Why suv car

However, the SUV segment has been burgeoning with new entries like the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride over the past couple of years. On top of that, the higher ride height of an SUV gives the driver a much more commanding view of the road ahead making it easier to negotiate around traffic or other obstacles on or off the road. For example, SUVs like the Ford Edge — as well as many other Ford models — have inflatable rear seat belts , which offer even more protection and ongoing standardization of driver-assist features like adaptive cruise control and blind-spot indicators from many automakers have prospective buyers feeling safer.

Porsche demonstrated this by gambling on an SUV to keep them in business, and it did. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy back in the early s. In fact, annual sales had fallen from over 50, units in to 14, in , and only of those sales were in the U. S market. Both Toyota helping Porsche streamline their horribly bloated manufacturing process and the Boxter saved them the first time, but the Boxter was becoming outdated towards the end of the decade and Porsche desperately needed an instant injection of profitability to take them into the new millennium.

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Hate and vitriol is particularly easy when you ignore the big picture. The station wagon is the proto-minivan. I said it. Thanks to their size, many SUVs are available with seven seats, making them a good - if expensive - alternative to people carriers.

When all seats are in use, there's usually a minimal amount of boot space, but they can normally be folded flat to enlarge the boot. While the earliest so-called Chelsea Tractors may have been agricultural, with four-wheel drive, special off-road gears and even towing equipment, manufacturers quickly dropped these for models that were aimed at families.

It helped save weight and improve fuel economy. Now, even some Land Rovers only have two-wheel drive, as few ever leave tarmac. The height of SUVs naturally makes them better at fording floodwater, but they aren't powerboats: a river that's burst its banks may well be too deep even for an SUV. If that's combined with a strong current, then you can find yourself in the serious situation of your SUV being carried down the river.

An enormous SUV, such as the Toyota Land Cruiser above can drive through water that's up to mm deep - considerably less than a metre. A Range Rover can wade through water that's mm deep. Land Rover also offers a sonar system, using sensors to detect the depth of the water that the car is driving through and sounding an alert if it gets too deep. The extra height of an SUV will also be useful in heavy snow - the type that's common in Scotland during winter.

It's less likely to be needed in the rest of the country when snowfall is typically light. Winter tyres and four-wheel drive are the two systems that will help the most in this type of situation.

Both of these are available on standard cars. The medium SUV segment is now the second largest in the Australian industry, its sales are up 13 per cent this year and it's heading for , units in Like it or lump it: SUVs and crossovers are quickly becoming the most popular body styles in town, and country.

But why are these never-off roaders, many of them two-wheel drive, so popular? As we've discussed , it's not the allure of adventuring off the beaten track to places unreachable without all-wheel drive.

As any armchair critic will gladly tell you, the furthest most SUVs go off road is a gravel carpark. And while they'll probably argue that SUVs should go off into the wild blue yonder, the common consensus is pretty much the opposite.

As perverse as it may seem, SUVs can actually be a sensible choice for use on the open road and even in the city centre. For the most part, it comes down to space.

Short of buying a van or people mover , there is no better way to cram everything you own and love into one vehicle. Motoring writers tend to put this under the vague title of 'packaging'; basically, it's what you can fit into the space you have. And SUVs do it better than almost anything; the high roof, low floor and wagon shape give SUVs comparatively boundless headroom, legroom and storage space.

The roof line on SUVs doesn't taper or sweep down to the road at the back, unlike sedans and wagons, so headroom for backseat passengers doesn't suffer unless you desire a BMW X6 , for some reason.

This setup works wonders when getting in and out of the car, especially for people who aren't as limber as they used to be. The higher ride height, taller doors and shorter sills mean drivers and passengers don't have to bend and stoop like they would in sedans and hatchbacks, which means less effort, less pain and more dignity.

The "command seating position" and excellent all-round visibility are also highly sought after, particularly by the non-beard-growing population. Higher ride height also helps in the city and out of town, granting a certain insulation from the potholes, kerbs and road plates.