Aibu to hope that this is the start of a major backlash against SUVs?

[gingganggooleywotsit]

Just seen this on the BBC news website.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56647128
It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anyone in motoring speak out publicly against suvs. I pray this is the start of a major backlash and rightly so! Before anyone says..”you’re jealous” as I usually see on these threads, I would just like to say-I could afford one myself but I wouldn’t be seen dead in one!
Also I am only talking about city suvs. In the countryside/farming it’s of course a different matter.

Sadly I don't think it will be other than a one or two day story.

If it were me I would call an SUV a large vehicle for driving licence purposes and if you want to drive one, take your driving test in one. The thought of having to take your driving test again or have a normal sized car I expect would reduce the number of SUVs on the road.

Well seeing as most people can’t park in them that would be a good idea.

Cannot stand these vehicles. And there are definitely some who could do with a refresher driving test because spatial awareness is not their friend

Just ban cars above a certain size from towns and cities then. You could do this in the style of a London congestion charge or LEZ. Every car has to be registered, therefore every car in existence on our roads is a known quantity, so it should be straightforward enough to assign a penalty charge to models above a certain length and width. A nominal charge of, say, £1000 per day to have your SUV within a designated town or city (whether you drive it or not, whether it is on public land or not) would dissuade the majority from owning one.

Yanbu to hope. But I am afraid so many people see their status completely bound up in their car that it is going to be a very hard shift.

Like you, I could afford one comfortably, but love my teeny little car that fits into any space and is really fuel efficient. And I have never seen my self worth as affected by what car I own.

This again. I’m sure there are millions of things you do that I would disagree with. You have to accept that people have varying levels of guilt about these types of things. Additionally, They are necessary here in the countryside. Where do you stop the condemnation of people that own them? Must they live on a steep slope where it snows 6 months of the year?

Companies like Land Rover are never going to go away so the emphasis needs to be put on developing vehicles with less emissions rather than stopping people from driving them in the first place. I wouldn’t be seen dead in a city car. I would however gladly spend the money to buy a high end vehicle that had taken significant steps to reducing emissions.

Nope. Not only are they are an affordable status symbol now, with PCP, practical estate cars are disappearing. We have an estate car as suits all our family travels, but I'm disappointed to say that our next vehicle will be probably be an SUV as we won't be able to get an estate most likely.

I would just like to say-I could afford one myself but I wouldn’t be seen dead in one!

Oh right then! That makes it the best decision for everyone else. OP doesn't like it, no one else should. It's an order!

Suvs have absolutely place in people's lives. They can be really practical for many. But you have to be a bit of a dumdum to buy bigger car than your parking space is.

Suvs aren't just tor countryside tho...

Car parks are not designed for them, too many people end up paving front gardens because they struggle to reverse into or out of garages, many people are poor at driving them (though the latter not exclusive to SUVs).

However, having a car and driving badly is almost seen as a human right by too many people.

How very woke.

It is possible to exist in the countryside without a massive SUV. I grew up very rurally where the car of choice was a Subaru Impreza (not the flashy one with the spoiler and gold alloys - the somewhat more understated version!). Four wheel drive but very manoeuvre-able. Similarly, go to any hill town in Italy and people drive panda 4x4s, as the streets are so narrow.

Appreciate that won't work if you need to tow, but I do question how many need to.

@Mapletreelane - Agreed. It's hard getting cars with big enough boots that SUVs will always have an appeal.

I've found my elderly relatives (and me too) find getting in and out of a slightly higher vehicle much easier.

So it's not always about status.

Agree, they are knobby cars

I think that for a family of 5, needing 3 car seats in the back they are seen as more appealing than people carriers.

I avoided one for years because I didn’t want to drive a huge vehicle and worry about parking it.

I’ve got one now and it doesn’t seem much bigger than the estate I had( length wise).
I enjoy the elevated driving position, and the off-road ability is good to have.

If they were banned here ( which won’t happen anytime soon) It wouldn’t bother me too much.

