ALT-7 Should we still be Buying Suvs – Yes
In view of the weather which most of England UK have been getting (severe flooding) I think many motorists probably feel that they could have bought an SUV. The SUV, or Small Utility Vehicle (I disagree with the term Sports Utility Vehicle as most aren't unless they are fitted with big fuel sapping engine plants over 2.3 litres) has come a long way off from Suzuki's small SJ series and other Japanese brands such as Toyota's Rav4 which saw an influx of buyers due to its cute styling and general excellent build quality and mechanicals.
Anyone who says "off the cuff," that all SUV's are gas guzzlers isn't particularly keeping up with the times. SUV's in America tend to take on different meaning so here's a European view. It is important therefore to define what SUV cars represent in the market as they are quite a few of them:
The Land Rover Freelander is an SUV; the bigger Discovery is not an SUV.
The Volvo XC90 is an SUV; the bigger Range Rover is not an SUV.
The Suzuki Vitara/Escudo is an SUV; the Isuzu Trooper is not an SUV.
The Daihatsu Terios is an SUV; the Nissan Patrol is not an SUV.
Generally the SUV is as by these very examples generated by the size of the vehicle. Having permanent 4x4 mechanicals may well burn up more fuel, but many buyers of SUV's don't normally take their cars off road. Volvo's XC90 is a large SUV but it doesn't have enough ground clearance to rival the Range Rover and the Volvo is one of the safest cars on the market, even though it can claim more luggage room and seats for families than other smaller designed SUV's. Volvo XC90 with its normal 2.5 engine and diesel options have competitive emissions and fuel economy whilst it's recent V8 (apparently for the American market) takes more fuel. However the Volvo isn't a proper 4x4.
And that's the crux of the matter, because no matter how big or small an SUV is, it will be able to travel on rough ground but it won't be able to see off other large 4x4's on rough and rocky land due to their limited ground clearance. Most buyers purchase SUV's because of their elevated driving position and space.
Just the other day I was travelling in a very old Daihatsu Sportrak, a tiny 4x4 3 door hatch with a 1.5 engine. The owner reported that the car doesn't take much fuel and is quite fun to drive given that its engine is noisy but the comfort of electric windows and mirrors are included whilst the boot is quite large with the seats down. The reason for buying this 4x4 second hand was simply because my friend's job as a vet takes her on rough farm land and her little Ford Fiesta had enough visits to the mechanics because of the underside being scraped on rough land. We remarked however whilst driving along how easy it was to see above trees and see bits of land we had driven past for the last couple of years by car and had never seen them since we had never been elevated so high off from the ground. What's more is that her old Ford Fiesta may well have had a 1.3 engine but the fuel has worked out to be cheaper powering a car with a bigger engine and no problems spending time at a garage being repaired. Gas guzzling? No not in this instance.
SUV's however have had bad press before when previous cars such as Suzuki's SJ series had a tendency to fall over if the car was pressed too hard or driven too fast. So did Mercedes A Class which isn't an SUV let alone a 4x4!
Safety however these days has improved for most SUV manufacturers and most SUV's are available with a whole lengthy list of safety equipment as good as the lists of safety advantages you would normally find on bigger cars. So you'll find safety curtains, air bags, side impact bars, safety cages and pedestrian friendly bonnets/hoods.
SUV's however have also began to get larger as a result of lifestyle requirements; where previously 3 door 4x4's such as Suzuki's old SJ were normal designs, most SUV's now come with 5 doors so that in short the SUV becomes a 4x4 estate and has options of luggage and storage boxes, or over head lockers to maximise on the family aspect of need. Although SUV's generally don't have the same boot space as normal estate/station wagons, they are usually taller in height and can therefore accommodate most families' luggage and needs. There are other types of cars such as Audi's Allroad, Volvo's XC70 and Subaru Forester, but these are essentially estate cars based on their ranges respectively and have had additional part time 4x4 systems built into them, rather like a true cross over vehicle than an SUV which here in the UK are usually mini-style 4x4's which aren't as big as larger 4x4's which ARE gas guzzlers.
However there is a new rise of a new type of SUV and this is discounting the Lexus Hybrid versions of their Altezza/RX350/RX400h, which is emerging in Europe. Instead of designing a 4x4 look alike in terms of a block on four wheels, car manufacturers such as Fiat, Ford, Volkswagen and Renault are now beginning to offer part time and full time 4x4 systems on their super mini and small vans with increased ground clearance big enough to cover the same kind of ground which SUV's coverquite literally. The engine choices will be the same engines on cars without the 4x4 mechanics and components.
And so that poses a question for consumers, as to what they really want their cars to do. Tp retain that higher elevated position inside for clearer visibility, or to genuinely enjoy the outdoors in a car which can take them on rough land? Ultimately it's the fashion which will dictate the choice of SUV's but as the Sony Walkman created the personal choice for music lovers and now we can achieve it in something no smaller than a matchbox in the form of Mp3 players, SUV's may well become smaller and what will the lobbyists do then?
