Rise in ‘bigger’ cars

[Hannahblueberry]

Driven by women specifically. Prompted by a conversation between my friend and I today after witnessing a woman trying (and failing) to park a ridiculously large car in a shopping centre car park.

What do you think the rise is driven by? Cars being made bigger in general?

My friends theory was that due to Covid and hybrid/WFH policies, couples sold one of their cars and in the main, the man kept their car which tended to be the bigger one.

The estate car and people carriers have gone! The SUVs are the people carriers and load luggers now. Mostly about space and practicality. We have three! Don’t drive them all at once!

We're planning on getting a 7seater next even though we're a family of 4. We go camping regularly and need lots of packing space. We've had one in the past and it was so practical. Amazing for when we moved house. The car spaces do seem small now though however I'm happy to park miles away just to get a decent space.

I’m always impressed that people do park their super big cars in normal (small) spaces!

My MIL is the most paranoid person in the world and insists FIL drives her around in an SUV because she feels safer higher up. And he can't park it!

I learned to drive in a classic mini and have had several over the years, now have an ancient Smart ForTwo convertible as my preference is small, quirky cars. But I think the easiest vehicle I’ve ever driven was my old camper van, nice and high up, reversing cameras and very light steering. Shame it cost an absolute fortune to run so eventually had to go.

What’s baffling to me is how many people have massive cars with presumably massive engines but drive them like milk floats. What’s the point? I like small fast cars despite being a 40 something woman 😃

I love small cars. I drive an old Polo, over 20 years old now, and I feel like the whole world is getting bigger and I'm shrinking!! I hate these big cars everyone has now. They all look the same and are dull. The names are ridiculous. Eg. Cupra Tavascan or something!? Wtf!! My next car is going to be a classic Golf Mk 2 if I can afford it. Everyone wants a big new car, I want an old hot hatch! Each to their own.

I hate driving big cars but it's getting increasingly difficult to buy them small. Even the well known "small" models are getting bigger each time they get updated - the lastest version of my current (2012 plate) car is 25cm longer. I have started researching what car to buy next as this one won't last forever and it's going to be impossible to buy something the same size without losing features I am used to. Maybe some women like big cars but there were already plenty of big cars available on the market. I think the problem is that the car companies only employ and talk to car enthusiasts rather than the actual people who need to buy the items, and as each of us only buys one every 5-15 years our voice isn't heard. It's not like we can just refuse to buy a car at all if one that meets our needs doesn't exist, and the car companies take our decision to buy the least-horrible option when they haven't made a car that's actually meeting our needs as an endorsement that their decisions to stop making smaller cars was a good one.

Just got a SUV after driving a small car for years!
I have a large family and need the extra space, but I mainly got an SUV as the tax benefits of leasing through salary sacrifice, only only large cars getting available.

I like big cars. I find it easier to drive when I can see the end of the bonnet and the boot from high up. It’s easier to see at roundabouts and junctions for the same reason. We can also take our own car to the airport instead of having to book transfers. We do a lot of travel to family within the UK too and it’s comfortable on long journeys.

Parking is not an issue. Compared to having to park my little manual Corsa when I first passed, parking an automatic car, with 360 degree cameras and sensors is simple, even though it’s tighter in spaces.

SUVs should be illegal unless you have a rural address or can prove you need the vehicle for towing/work etc. I recognise the importance of AWD vehicles in places prone to flooding/snow etc. But most of these shows boaters probably wash their car modre than they do themselves. Not a spec of mud to be seen on them.

Absolutely zero need in urban areas. And don't get me started on large vehicles who feel the need to take up 2+ spaces because they don't know how to park their vehicle or are worried about scratches.

They dont fit in the car parks or down the narrow country roads round here, it's utterly ridiculous.

The school run mums all show up to school frantically early to fight for the handful of spaces they can manage to park in.

A lot of them aren't the wealthiest people either, just the people who would like to be perceived as wealthy

I have a large car because there are five of us when we are all together and we need a large boot. And yes, it's my car - not my dh's 🙄 and I can park it just fine, thanks.

Absolutely, this thread will be full of outliers who all 'need' a bigger car, they all live in the outback with various disabilities and carry equipment they can only fit in those types of cars. Every single one of them.

Except that for some reason those same people clog up roads and car parking spaces in small towns as well. Surprising.

I’m struggling to find a smaller car that’s a make I want with the engine I want
after a 1.4-1.6l petrol manual and so far the best options I’ve found is the Kia xceed

I'm a small car driver. We have a Suzuki Swift hybrid (and a Mini) and I love it. I've driven 300 mile trips in it on my own very comfortably with a boot full of stuff and when the battery kicks in it goes like the wind.

I have a very small car & a massive van.

One is safer by a long chalk, plus equally easy to park...

No, I don't live in the middle of nowhere or need specialist health equipment, I just used my money to buy a car that I like and which works for me. If you want to buy a small car, knock yourself out.

My (compact) SUV only gets washed once a year when it gets serviced. I wonder if that makes it acceptable?

If I could have found a suitable estate car with a good size boot I would have gone with that but lots of the manufacturers have done away with the larger estate models and replaced them with SUVs.

Now I've got one, I've realized that they're excellent for elderly parents. It's far easier to get them in an out than something lower, and there's room for their rollator and the dogs in the boot!

Quite. We all see them, they are nearly all driven by families with 2 kids and a suburban house and office jobs...

Because a lot of people are really selfish

All cars are bigger nowadays. Compare a classic mini, circa 1978 with today’s 3 door version. Compare a Golf GTI mark 1 with today’s Golf.
or BMW 3 series from 1996 with today’s version.

The current versions are all bulkier with crumple zones, safety features, minimum bumper height, international standards , etc. Plus many more people are bigger and need the space. But in the main , they are more fuel efficient and cleaner than their nearest 30 year old counterpart.

My personal mantra is ‘ if I can’t park it, I don’t drive it. But modern technology allows many cars to park themselves.

i think the issue we really have is that while vehicles have kept up with newer safety features , many roads and car parks have not.

I hate the epidemic of massive cars, and I honestly don’t know how so many people afford them. It drives me mad when they can’t fit into parking spaces, so they end up on the line, and expect people to just leave a space around them, thereby wiping out other spaces. I take great pleasure in parking evenly between the lines, and if that means the Chelsea tractor owner can’t get in their car, then so be it. I don’t care about a few little dents in my old banger, but they sure as hell won’t want to tap their precious door when opening it!

I drive a big car.

I have 3 dc (now all teens/adult, and TALL).

2 of them play cello. 2 play guitar (inc electric so amps etc). 1 plays drums. I also need to be able to fit some disability stuff sometimes (large SN buggy, they don’t fold small!), as well as all the usual sports kit, shopping etc.

I don’t have a choice really (and while I don’t mind my car, and can drive/park/manoeuvre it well, I do miss zipping around in a smaller car like I used to when I only had 2 dc and they were small)

I'm very interested to hear that SUVs wouldn't propel people over the bonnet. That's interesting. Where did you find that fact?