I have a semi-SUV type car. It's not the full monty of the gigantic road hogs, but it's got the same sort of styling in a smaller package and it's got the higher vehicle height - I bought it for the vehicle height to be honest - it's much easier for my mum with her mobility problems to get in and out of (and me as well when my hip plays up). We also were really really limited by choice in terms of one that would fit DH's height in comfortably (he is exceptionally tall) and there was very little out there that really did suit.

The other reason we went for the height was that, although locally you'll see us in the wilds of the Tesco car park and judge, what you don't see is the really shitty potholed access track we have to get down to visit my mum - where you really don't want anything low on the ground or you're not making it along with an intact car.

And I can park it bloody fine by the way.

We don't fly and holiday abroad as a general rule (I hate flying, hate airports even more than the flying part and haven't even bothered renewing my passport lately) - yes, in the ideal world everyone would be around in tiny smart cars or whatever - but DH physically wouldn't fit in one (he's 6 foot 7) and we work with what we could get (not on a PCP plan either) and what fits us all in in relative comfort as the kids in the back did actually need to be able to sit on the seats with the seat right back for DH.

I live in a small town, I need a big car, 7 seater or I can't do the job I do, and no I don't want a people carrier, I fucking hate them.
I never go abroad on holiday though. I've been on a plane twice in my whole life. Once was a necessary trip to Ireland. Can you say the same OP?

@Mapletreelane

Nope. Not only are they are an affordable status symbol now, with PCP, practical estate cars are disappearing. We have an estate car as suits all our family travels, but I'm disappointed to say that our next vehicle will be probably be an SUV as we won't be able to get an estate most likely.

BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series, Focus Estate, Skoda Octavia, Skoda Superb, E Class estate, Volkswagen Passat, A4 Avant, A6 Avant, Volvo V90, V60, and that's just off the top of my head ..

If you actually just want an SUV for your next car then go for it! Own the decision etc But there will 100% still be estate cars in existence by the time you want to purchase.

I have known and currently know loads of people with these types of cars and unfortunately the all fit the stereotype of being flash Harries as my dad would say!

You don't need a car in a city like London, let alone an suv

All of the estate cars I've listed are new models with reasonably long product lifespans, I.e not about to be phased out like the Jaguar XF sport brake is most likely to be.

So yeah.. estate cars are here, and will be for a while.

It's just that SUVs are more attractive to a lot of buyers.

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion

I live in a small town, I need a big car, 7 seater or I can't do the job I do, and no I don't want a people carrier, I fucking hate them. I never go abroad on holiday though. I've been on a plane twice in my whole life. Once was a necessary trip to Ireland. Can you say the same OP?

Can I ask why do you hate people carriers?

The issue isn't the type of car, but we fact we are over reliant on cars.
School admissions for example states 2 miles is walking distance for a Primary child, 3 miles for Secondary. But many parents will drive them barely a mile (caveat... I know many then go on elsewhere!)

Or to just buy a few items from a shop half a mile away.

Or countless other short journeys.

I do have a Land Rover. Outside school, narrow Victorian terraced street... It looks big. Turn up at my volunteering role, it's known as the Baby Car as it's relatively tiny. A lot of the equipment is too big for it. (Its a Disco Sport).

When we are camping and Canoeing, it's perfect size.

Its the only car we own. All our neighbours have two cars. In London, my parents neighbours have four cars.

The whole culture needs changing. Not just one type of car.

Three quarters are sold to people living in towns and cities it says. I hate them. You don't need them in the countryside either, that's just nonsense. I've always lived in the countryside and we have always had a small car. Why would you have something huge on narrow country roads? I grew up on a farm and we wouldn't have some brand spanking new shiny SUV for driving around the farm either, they'd just get wrecked, some aren't even 4x4 or even suitable for off roading. They're just completely unnecessary, terrible for the environment, put other road users at higher risk of severe injury and are all about image and self importance IMO.