Why buy an SUV ??

[drakkie]

Why on earth should you buy an SUV??Its expensive, polluting,not very good in terrain(every day, lots are being pulled out of the sand on the beach near my place) and i can go on for hours about it. Can someone tell me why to buy an SUV, exept the status of having one??

[werty]

People buy them because they are

safer in some cases
better ground clearance
more practical for some families
the list goes on....

[Sweeney921]

i'm strongly against them, however i do think they're more roomy......

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by werty

safer in some cases

'cept they roll easy

better ground clearance

so they roll easy

more practical for some families

so there's someone to hurt when they roll easy

the list goes on....

and so does the rolling

[bk4uyeah]

as much as i'm against SUVs, they do have a certian attraction about their luxury

[Coventrysucks]

But how could they not be safe?

They are so big, therefore indestructable!



I suppose in some instances they are safer in a collision, but only for the occupants of the SUV

They are handy for towing stuff, like horses.

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by bk4uyeah

... they do have a certian attraction about their luxury

Confused, couled you elaborate please.
Are you comparing vehicles with the same price tag when comapring 'luxury' ?
Friends Range-Rover is "luxurious" but I could have an ermine trimmed Elise for THAT price

[Slicks]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

'cept they roll easy so they roll easy so there's someone to hurt when they roll easy and so does the rolling

LOL, true most do roll easy, but here in america like you know there arnt very many sharp turns, and if you go around one fast in an SUV you deserve to get in an accident for being stupid. I have a 98 Blazer, i guess its kinda more of a truck than an SUV, and my dad has a 99 Jeep grand cherokee. Both are nice cars, and my blazer corners great for being an SUV/truck. Around me we have real harsh winters, so the 4 wheel drive is great, and people dont start bitching at me about not needing 4 wheel drive, cause youd be surprised, when snow is 6inces + deep, traction is an issue.
What i like about SUVs are you can tow things, go off road, and there is alot of comfort and space. Under normal driving SUV are not going to tip.

EDIT: Also if your not in the market for a perfomance car, and you cant afford a nice luxury car, i would then buy a truck/suv.

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by Slicks

....if your not in the market for a perfomance car, and you cant afford a nice luxury car, i would then buy a truck/suv.

THE most logical reason I've ever heard for having an SUV.

Well done

[SKHargan]

To be honest, in my own experience, the rolling easy is more a theoretical danger than a practical one. My grandfather bought a Jeep CJ5 in 1969, brand new, it's been in the family ever since, about half the time as a daily driver. We've never had a problem with it, and with teenagers driving it for a good many years of its life, I'm not willing to say that it's just because it's never been driven hard. And there are very few (if any) SUV's with a greater theoretical danger of rolling than an old CJ5 (short and narrow wheelbase, high center of gravity). We've owned Broncos, Grand Wagoneers, GMC Jimmys, and Suburbans, all driven hard but never rolled one. Never even came close.

So why have we owned SUVs for so long? A number of reasons:

- Safer. More metal around you, you're generally going to be safer getting in a crash with one of these behemoths than in a smaller car (note the generally). Hell, I even got hit in said CJ5 (don't worry, it's getting fixed - and no, it wasn't my fault) and wasn't hurt. The thing's built like a tank, and I was hit hard enough to bend the frame. I was fine (if you're wondering about the others, they were both taken to the hospital because they weren't wearing their seatbelts and their heads hit the windshield ). And to be honest, while some might say that I'm endangering other people by driving my SUV, I will reply that that's a risk I'm willing to take in order to keep my family safe. If more people took that risk, there'd be fewer fatalities on the road, IMHO. I'm not willing to put my family in danger in order to level the playing field.

- Do you know how much I can shove into the back of these things? Or tow? How many kids I can haul around? It's like owning a van with a pickup bed attached - I can do anything with it. My burb (the land barge, we call it) is extremely versatile with its foldable seats. I've shoved an entire garage door into the back of the thing (doors didn't close all the way, but hey). I've hauled around a dozen kids - and parents feel all right because the beast can climb over anything, I'm a good driver, and they know their kids are safe with that much steel around em.

- Lets talk about that climbing over/going through anything. I *love* that Burb's capabilities. High ground clearance, low range 4WD and big ol' V8, it can do anything. I can't imagine it'd be that great on sand just because it's got pretty wide tires (just going to float along the top rather than cut through), but there isn't much sand around here in Colorado. Usually when you see someone getting towed out in a Burb, they'd be just as helpless in a Subaru. They're just crappy drivers. A lot of people think the fact that they have low range 4WD makes them invincible to terrain, but it doesn't. You still have to use your head.

- MPG. Yeah, the Burb's mpg isn't that great. We get about 15 around town, probably 18 on the highway if we're lucky. But to be honest, that's a rather moot argument. Our old Chevy Astrovan only got 16-18 around town, and few people argue against mini-vans. Many of your dream cars get 15-16 mpg, or less. In my opinion, it's a worthy tradeoff for the practicality of the car. Oh, and as for environmentally unfriendly, the only thing wrong with it in that respect is the low mpg. My Burb has to meet the same emissions standards as your Civic. Yeah, hummers are different, but I'm not arguing for such...er...extravagant SUVs as Hummers.

- What else? Well, there's the beautiful ride that's given by a big SUV with a long wheelbase. It's quiet. It's powerful (can even be considered as adding to safety, as more than once that thing's decent acceleration has allowed me to avoid a rather poor driver). It handles better than most pickups (better weight distribution) but is more versatile than a van. It's luxurious. It's great for long road trips (much better than our old Astrovan). And, dammit, I just like it.

Yes, you could get a better ride, more luxury, and better mpg out of a smaller car. But those are just side benefits to our SUVs. The main ones are their versatility, their safety, their power, and their practicality.

