to think we don't need an SUV

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We are getting a new car and DH wants to get an SUV. Apart from the fact that they're really expensive (although we would not be buying a brand new one) we don't need one. We have one child, live in London and don't spend regular weekends in the country.

I just don't see the point of buying a big bulky car for suburban driving. Not only will it be awkward to park, but it will eat petrol and anyway I just don't like them.

AIBU to think he's being ridiculous, you should only buy these off road type vehicles if you really need them and we should buy a smaller and cheaper car that will suit our needs?

No you are not being U! My DH is the same. He thinks we need one becuase we have a baby on the way and they are safer. But we live in a London suburb and a smaller car (like the one we already have) would be easier to get around in and park in.

YANBU. Point out that you "have one child, live in London and don't spend regular weekends in the country". Should one or more of these factors change then discussions on his choice of penis extension may re-open.

For now, I'd point out that if you get a smaller, cheaper car, then you can afford to trick it out and get all sorts of gadgets and extras in it. Or you could get an Audi Q3 (small-ish) which my footballer's wife tendencies admire in white.

Buy a small Volvo they are safer...little chance of rolling over.....

SUVs have tiny boots. My brother's wife insisted on one when she was expecting their first on the spurious grounds that they are safer somehow. Oh how they cursed the lack of capacity after a couple of weeks...

Very few people need them, it's down to you if you want one though. I find it when parents justify their 4x4s by need grounds.

I do, I'd love it. Vrmm brrmmm. Am currently trying to persuade DH. But not because we need it - our Astra is absolutely sufficient for 2x carseats and associated other crap.

Nobody needs SUVs. SUVs are ridiculous.

YANBU.

they are safer

I read somewhere that SUV drivers/occupants are MORE likely to be killed in an accident. And if you hit someone in one then they are more likely to be harmed because they can't roll over the bonnet.

SUVs are really impractical in London - you would find parking a nightmare!

YADNBU. In fact, you could not be less so. We get around in an imiev- it fits the three of us, DDs pram and a week of groceries. What more do you need?
SUVs in the city are stupid, plain and simple.

Thanks. I'm glad to find like minded people on here. I will put my foot down, I think. DH knows, in his heart and soul, that we don't need one but I think he's fallen a bit for the whole 'status symbol' crap. He's not normally so gullible but he's a real pushover when it comes to cars.

I have a Golf in the city and it is great. Fits in the spaces and DD can get in and out without help. What reason does he give for wanting one? Tiny cock?

LOL MrsTerry.

I have no idea why he's such a knob when it comes to cars. He's really not like that with anything else. We currently have a Golf which I find perfectly adequate, but it's old and beginning to become a bit unreliable so we do need to change it. I'd be quite happy to get another one but DH wants something more show offy .

YANBU

Does DH want to spend his time fretting that someone is going prang his precious over sized car when it's parked in those teeny tiny parking spaces in London?

or does he want to relax in the knowledge that the car isn't overhanging the parking bay, doesn't stand out further into the road than others when parked in the street?

Disclaimer, I love some of the SUVs, just don't need them living in a city without lugging animals or kit around. And no, a baby and pushchair does not count as "animal and kit", just in case he tries that angle.

I have a RAV4, have to say that I love it but it IS a juice guzzler. However it is easy to drive and park and has plenty of space inside. I feel very safe in it, driving standards here are a little poor. I like having something substantial between me and the idiot who might run into me.

Due to the high centre of gravity they are prone to rollover in an accident.

I didn't set out to buy a 4x4, I had a Micra before and saw the RAV on the garage forecourt and that was that, but now that I have it I would not swap it for a smaller car.

I live in Cyprus and it gets driven in the snow once or twice a year up in the mountains and I can take it onto the beach but other than it is town or highway driving.

I didn't need it but I wanted it, if that makes sense.

Tell your husband that the safest thing is not to travel at all.

Cars are also terrible as status symbols, as they communicate all sorts of things to people. I am almost certain that more people will think unkind thoughts about your husband for owning a vehicle almost entirely unsuited to it's role as will be impressed by him driving an almost new car that's a lot like many others.

I can understand wanting a nice car. But an SUV is not a nice car for driving on the road. And when you are a parent a nice car is one you can get the kid(s) in without too much trouble, one they aren't sick in because they can see out of the windows, one you don't care too much about to get upset when it gets mud all over the interior and one you can fit your holiday luggage in, and/or a bike or scooter and or a pram.

He doesn't imagine people bought over a quarter of a million Citoren Picassos because people thought they'd impress people or because they look nice, does he?

An SUV for one child is definitely in the realms of ridiculous, especially in an urban environment.

We have a boring Ford Focus for 2 DCs, mostly used by DP. Decent sized boot, enough for it to be comfortable going on holiday. You don't need a big car.

I have a Peugeot 206. Perfect for me, or me plus DCs. People generally don't need a big car, they just want one. Exceptions would be something like factoring in wheelchair space, for example.

Its not easy for a man when he has a small dick, he has to compensate somehow. I'm sure its not great for you either.

YANBU. Not only are SUVs unnecessary for city driving, they are a bloody nuisance to other drivers who can't see out around them in car parks and can't squeeze down the inside lane to turn left because there's a big 4x4 plonked up ahead of them taking up a lane and a half as they wait for their light to turn green.
And yes, I know that happens with vans and buses as well but they serve a need and anyway, buses don't usually park in supermarket car parks. SUVs in the city only serve one need; the need to show off.

Time of the month, annieseed1?

(I'm a man, but I guess it's ok for me to carry on silly stereotypes too?)

When we had DS, we had a saxo. It was plenty big enough for a pram, car seat and all the assorted crap that babies come with. We did trade up eventually, and now have a fabia estate because it has a better safety rating.

I just don't get the status symbol car thing! More expensive car means more expensive insurance and higher running costs. Why bother?

YADNBU. If you really don't need one, would find it harder to drive or park, don't live on a farm, don't need it for towing caravans or whatever, don't let him insist upon getting one. It's your decision too.

When I see someone in a nice new German or 4x4 car I just think - 'balls deep in finance'. Fine if that's the 'status' you want to convey.

I just don't get the status symbol car thing!

Me neither. Who are you trying to impress? And are the people who are impressed by the type of car you have even worth knowing?

You don't need an SUV in a city, especially London (I live in London too).

I get annoyed when I see a mum in an SUV with one child driving the five minutes down the road to school.

I know some people think of them as a status symbol but to me, someone driving around the city in an off road vehicle, with sunglasses perched on their head looks really stupid. A bit like someone visiting a farm in a designer dress and six inch heels.