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.

We also need to remember that cars have become bigger in general due to improved safety requirements. A given class of car is now about a foot wider than they used to be mainly due to now not killing you in a side impact.
Mk2 Escort - 1570mm wide x 1395 long
Ford focus - 1844mm wide x 4378 long

No use pretending it isn't. Unfortunately parking spaces have not increased in size to match and neither have what they refer to as garages either. On many new builds you cannot physically get a car into them let alone practically (ie be able to get in and out of the car) yet some councils count them into the parking provision when determining new build estates.

I’ll happily swap my SUV (which is actually only a 1.5L petrol Skoda one, largest car they do but relatively small and efficient engine) for an estate car (which we used to have) once they make one with space for my large tall family. In recent years, estate cars have become more curved at the top/sides, stealing the space that tall people need. I need to fit my family in: nobody is under 6ft and two are 6ft7. We tried to sit in every estate in the showrooms. All too small for us. Most people carriers actually have small seats in the back so they were also no good. I need a boot to carry large sports equipment and also have a dog. Please do enlighten me what car I should have.

@osbertthesyrianhamster

No one forces you to ride your bike.

Many people have to use their bikes to get to work. This is a supremely silly comment.

The snow arguement for SUV's are rubbish especially since they are normally fitted with summer tyres. I have never owned a SUV instead have win either all year round tyres or winter tyres for 6 months of the year. A BMW z4 on winter tyres will go up a hill better than an X5 on summer tyres in the snow.

@MeltsAway

Where did I say "ban it all"? I just want people to recognise that they are driving a lethal weapon and that they need to learn to use it safely

Totally agree with you here, @DdraigGoch

The number of people on this thread justifying why they "must" have a large car which damages people disproportionately ... Such as "Well, we're all sooooooo tall" but we can't have a people carrier because

Tried a people carrier - now that felt like a bus What is wrong with a car "feeling" like a bus. A car gets you from A to Z. What does it matter what it "feels" like?

Car owners need to realise that they are responsible for huge use of the finite resources of space (roads, car-parks), and fuel, and they are driving lethal weapons.

It's the assumption that SUVs are all gas guzzling, bad for the environment vehicles. My SUV is more economical and puts out less emissions than my previous little hatchback. My road tax is very low to reflect this, not quite zero but not far off.

Plus, its bloody beautiful

No one forces you to ride your bike

And no-one forces you to drive a car @osbertthesyrianhamster Driving a car is not a human right.

@MeltsAway

No one forces you to ride your bike

And no-one forces you to drive a car @osbertthesyrianhamster Driving a car is not a human right.

Nor is riding a bike, or clean water and vaccines for a good many people in the world. So what?

Need to go fuel up my SUV here in a mo'.

I'm completely bemused as to why someone would judge someone else on their choice of car.
An SUV driver might only be using it for a once a year camping trip and therefore have a smaller carbon footprint than an eco car driver who flies around the world for holidays.

@Hophopandaway

The snow arguement for SUV's are rubbish especially since they are normally fitted with summer tyres. I have never owned a SUV instead have win either all year round tyres or winter tyres for 6 months of the year. A BMW z4 on winter tyres will go up a hill better than an X5 on summer tyres in the snow.

It was quite shocking how so many people thought that their BMW would be fine in the snow a couple of years ago, just because it has four-wheel drive. 4WD only improves the traction, it has no effect on stopping or cornering. Off-road (in the mud) or winter (in the snow) tyres are what make the difference.

In the snow the other month I really struggled to push my bike up the hill home, it had all frozen. I made a note to bring my MICROspikes with me in icy conditions, just in case (ice axe probably being overkill). Trying to move a car on that hill would have been lethal without snow chains.

The snow arguement for SUV's are rubbish especially since they are normally fitted with summer tyres.

The tyres on mine have little mountain and snowflake symbols on. It does very well in the snow, even in two wheel drive.

🤣🤣🤣 I like be mine and couldn’t give a shit care less what you think OP, you’re being ridiculous 🤣🤣🤣🤣

@serin

I'm completely bemused as to why someone would judge someone else on their choice of car. An SUV driver might only be using it for a once a year camping trip and therefore have a smaller carbon footprint than an eco car driver who flies around the world for holidays.

