SUV's. What's the attraction?

Sorry if this has been covered, haven't had time to read the whole thread.  My "beef" with SUVs is that they (most of them) don't do anything particularly well, so they're just fashion.  Need to carry people and cargo?  Minivans do a better job for 99% of people.  Need to carry a lot of cargo?  Pick ups do better.  Need to tow a lot?  Pickup or BOF SUV will do better.  Go offroading?  Yeah, have fun with that in your mall crawler.  Don't even need to touch topics such as handling, fuel economy, etc...  I just don't see what the typical SUV/CUV type thing (thinking Exploder, RAV-4, HR-V, etc...) does particularly well that's attractive to people.

I love my wagons.

High-heeled shoes are only about fashion too but you'll never see me argue a woman shouldn't wear them because they suck  in mud, suck in snow, might not be comfortable and are generally impractical.

Tom_Spangler said:

Sigh.... are we really doing this again?

You know what else is impractical and doesn't make sense to buy? Sports cars.

People drive what they want to drive, it's not my job to tell them otherwise.

Indeed - and they drive whatever they drive for various reasons.  A big one is image - they fall in line from watching all the advertising designed to convince them that they are going to be more manly men, or safer women or whatever, if they only buy a Bulgemobile XB (extra bloated).  Not much point debating it on a logical basis as there is little logic in that sort of buying choice.

I am a big guy that delights in driving nothing but sports cars. I derive a bit of enjoyment from them that I'd never get from a barge, which for me counts for more than cargo carrying capacity and such. Everyone will have a reason (or will make one up that sounds good) for why they buy what they buy and there will never be any conclusion to this sort of discussion.

And we don't even get into the sort of ego inflating reasons why people opt for a truck with a Cadillac or Lincoln badge instead of a much cheaper model that is basically the same car.  I went pshaw the first time I heard that the luxocar manufacturers were going SUV,  That was way before the manufacturers that traditionally made high performance sports and GT cars went that way. Twenty years ago, a Porsche fanatics would have laughed in your face if you said that they would ever produce an SUV. Or Jaguar, or Lamborghini, or Alfa or Maserati or Bemtley or Aston etc.  Now that Ferrari has scheduled one to come out in a couple of years I'd say the discussion is about over.

In reply to Klayfish :

Nothing can do all those things in one package, except for SUV's. So, there you have your multi-tool. 

Those same people look at grown men driving in around in tiny sports cars, lowered, with harnesses on RComps on the street is utter ridiculous as well. 

But you know what both sides have in common? They don't care what the other side thinks. 

My wife wanted one, hers is a baby suv (escape) but since I started truck shopping again I've added broncos to my list because it's available and tows what I need. A lot easier to find in decent shape then a quad cab/extended cab truck 

Why can't I just drive whatever the hell makes me happy?

ShawnG said:

Why can't I just drive whatever the hell makes me happy?

 

Because people don't understand and need to question what you legally do with your own money and time! 

I wanna put some woodgrained peel-n-stick vinyl on the side of one and get a vanity tag:

BGWOODY

yupididit said:

ShawnG said:

Why can't I just drive whatever the hell makes me happy?

Because people don't understand and need to question what you legally do with your own money and time! 

Everybody is more than welcome to express themselves through driving whatever street-legal vehicle they want.

But just like the First Amendment, having the right to express yourself does not mean you are protected from criticism for it.

[edit] Or disagreement.

Nothing feels better than pointing out the shortcomings of others, does it?

ShawnG said:

Nothing feels better than pointing out the shortcomings of others, does it?

I hope it feels so good to be right. There's nothing more exhilarating than pointing out the shortcomings of others, is there?

Great reference!

In reply to Duke :

Oh Duke. Some of yall do more than criticize. Some of you go on full blown rants giving the most ridiculous reasons why people shouldn't have this or that or the people who do are (insert something negative about the person). To hate anything that isn't malicious is silly, to get bothered by such trivial things like what others own or drive is even more silly, its stupid. Given the reasoning I see thrown around here then the miata is the most useless car to own for anyone who drive it on public roads.  

Also, I love how people like to rely on the "1st amendment" to say whatever they want. That is pretty entertaining in itself. We get it, you don't like it but you have the right to cry about it. GRM is for enthusiast of all things automotive, out of all forums this should be the last place we see members bashing each other for what they choose to drive no matter why. Especially since we in general like to enable people to buy things that otherwise make no sense! 

Thanks for the laughs tho! 

yupididit said:

In reply to Duke :

Oh Duke. Some of yall do more than criticize. Some of you go on full blown rants giving the most ridiculous reasons why people shouldn't have this or that or the people who do are (insert something negative about the person). To hate anything that isn't malicious is silly, to get bothered by such trivial things like what others own or drive is even more silly, its stupid. Given the reasoning I see thrown around here then the miata is the most useless car to own for anyone who drive it on public roads.  

Also, I love how people like to rely on the "1st amendment" to say whatever they want. That is pretty entertaining in itself. We get it, you don't like it but you have the right to cry about it. GRM is for enthusiast of all things automotive, out of all forums this should be the last place we see members bashing each other for what they choose to drive no matter why. Especially since we in general like to enable people to buy things that otherwise make no sense! 

