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.

@OhWhyNot

How people possibly managed before SUV’s is one of life’s mysteries

And cars in general. And houses. And credit cards. And mortgages. And schools. And microwaves. One wonders, doesn't one?

@gluenotsoup

They are just a practical choice. There is actually only a few inches difference in the width of any car, regardless of length and height, it’s the shape and styling that offer the versatility of space. Try shoe- horning a teenager, 2 car seats, a large wheelchair and everything else into a smaller differently designed car. The extra height is better for people with disabilities, better vision makes it safer, usually 3 distinct seats in the back with a flat foot area in the rear. I don’t see why someone should judge or sneer when they don’t know the reasons why someone chooses some..🤷🏻‍♀️

It's not the individual reasons why people choose these cars that is the issue though? Everyone's individual reason for choosing is justifiable and correct according to their free will.

The resultant impact on society though? Increased pollutants, slower journeys, parking issues on average streets, danger to pedestrians and children in certain scenarios, increased amount of resources required to build one?

Well that's never discussed, mainly because we can't get everyone to change behaviours without motivation or modification levers such as incentives or taxation.

At the end of the day this thread will simply be filled with 500 posts of people saying "I chose my SUV to save my back, or because I have 4 DCs, or my DM is elderly and I take her to the shops once a week".

The car class exists, people will rightly justify their choice. Nothing will ever change unless taxation or other government led mechanics forces these cars off the road. The end of PCP would probably see a fair few disappear but that's another story for another time.

There’s a world of difference in suvs.
A lot of them are built on the same platform as the estates listed above. Some are 4wd some are 2wd.
They are not all equal or comparable in their impact on roads and environment.

I really don't understand why people who live and work in a large town or city would want one. Surely a smaller car would be easier to park, for a start?

For my own part, it would be great if smaller versions were available. I wouldn't want a huge vehicle, but I really could do with one that is higher off the ground. My little city car finds it difficult to cope with the horrendously rutted, muddy and bumpy track that I have to drive along in order get to and from my house! I drive below walking speed, yet still bump and scrape the car underneath.

I used to be somebody who was scathing about bigger cars.

I loved my Fiesta, but getting 2 6ft+ teenagers in for a long journey, or my mum's wheelchair was a nightmare.
So now I've got a Hyundai Tucson - makes life so much easier. And this year when the village flooded, it was easier to get in and out.

So more fool earlier me.

“The car class exists, people will rightly justify their choice. Nothing will ever change unless taxation or other government led mechanics forces these cars off the road. The end of PCP would probably see a fair few disappear but that's another story for another time”

Yes, the individual reasons are pretty much finite, as you say, it’s not exactly the point. The point is the car’s existence. They need to change the image/culture of these cars. Whether this is done by high taxes in cities, I don’t know. I just think people need to change their thinking and be more considerate about their car choices. The lives of future generations depend on it, at the risk of sounding dramatic.

YABU OP

Some do need larger vehicles. Why the need to be prejudiced and judgy all the time?

Those saying they need SUVs for space, if it was genuinely about space, a people carrier is infinitely more practical.

We have 4 DC and a clapped out Ford galaxy which is a real workhorse of a car. We've owned it 10 years now - also test drove a Land Rover discovery and the Volvo XC90 and it just drove so much more like a car with little difference in interior space. I didn't feel comfortable in either of the others on wide roads and didn't want to be that parent on the school run who couldn't manoeuvre my vehicle properly whilst holding up everyone else (although we now avoid that anyway by waking).

We came to the conclusion that buying a 7-seater was never going to be an exciting purchase and, going purely by image, we'd rather look like we'd given up than have the flashy status symbol. Sadly, old and clapped out is probably a much more accurate symbol of our current 'status'.....

Ok so you could afford to buy one but you want to dictate to others what they should buy and how they should live. Yes, I forgot everyone is armchair activist now, because it makes them feel better and virtuous.

Those saying they need SUVs for space, if it was genuinely about space, a people carrier is infinitely more practical.