This is "whatabouttery" at its finest. Anyone could justify owning anything with that kind of argument.

If you're wanting to tax people by mileage and therefore commensurate CO2 and particulates output, then cars should be taxed per mile on fuel. That would be interesting and perhaps lead to different choices.

If you're wanting to justify SUV purchases on "I barely use it so I'm ok!" then why have the automotive equivalent of a rugged looking army knife just to occasionally open a bottle of champagne twice a year - surely a corkscrew suffices even though it lacks the Bear Grylls factor if I flog the metaphor to death

Everyone will do as they wish. SUVs will continue to sell more than any other car class. I just can't stand them because they're not all laid up for that twice a year trip to the mountains. They're out there outside my DCs school, being driven terribly, refusing to reverse, running their nasty tiny diesel engines etc..

A high tax per mile on fuel would be fine. That would solve a lot of problems.

I had an SUV for towing as part of my business but it was so useful elsewhere. Could literally get anything in it, trips to IKEA were a dream, as was fetching building supplies. But they are cack for driving, I have a big estate now and groan when I get stuck behind one leaning over round bends.

A lot of SUV owners on this thread seem to almost apologise for having one and are defending themselves. I do drive SUV, love it, comfortable in it and it is my choice!

I need my whopping SUV for the various towing and off-roading requirements. It’s excellent.

I also use it to drive to town occasionally and do school run-style trips.

Do other posters think I should have a second small car for such trips, or is having two cars on the road worse than having one?!

It seems that posters here see a big car on a school run and get frothy (at the mouth, not the other way) when they have no idea what that vehicle would be needed for and that picking up kids is a small aspect of one person’s life 🤷🏼‍♀️

World's wealthiest 'at heart of climate problem' www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56723560

I totally understand what you mean, however we have an SUV because we needed to fit 3 car seats in the back and the Audi Q7 has isofix in all seats (except driver’s seat obviously) and an excellent safety record. We wanted 7 seats to be able to bring MIL with us, or friends for the kids, without needing to bring another car.

We also live at the bottom of an incredibly steep hill (at the edge of a small town, not in a city). Our old car couldn’t manage it in the ice or snow so we thought a 4 wheel drive rather than a people carrier would be worth the investment.

And, on top of that, my DH does love cars. Personally I just want to get safely from A to B.

A large SUV is not much different in size to a large people carrier. Car seats are so bulky nowadays (rightly so as they are so much safer), but the smaller cars my parents had when I was a kid just wouldn’t work space-wise for the same size family today.

Anyway, just to say there are all sorts of reasons people purchase their car, it’s not always just about status.

it’s not always just about status.

Or safety. I haven't a clue what the safety rating is for my car.

If you're wanting to tax people by mileage and therefore commensurate CO2 and particulates output, then cars should be taxed per mile on fuel. That would be interesting and perhaps lead to different choices.
Eh? Ever heard of fuel duty and VAT?

This is really the worst of MN! You have no idea about how other people make choices, what their priorities are, what they really care about. Just because they aren't for you doesn't have to mean that nobody should be allowed to own them.

Live and let live!

3 series, A4 , Octavia and Focus estates are all smallish cars though. My husband has an A4 Avant as a company car and it’s not huge at all. My youngests rear facing car seat has the my knees against the dash and I’m 5’5 it cannot go behind DH seat as it doesn’t fit at all as he’s 5”11

Mrsdoylestea- if we all 'live and let live, nothing in the world would ever change, sometimes we have to think about the bigger picture

@Macncheeseballs

Mrsdoylestea- if we all 'live and let live, nothing in the world would ever change, sometimes we have to think about the bigger picture

And why does this need changing? They're not illegal, some people are just prejudiced against them... Can't belive you don't believe in live and let live!

Live and let live!

MtsDoylesTea that's the point, really - many SUV drivers aren't "living and let live".

• Blocking half the pavement because they are too small to park on someone's front drive - and thus making it difficult for people to pass, especially people in wheelchairs.
• Jamming up small roads, and taking up disproportionate parking space
• Being twice as likely to kill pedestrians and cyclists in accidents.

Driving an SUV makes it much more likely that you will have a negative impact on other people. That's not "live and let live".

(And they aren't even safer for the people inside them in a crash, either.)