 

Thanks for the laughs tho! 

Well said. Best post in the thread. Thank you . 

Duke said:

But just like the First Amendment, having the right to express yourself does not mean you are protected from criticism for it.

 

It's the criticism that most of don't understand in the first place. And who needs to be protected?

It's not that someone might not agree with our choices, it's more WHO THE HELL HAS THE TIME TO CARE ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE LIKE, let alone take the time to post about it.

I can't help but think that most of the people who rail against the irrationality of SUV's are single young guys.  Once you're married and have kids, the SUV makes a hell of a lot more sense.

yupididit said:

In reply to Duke :

Also, I love how people like to rely on the "1st amendment" to say whatever they want.

Ummm, what I was actually referring to was your First Amendment right to drive anything you like.

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

What about single, old, guys? My kids are grown, I don't have a dog, I don't own a boat. Da berk do I have an SUV for? 

Oh yeah, it's roomy and I like wagony things.  

1988RedT2 said:

I can't help but think that most of the people who rail against the irrationality of SUV's are single young guys.  Once you're married and have kids, the SUV makes a hell of a lot more sense.

I'm 54, married, and have 2 kids aged 27 and 23.  They grew up in the minivan / SUV era.  I chose the minivan because they made much more sense and were much more practical given that A) I don't tow much, and B) I live where the roads are paved and plowed.  Much like many (BUT NOT ALL) SUV drivers.

Anybody's choice to drive anything is personal.  Nobody's personal choice to drive anything is immune from disagreement or criticism, be it Miata or SUV or whatever.

[Edit]  Why do SUV owners care what we think about your choices, since we're not supposed to care about your choices?

Duke said:

[Edit]  Why do SUV owners care what we think about your choices, since we're not supposed to care about your choices?

Uhhh, because people just minding their own business don't like to be judged by people that don't even know them.

And personally, I don't come to GRM to be looked down upon by fellow car-guys.

RealMiniNoMore said:

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

What about single, old, guys? My kids are grown, I don't have a dog, I don't own a boat. Da berk do I have an SUV for? 

Oh yeah, it's roomy and I like wagony things.  

Hey, that's cool.  I promise I won't tell anyone!

Oh, I thought of another thing I really like about the SUV:  Driving over the craters that make up the roads around here is much less bone-jarring in the Excursion than the Miata or the Mazda5.  I have to wonder about that, though:  Roads get bad, people buy SUVs to handle the rougher roads, more of the heavier vehicles cause more wear on the roads, people buy more and bigger SUVs to handle additional roughness, etc etc.    But even if I'm part of the cycle, at least I'm not cracking my teeth together every time I run out to get milk.

1 day and 5 pages late. TLDR but I stopped holding anything against SUVs after i personally verified it is possible to build an SUV that drives like a sports car.  Now if anything i tend to look at SUVs that get terrible fuel mileage but don't at least have sports car attributes to show for it as just lazy!!

Semi-related, i'm driving a Hemi Jeep Commander Overland today. It's pretty good.  One of the better overall packages I've come across, mostly by dint of being highly stylized, differentiated, purposeful.. not just a purely practical conveyance.  You get the feeling the person who bought this was definitely NOT going to buy a Tahoe or a minivan. I'm sure base Commanders were lame, but this isn't. The only thing it needs imo is to be about 15% bigger. This should have been Jeep's superior answer to the H2. I've driven an H2 as well and think it was a little over-wrought. Something between those two would have been pretty neat. I used to think the Commander should have been on the concurrent Durango/Aspen platform but after spending enough time in both I've decided the Commander is almost great and that gen of Durango/Aspen was just a complete miss that doesn't do anything well, not even portray their brands' image. 

frenchyd said:

In reply to Suprf1y :

Back in the mid 1980's I guess I was one of the early proponents of SUVs  my reasoning was simple. Towing a race car.  
I started with a  S10 Blazer. With a 2.8 liter V6 I could haul my race car all over the country.  Fuel mileage was three times as good as the race car hauler and I didn't spend 1/3 of my time maintaining it.  

I hate to argue...No, that's a lie.  I like to argue.  Anyway, if you are suggesting a 2.8 S10 was capable of towing anything more than itself at anything approaching highway speeds, I will say that you are wrong.  4.3, sure.  2.8 will barely carry itself in overdrive.

Appropriate tools for the purpose.  I live on an unpaved road at 9000 feet with an annual snowfall of about 155 inches.  I have 4 vehicles:

Toyota 4WD pickup for backcountry Jeep trails in the mountains, firewood, hauling stuff and towing a small camp trailer

2 summer toys:  89 MR2 and 94 Corvette

small SUV (Subie Forester).  Chose it instead of the Outback because of the taller interior space (I carry some tall stuff sometimes).  Good ground clearance, good in the snow, and I can fit a full sized spare, 4 saxophones (including a baritone), 2 music stands, 2 mic stands, 2 horn stands, 2 music stools and 2 sacks of microphones and mic cords and still have room for my wife and I.  V ery versitile.

Everybody has their own reasons and needs.