What's the difference between them in the end? Both are equally large

These threads are usually filled with people coming on to justify why their SUV ecologically sound or fits their particular lifestyle, family or health requirement

People should grow a backbone and stop apologising for their choices TBH.

I’m not an activist and I’m not “woke” by any means. I try really hard not to judge people in life. This one issue just seems so ridiculous. I just hope that there will be a sustained effort to change people’s minds when they purchase these cars/and or provide a real alternative that offers the same kind of status/image that suv buyers like.

Ah, the good old "necessary in the countryside" routine.

I'll tell my old neighbours with their 4x4 Fiat Panda that actually it CAN'T cope on the roads, inclines etc.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

Those saying they need SUVs for space, if it was genuinely about space, a people carrier is infinitely more practical.

What's the difference between them in the end? Both are equally large

Actually what we found was that with the seat where DH needs it to physically be able to drive the car, lots of people carrier type cars had fuck all legroom left in the rear for passengers. Even ones that looked really quite large on the outside (we had to get rid of an old Astra estate previously for this exact reason) didn't quite work.

[quote MoppaSprings]@CoffeeWithCheese

If the tall man in The Simpsons can manage, surely your husband can😂[/quote]
Hah that was about the level of it when I had to finally get rid of my beloved Saxo cos of him!

I’m not envious but but but.....

@SchrodingersImmigrant Fuel consumption tends to be lower for conventional models. And they tend to be less wide (ours is, anyway, despite fitting 3 car seats across the back).

I think the emissions rather than vehicle style is key. I have a 500x, it's suv style, but only got a 1.3 engine and I would have thought has lower carbon emissions than most saloons. I like it because it's very safe and has the height and traction to cope with the rural roads I drive on, my commute includes single track roads and motorway, when I had a hatchback I got through so many tyres and got water in the oil thanks to regular flooding. If the roads were better I'd get a hatchback.

I choose to live in the countryside and commute 35 miles to work. When I lived in town I didn't have a car, I didn't drive until I was 35, but that seriously restricted my job opportunities and what I could do with my kids.

I think that driving journeys of less than a mile needs to be less acceptable, number of cars going back and forth to our village school is madness.

We also still have the stupid situation that a 4x4 crew cab pickup is taxed less as a "company car" than an average hatchback as it's classed as a "van" for benefit in kind purposes. That means that loads of freelancers etc buy them to reclaim the VAT and get lower benefit in kind tax even though they never carry any "goods" and don't have any business case for needing a "van". Just one of the many stupidities of our crazy tax system.

We have one, the other car is a much smaller family car. We use it for towing the caravan- the caravan which means we don’t fly abroad for holidays but instead stay (mainly) in the U.K., using local shops and services. The weight of the van means that we need a car weighing in at about 2000kg.

And yes, it was bloody useful on the local, rural roads during the flooding we’ve had this year.

@Macncheeseballs

Agree, they are knobby cars

Nice reasoned debate.

@thecatsthecats

Ah, the good old "necessary in the countryside" routine.

I'll tell my old neighbours with their 4x4 Fiat Panda that actually it CAN'T cope on the roads, inclines etc.

Such an underrated brilliant car.

However your unlikely to get three car seats across the back of it

@user1497207191

We also still have the stupid situation that a 4x4 crew cab pickup is taxed less as a "company car" than an average hatchback as it's classed as a "van" for benefit in kind purposes. That means that loads of freelancers etc buy them to reclaim the VAT and get lower benefit in kind tax even though they never carry any "goods" and don't have any business case for needing a "van". Just one of the many stupidities of our crazy tax system.

None of them stick at 60 on the motorways for they. I mean, if it’s a commercial it’s a commercial.

It's also had a shocking NCAP report for safety recently, unfortunately.

I have wanted one forever - the 4x4 panda is such a great car - but it'll have to wait a little longer.

There are some things being done to make life with a ridiculous car in London harder. A friend of mine had a large SUV, think it was a Mercedes, and she couldn't go down certain streets in our area because they had put traffic calming measures in where they had narrowed the street with bollards so only regular sized cars could get through.

She changed to a Mini Countryman and hasn't regretted it since.

I wish they would do that on more residential streets and especially around schools.