-Shawn

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by SKHargan

....And to be honest, while some might say that I'm endangering other people by driving my SUV, I will reply that that's a risk I'm willing to take in order to keep my family safe. If more people took that risk, there'd be fewer fatalities on the road, IMHO. I'm not willing to put my family in danger in order to level the playing field.

so when does getting bigger SUVs to be safer than you stop for everyone else ?
Inflation doesn't just affect money !!
Smaller SAFER cars exist, why not swap to those ?
BTW, European cars score twice the ratings of American SUVs because the test includes measuring the ipmact the passengers encounter. The problem with big solid tanks is when you hit something equally hard or hared then all the internals get to absoorb ALL the decelration. If you've your seatbelt on then it's your internal organs !!
Crumple is better than solid for everyone.
But it's NOT in the American car makers psyche

I've hauled around a dozen kids - and parents feel all right because the beast can climb over anything,

Here we see the big-is-safe mentality at it's worst !!
Only half of those kids could have been belted in, so even hitting a puny French trash can would have resulted in serious injury to THOSE kids.

I'm a good driver, and they know their kids are safe with that much steel around em.

Obviously not seen the end result of a body being trhown around inside a car then.
Hopefully, this'll make you think a bit and maybe next time hire a passenger vehicle, take them in turn, take more than one vehicle or heven-forbid go by public transport

- MPG. Yeah, the Burb's mpg isn't that great. We get about 15 around town, probably 18 on the highway if we're lucky. But to be honest, that's a rather moot argument. Our old Chevy Astrovan only got 16-18 around town, and few people argue against mini-vans. Many of your dream cars get 15-16 mpg, or less. In my opinion, it's a worthy tradeoff for the practicality of the car. Oh, and as for environmentally unfriendly, the only thing wrong with it in that respect is the low mpg. My Burb has to meet the same emissions standards as your Civic.

You telling me Civics only get 20mpg ??
My A610 gets that gas mileage in town ( OK serious dip on track )

Get with the facts on gas, USA is using gas at a higher rate than anywhere else - though the Chinese are heading that way.
It's a finite resource and being bully on the block doesn't help the US image. It would be nice to see some real action to improve gas mileage by the US government. The justified reason for high gas prices through tax in Eureop is to try to curtail the usage and save it for future generations when some things can ONLY come from oil.

It's luxurious. It's great for long road trips (much better than our old Astrovan). And, dammit, I just like it.

Road noise ?

Yes, you could get a better ride, more luxury, and better mpg out of a smaller car. But those are just side benefits to our SUVs. The main ones are their versatility, their safety, their power, and their practicality.

You cite examples where you clearly have an SUV for the purpose it was intended. Going on unmade roads, cross-country, carry lots of stuff and passengers.
But the present SUV culture we all hate is the school-mom and the rap star wannabees !!

[cls12vg30]

He didn't say the Suburban got the same fuel economy as a Civic, he said it had to meet the same emissions standards.

The justified reason for high gas prices through tax in Eureop is to try to curtail the usage and save it for future generations when some things can ONLY come from oil.

A noble intent, but like many Americans I feel strongly that the purpose of any government tax is strictly to raise the revenue necessary to fund the functioning of the government, NOT to influence the behavior of the populace. No government has any business putting any extra "excise" taxes on gasoline, tobacco, alcohol, or anything else. I oppose the current product-specific taxes on all these items, I consider it blatant social engineering which is not the job of the government.

[Coventrysucks]

Originally Posted by SKHargan

- Safer. More metal around you, you're generally going to be safer getting in a crash with one of these behemoths than in a smaller car (note the generally). Hell, I even got hit in said CJ5 (don't worry, it's getting fixed - and no, it wasn't my fault) and wasn't hurt. The thing's built like a tank, and I was hit hard enough to bend the frame. I was fine (if you're wondering about the others, they were both taken to the hospital because they weren't wearing their seatbelts and their heads hit the windshield ). And to be honest, while some might say that I'm endangering other people by driving my SUV, I will reply that that's a risk I'm willing to take in order to keep my family safe. If more people took that risk, there'd be fewer fatalities on the road, IMHO. I'm not willing to put my family in danger in order to level the playing field.

No, it isn't safer.
Your CJ5 is, as you say, very solid. It has no deformable crash structure to it, like many other American SUV's built on decades old technology.

Lets imagine that an SUV built on the same seperate chassis principles as most SUV's, hits someone head on in a vehicle of similar stature - an MPV, which is more car like it it's structure.

The forces in the SUV go straight through the chassis. (as demonstrated by the fact that it bent your frame when you crashed at what I assume was quite a low closing speed, as you wouldn't pass it off so lightly if it had been serious), through the floor pan, steering column, and passenger cell.
In a violent impact, this means that the passenger cell will collapse, deforming the door, which will require the occupants to be cut free. Also the pedals and steering wheel being pushed back into the passenger compartment, potentially causing injuries to the lower legs and chest area.
Also most of the force will put through the occupants, which can also increase the severity of injuries sustained.

The MPV, with deformable impact zones, and monocoque chassis will transmit all of the forces more evenly. A significant proportion of theforce will be absorbed through progressive deformation, and most of the rest will be dispersed through the monocoque evenly, and be directed around the passenger cell. This results in less cabin intrusion, and a gentler deceleration for the occupants.

[Pimp racer]

I would rather buy a minivan then a suv.

[GT500]

SUVs are roomy. I ony like the luxury ones, the rest are....well....rargle. Things like the Lexus RX and Infiniti FX are things I can live with. Things like the Suburban, Excursion, Exploder...I mean Explorer, Expedition and SRX are just wagons on steroids even if the SRX is a luxury SUV... [/badgrammar]