SUV's. What's the attraction?

I was more than a little surprised when I heard that some manufacturers were going to stop building cars and concentrate on SUV's and pickup trucks. I guess I wasn't paying attention, but didn't realize just how popular they are. I've driven a few, and was even prepared to buy one for Mrs. f1y as I thought AWD would be good for her out here in the winter , but that was the only reason and she had zero interest. So for those of you who own one, why? What do they, the smaller, non AWD, do that a sedan or hatch does not?

Do you need it mansplained to you? 

1) Tow things. 
 

2) Not be a minivan. 
 

Frankly, other than that, not much. Unless you live in a place where paving is less than common, or you need to tow things, they don't do anything better than a car or minivan. 

The way it was explained to me by my then-fiancee, she wanted to drive a big SUV because she knew that she couldn't drive and that she was afraid of getting into a collision, so she wanted to drive the biggest hugest thing ever so she wouldn't get hurt.

In other words, she would rather kill someone else than bother learning how to drive.

This is the SUV-driver mindset in a nutshell.  The smaller the person, the bigger the SUV they drive, as well.

I find it somewhat amusing that any time I pull one in that tries to BlueTooth pair with the phone they are invariably using in the waiting room, the high beams are on.  It's like they actively don't give a E36 M3 about anybody but themselves.  The alternative explanation is that they are too dumb to have empathy for other people in the world.

It's probably the latter.  Sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.

My mom thought her Durango looked nice and the ride height made it easier for her 56 year old fibromyalgia having self to get into. 

Personally I don't like driving it because it feels like the stiff LX chassis on stilts that it is.

Bigger people fit more comfortably. 

Higher- better visibility. 

Tow things

Hauling capacity- both weight and volume. 

Tailgates

Seat 8 comfortably 

Some people just feel safer in a bigger vehicle (this is a big one)

Good V8 noises

4WD option

Diesel option

Lay a 4x8 sheet of plywood down inside

In reply to Knurled. :

Eeek think that might be a very small sample of SUV owners. Probably the worst and most cynical example. Doesn't even make sense to believe such a thing. 

Anyway,

I used to dd an f250 in southern California (yupimridiculous), then an xjr, now an excursion. I rather not dd the excursion and miss the f250 dearly. But, I dont want a pickup nor a sedan as a dd anymore. I routinely drive my gf's accord and my roommate's Camry. I honestly don't like driving cars anymore. Coincidentally, my gf suv got wrecked and that's how she got an accord, she likes her car but constantly says she misses her SUV. My roommate drove his friend's x5 and is pretty much sold on getting something similar to that. He doesn't even have kids or anything he just liked the sightlines and seating position better. Also, he isnt even American he's basically British. 

I don't like wagons and don't see the attraction or reason why to get one other than "because I want one" type of reasoning. Well, I do like two Mercedes wagons but that's it. I don't knock or judge people for liking them though. Nor do I generalize the entire wagon driving population based on one person and their stupid reason. 

If you don't see the point in owning a SUV or whatever then you probably don't need one and def don't want one.

In b4 GRM crossover/tallcar/littleSUV bitching!

Tow things.

Carry stuff that's big or heavy.

Go places that would destroy the undercarriage of my other cars.

Have my wife/daughter use it when the roads are bad due to weather.

Is an XC90 an SUV, or an AWD wagon?  It's a bit taller than an xc70, which is a bit taller than a v70...

I enjoy driving my 90 on long trips, but that has more to do with the seats, the HVAC and the ease of driving a thousand miles a day whole carrying my stuff.

I also like my 94 Sentra, but I'd rather not drive it a thousand miles.

In reply to SVreX :

Also, it is much easier to find a reasonably priced SUV than a pickup on the used market. 

I spent 2 years trying to find a decent used full size 4x4 extended or crew cab pickup for under $5k.  Found a Tahoe within a month of adding SUV's to the list of vehicles being considered.

In reply to Knurled. :

So you're pro or con? It's hard to tell.

I get the big ones. It's the little turds like the Escape and whatever GM sells these days, not to mention the mini SUV's like the Eco sport and Trax

SVreX said:

Bigger people fit more comfortably.

This is demonstrably false.  The seats sit so high that they are uncomfortable for people over 6 feet tall to drive due to headroom issues.  It's a real PITA to try to drive something where your feet can't touch the floor AND you have to lay back like you're in a dentist's chair because of the lack of headroom.

Generally speaking, the shorter the person, the larger the truck.  The only actually-tall people I have known, drove cars exclusively.  One drove Miatas except for his winter beater, which was a C4 Corvette.

SUV comes down to one thing for me, it's cheaper than the same thing as a truck. Excursion? Affordable. F250? Not a berkeleyin' chance. 

