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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think we don't need an SUV

100 replies

vintageclock · 19/06/2013 14:14

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?

OP posts:

Deux · 20/06/2013 13:01

Rear parking sensors help enormously. And get running boards so if someone parks adjacent to you then they won't ding your body work but hit the running board instead. I always reverse park

I have one. We don't need one. But it is really useful, especially being able to pile people and stuff into it. Our regular long drive to visit family is uber comfortable. Loads of leg room and space for everyone. Still have a big boot even with all 7 seats up. DD hasn't been car sick since we got it.

It's very easy to drive and manoevre. I am aware of its size and weight and try to be as considerate as I can to other drivers as I know what it's like to have one on your tail with day headlights on.

It's very easy to park but can be difficult to find spaces. We are not in London but have OSP. I wouldn't want to have to street park it every day.

We're not all assholes. It is v safe, a Volvo. It's got lots of useful features like the built in booster seat.

It guzzles less fuel than our last car and is more economical than DH's last estate car. We pay appropriate road tax.

We could do all the above with a range of other vehicles but this one is a super-comfortable luxury and that's why we bought it, certainly not for 'need'.

I love it.

Christelle2207 · 20/06/2013 13:19

Don't get one unless you feel you need one. Look into how much more it will cost to tax than a regular car. We have a perfectly reasonable Hyundai i30 and it costs £35 to tax.

dadinthehat · 20/06/2013 14:48

SAHD of 3 here, in London. An SUV is totally unnecessary in any city and for most people, even in the country. I have a biggish car (not an SUV) because it needs to fit 3 car seats but I'd much, much rather have something smaller.

I walk or bus most places and drive probably less than once a week.

Tell him to get a grip.

MrsTerryPratchett · 20/06/2013 14:58

More on safety. They are not safer for the occupants and massively less safe in a collision for other drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

I used to work for Land rover and we used to put on RP accents and say, "I'm stuck in off road mode", "where are you?", "High Street Ken".

squeakytoy · 20/06/2013 15:15

I live just outside London, I drive a 4 x 4. I pay for my own road tax and fuel, and I dont really care what anyone else thinks either. I drive what I want to drive, because I can.

It is also no longer or wider than any other average car on the road, and no harder to park (easier probably as it has sensors).

PoppyAmex · 20/06/2013 17:35

On safety; if I had to be involved in an accident, I'd rather be driving my Volvo 4X4 than a dinky car.

Sallyingforth · 20/06/2013 17:41

Poppy I suggest you look at the official tests. Compare the Volvo with traditional cars of the same size and you might be surprised.
www.euroncap.com/home.aspx

Deux · 20/06/2013 18:35

NCAP is 5 stars adult/xc90?

Let me think, Nissan Micra or XC90. Which would you rather be in in a crash?

Trouble with this SUV debate is it stirs up a whole heap of envy.

How many would really turn down the chance of swopping their usual family saloon for an SUV if they got the chance? Would they really say, oh no, keep your XC 90 because it's so unsafe? Sheesh.

KatieScarlett2833 · 20/06/2013 18:43

DH wants one too. I swither over "get what you like, look like a fanny if you want to" to
"No no no no no no no no noooooo"
I have a bog standard Focus. It gets the job done.

Sallyingforth · 20/06/2013 18:47

Deux you are hardly making a fair comparison of a Micra with an XC90. Try comparing the XC90 with a 2WD car of similar size and cost.
As for envy, I can think of much more desirable 2WD cars for the same or less cost.

VinegarDrinker · 20/06/2013 19:18

I have no envy of car owners full stop, SUV or Micra. Been there, done that, sold it. Now happier, healthier and better off.

Deux · 20/06/2013 19:44

See Sally, you've brought money into the debate and that's what underlines this. It's not about safety, the environment, fuel consumption. It's about money. And big fuck off SUVs (and I don't include the Volvo in that) say money. Note I'm not saying anything about taste.

Micra vs XC90 was about Poppy's reference to a dinky car. Curiously, the make and model most likely to cut me up.

So can you find me a 2 WD car that will seat all 7 and still take 2 large suitcases in the boot without the need for a roof box for our 1400 mile round trip? Need lots of leg room too.

I agree there are plenty more desirable cars but right now practicality wins out. 1400 miles in an XC90 with all our clobber is much more comfortable than in a family saloon I've done it often enough and in a Focus it's a hideous journey.

