drive it either, always reversing into stuff and scraping the sides of it in car parks

I think some of the larger SUVs are stupid in London as the roads are narrow so maybe we will see something like what Paris has done.

If you want a large engine car the majority in auto trader are SUV. I do t have one, dont want one. I’d like to replace my Estate with another Estate, very hard to find a suitable estate. But I’m tripping up over adverts for SUVs in budget and with the spec I want. I do fear I’m going to end up with one.

Yes sure they can choose not to wear helmets but the roads around here are small and full of tractors. They also shouldn't be riding two abreast, I'm not sure if that's illegal or what?? Is it? I don't know that law on it but it does present problems. Tourists often forget that people live here and work here... I think they're a pain in the arse but I'm not starting a thread about it... There is a Holiday cottage in our village and a lady staying there came over and asked if we could put our children inside because she had booked a 'quiet' country village holiday... It was a classic! She also told me that having washing hanging outside was 'very working class'... comedy gold. They are all very welcome to come here and spend their money and piddle about on push bikes but truly I do not get it and certainly will not be lectured by someone with an (illogical to me) hobby on how I run my daily life in a car that I love and pay more to run and drive carefully. I will go as far as to say, all the time I live in this area I will have a suitable car.

if you drive, surely you’ve read the Highway Code and know what the rules are? You would have been tested on the Highway Code for a uk driving licence

you drive or someone drives you, to satisfy your hobby, using public roads are for everyone to use for whichever purpose they wish.

Because they are fashionable and they are nice to drive

won’t be so popular soon in London when they shall be taxed highly which is a very good move and about time

Sorry, what is your point? What do buses have to do with anything?

I don’t “keep up with others”! I was the first person I knew who had a Range Rover. I can think for myself! Loads of these SUVs are soft roader family cars anyway. Not even big!

Not all SUVs are big, expensive or have poor fuel consumption.

Also OPs comments about electric vehicles don't reflect any real data exploring full life carbon footprint of electric vs combustion engine. There are some really interesting you tube videos on this if you want some more info.

I have an SUV that is big, not fancy, comparable in cost to equivalent non SUV and has pretty good fuel economy. I live rurally, on a hill and appreciate 4wd. I'm perfectly capable of driving on country roads with out crashing into people, although was nearly taken out by a corsa this evening that had no concept of what side of the road the should be on. I'm also much better at reversing on lanes than 75% of people I meet (cameras help) It's almost always the driver not the car that affects safety

RE being dazzled by lights... Modern LED lights, poorly adjusted, are blinding on hatchbacks, estates and SUVs alike. The headlights on mine are so shut they wouldn't dazzle a hedgehog.

I find these threads so weird. My SUV takes up less space than my old sedan, it's just higher not longer or wider. And I'm actually a safer driver in it because I have a much better view of the road, including huge mirrors and a very good reversing camera. I am probably guilty of assuming similar (wrong) things before actually driving one because they seem big but it's actually not the case.
I couldn't fit my kids in a very small car so there is that.

They are more profitable for the manufacturers

Unlike Europe they are nit highly taxed

Fuel up to now hasnt been as highly taxed as in Europe making the running costs more attractive

For starters..............

I only see this attitude on mymsnet.- do you live down South- with great public transport?

North west. Not a major city. No one bothers making excuses for why they need a car.

Indont either.

I need a car- I'll get an SUV 😌

I hate how big cars are now. I’m nearly blinded by their headlights, they take up more than one car parking space so you can never park next to them, they look hideous, they are terrible for environment, they make it impossible to see round at junctions or roundabouts etc. I cringe when I see people in huge cars like them because you live in the bloody Home Counties not the Hebrides and you don’t need one!!

I hate cyclists

Why do so many cyclists spends £££££s on bikes and then ride them at full pelt on shared paths?

Choice, innit.

They are a PITA because they are way bigger than anyone needs and take up too much room in car parks

makes you sound like an ignorant bigot imo, hating on a group of people on their transport choice, weird

I feel judged when I drive my fiesta tbh, i want an suv 😩

You referred to the safety of others being a reason not to drive an SUV , I thought because of the comments earlier regarding the size/height of Range Rovers etc.
Just making the point all vehicles have the potential to do harm, could be an SUV or a Micra, bad drivers exist across all budgets. Was meaning where would you like the line to be drawn?

Don’t be ridiculous.

Is it not possible for you to realise that sometimes they’re the most practical option for a lot of people with kids, dogs, lugging lots of stuff around.

I have an SUV, all mine and paid cash for. It’s not massively old but definitely not new by a few years and it’s nothing exciting!

I have no idea! I am not an SUV fan myself. Live in London, not central and we have an estate for 2 kids and a dog and drive to Europe, around the UK so I see no need for us, a very average sized family to have one. But they are not more expensive than estates and most people by them with finance
deals, so you don’t really seem to need a large income anyway. I get why people with 3 plus kids have SUVs but other than that no idea why so many people love them but each to their own I guess.