I use to be part of the resistance,  now I have been assimilated. Like everything thing else out there, SUVs are infinitely better than they use to be. When I was a kid, my parents always had station wagons and we took the family truckster every where. The kids would even sleep in the back. An SUV is the family truckster now. I put my dog and his cage, my bike, groceries, tents etc. and hit the road...........and off road. They don't ride like trucks anymore, some even being "sporty" ish.   Fortunately, I have e few extra cars with manuals to play with. If I had to live with just one vehicle, it would be an SUV..........and I can't believe I am saying that,

yupididit said:

In reply to Knurled. :

Eeek think that might be a very small sample of SUV owners. Probably the worst and most cynical example. Doesn't even make sense to believe such a thing. 

Eh, I figure most people don't realize that they are being shiny happy people.  Everybody is an shiny happy person to someone else.  But it's invariably the people in SUVs who are proactively shiny happy person-ing.

All you can do is hope there is a hole in traffic to do a 60-90mph warpspeed away from them as they try to ride 2.5cm from your bumper, and then merge back into the flow of things.

Knurled. said:

yupididit said:

In reply to Knurled. :

Eeek think that might be a very small sample of SUV owners. Probably the worst and most cynical example. Doesn't even make sense to believe such a thing. 

 

Eh, I figure most people don't realize that they are being shiny happy people.  Everybody is an shiny happy person to someone else.  But it's invariably the people in SUVs who are proactively assholing.

As long as you know your an shiny happy person, buddy. 

I thought they were dumb until I got one. It's easier than my car for the wife to get in and out of because of the height, it holds her stuff better than any of the hatchbacks we looked at, and it's footprint is smaller smaller than a minivan.  The higher ground clearance and Awd are a nice bonus that this winter I won't have to worry about tearing the airdam up on my car in deep snow.

I've never seen an SUV that would even come close to seating 8 actual human people. 
 

My sister has a classic mid-Oughties Suburban. It is comprehensively smaller inside than with my Grand Caravan or Town & Country, despite being larger outside. It's also very difficult for real adults to get into the third row, unlike the minivans, where it's a simple step-through prospect. 
 

I freely admit it's a far better softroader than my van and it would tow probably 3x as much. 
 

In reply to Duke :

I just had 8 people in mine last weekend, one was in an infant carseat. Everyone was comfortable. I've also had 13 people in there last December, lol nevermind. 

How big is a real adult? 

In reply to SVreX :

Well said!

Please let's NOT start to judge people for wanting an SUV. It's bad enough reading the judgement about driving a pickup truck.

For my MIL, her '13 & '19 Ford Escapes have been all about ease of entry.  For her the height is just right and the flat seat cushion, with leather, makes it very easy for her to slide herself in behind the wheel.  She's 89 yrs old and still driving.  

Previous to this she had 2 Chrysler minivans but those required her to have to climb up to get seated.  

Knurled. said:

SVreX said:

Bigger people fit more comfortably.

 

This is demonstrably false.  The seats sit so high that they are uncomfortable for people over 6 feet tall to drive due to headroom issues.  It's a real PITA to try to drive something where your feet can't touch the floor AND you have to lay back like you're in a dentist's chair because of the lack of headroom.

 

Generally speaking, the shorter the person, the larger the truck.  The only actually-tall people I have known, drove cars exclusively.  One drove Miatas except for his winter beater, which was a C4 Corvette.

 

I'm a big dude and over 6 feet tall.  This is bullE36 M3.

Wally said:

I thought they were dumb until I got one. It's easier than my car for the wife to get in and out of because of the height, it holds her stuff better than any of the hatchbacks we looked at, and it's footprint is smaller smaller than a minivan.  The higher ground clearance and Awd are a nice bonus that this winter I won't have to worry about tearing the airdam up on my car in deep snow.

This^^^^

Seating position and visibility is a big thing, and no it’s not just because it’s an “arms race” where people need to see over all the other tall cars. It’s helpful to see over other things too, like fences, signs, bushes, large dogs, etc.

I do find it annoying that a SUV/CUV/whatever can have worse headroom than our dinky Focus. I’m looking at you, Traverse/Enclave.

edit: For the sake of fairness, I’ve driven a lot of SUVs that were fine in that regard.

Knurled. said:

SVreX said:

Bigger people fit more comfortably.

 

This is demonstrably false.  The seats sit so high that they are uncomfortable for people over 6 feet tall to drive due to headroom issues.  It's a real PITA to try to drive something where your feet can't touch the floor AND you have to lay back like you're in a dentist's chair because of the lack of headroom.

Demonstrably false? I'm 6'-3" and 250lbs and have zero issue with headroom and I drive full-size suvs for the room they provide. I was the passenger in our new Pacifica tonight and couldn't even put my shoes on with the seat all the way back.

And let's not talk about how hard I was hit from behind by a Honda Accord in my Yukon XL and how I barely felt it while the driver was injured and his engine was destroyed.

Oh... 6.0 LS thank you very much.