Sallyingforth · 20/06/2013 20:22

But Deux you are running off topic with your personal vehicle requirement. The thread was started by the OP who has one child, drives in London and few longer trips. This is where an SUV is entirely inappropriate. No-one is saying that they always are.

crashdoll · 20/06/2013 20:23

"Let me think, Nissan Micra or XC90. Which would you rather be in in a crash?"

Firstly, you are comparing apples with oranges. Secondly, if I were a pedestrian, I'd rather be hit by a Micra than a XC90. Obviously, I would prefer not to be hit by a car at all but the way some of the maniacs drive around here, it does feel like you're taking your life in your own hands by crossing the road!

Deux · 20/06/2013 20:34

Was well off topic before I joined! So? And?

Dear God, once again, the Nissan Micra was in refernce to the Dinky Car comment. Yes it was an extreme comparison. But i do consider a Micra a Dinky Car

I'd rather be hit by a bicycle than a Micra as a pedestrian. The old fruit bowl again.

Shruggs.....

FruminousBandersnatch · 20/06/2013 20:37

How many would really turn down the chance of swopping their usual family saloon for an SUV if they got the chance?

Arf! No thanks. We can afford one but (aside from worrying about killing pedestrians) I'd worry that people would think I was a wanker!

Pobblewhohasnotoes · 20/06/2013 20:47

How many would really turn down the chance of swopping their usual family saloon for an SUV if they got the chance? Would they really say, oh no, keep your XC 90 because it's so unsafe

Um, I wouldn't. I don't need an SUV, few people do. You carry on making assumptions.

LunaticFringe · 20/06/2013 20:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Jeezimacasalinga · 20/06/2013 20:53

love my XC90. But I have 3 kids that are still small with huge carseats, so I need the room. We drive to France and to Scotland regularly. I was worried about urban driving (live in SW London) but actually the height means that I can see a lot better - before I had a Peugeot 208 and it felt really hemmed in sometimes between all the buses and other big vehicles. However for the OP - you really don't need a SUV for one child so YANBU

LondonMan · 20/06/2013 20:55

How many would really turn down the chance of swopping their usual family saloon for an SUV if they got the chance?

Me for most of my life. I considered SUVs ugly and impractical. (The job they were bought for could be better done by a large hatchback or people carrier.)

There's a very funny article by Malcolm Gladwell where he mentions how bemused American car executives were when SUV sales took off, as they could sell extremely crap vehicles for several times as much profit they could make on a proper car. (The original SUVs were classified as trucks, built in a very different way to proper cars, and didn't have to meet car safety standards. These days they are much better made.)

LondonMan · 20/06/2013 20:55

If anyone needs a seven seater, I'll just mention that the Prius+ is a very good-looking vehicle, in my opinion.

ParadiseChick · 20/06/2013 20:58

If it was a choice between an mpv or suv, sub all the way. Sharans, zariras and the like are fucking ugly. And, like it or not, finding like ugly. And anyone driving one aforementioned ugly mobiles cannot put down suvs. Your car is just as big and wide, just extra fucking ugly.

If you're happy crammed into a punto, so be it. If someone wants a bit more space and a few more options then they'll want to drive something bigger. Which brings me back to my first point.

I drive a crew cab ute (L200) and I even do the school run in it. I a also drive a 12 year old astra which is fab too. But given the chance it would be a brand new defender! We don't get snowed in. We do transport large shit sometimes, use the Ute for logs etc and like having the functionality, and options.

It's like bags. A lidl bag suffices. Is it really so gross and unreasonable to want something a bit prettier?

Technotropic · 20/06/2013 22:37

It's about money. And big fuck off SUVs (and I don't include the Volvo in that) say money

Indeed they do and that's why people like them so much. Except:

A) most don't buy them outright but simply have to find the monthly rental

B) money talks but wealth whispers

Unfortunately so many people want to look the 'made' man/woman so are magnetised to 4x4's. I quite like them if I'm honest (I'm a big fan of the X6) but would never buy one because technically they're shit for road use. Everything I love about driving involves the total opposite of what 4x4's are i.e. light weight, nimble, rear engined, RWD, grippy, sporty.

ParadiseChick

The L200 I can completely understand and would be my only exception as it is big but also hugely practical. It'll swallow the family and 4 bikes + luggage + more so is way better than an SUV IMHO.

arabesque · 21/06/2013 09:59

Trouble with this SUV debate is it stirs up a whole heap of envy. [quote]

I envy people a lot of things. Believe me, SUVs are not one of them.

theodorakisses · 21/06/2013 12:58

I love threads like this. Unless you really are so thick you don't actually know what vehicle you need in which case you shouldn't be allowed out, you are just looking to start a fight or looking for a big pat on the back. Sad either way.

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