5 ms·

most of those vehicles have a single occupant and never haul anything heavier than a coke can. the usable area to store things on the back is often the same as

by _dain_ 4y ago

most of those vehicles have a single occupant and never haul anything heavier than a coke can. the usable area to store things on the back is often the same as much smaller models from years ago!

xyzelement 4y ago
I live outside of NYC, most of the folks in my town are young families with 2 or 3 kids. Every family has an SUV. Maybe at a given time mom might drive to work alone, but there's plenty of road trips, carpools, etc. I used to be a "small car" guy, now I am an "SUV dad". We have a Toyota Highlander and it's "fully utilized" pretty often. Changes your perspective.
- _dain_ 4y ago
  are you actually going off-road? road-trips (on tarmac) and carpooling don't require an SUV. they require a car with a spacious interior, that isn't the same thing as an SUV.
  - xyzelement 4y ago
    Do you consider something like a Subaru Outback a car while a Highlander is an SUV? Otherwise, what you are saying has not been my experience.
    - _dain_ 4y ago
      >Do you consider something like a Subaru Outback a car while a Highlander is an SUV? I don't really care about labels, but the Outback is way smaller and lower to the ground: https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/subaru-outback-2014-suv-vs-toyota-highlander-2019-suv/ https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/subaru-outback-2014... I know which one I'd rather cycle next to. By the way, check out the cargo volume stats listed underneath. Also the site lists the Outback as an SUV but here it's sold as an estate car.
  - pandaman 4y ago
    Most SUVs on the market now are unibody design without a locking differential so they are not even designed to be taken off-road. But they are still much handier in an adverse weather on-road. E.g. I drove by quite a few drowned cars in a flash flood.
- wardedVibe 4y ago
  SUV's are station wagons built to exploit the small truck emissions loophole. Station wagons are great, SUVs are just wasteful.
  - xyzelement 4y ago
    Is that really true? What's an SUV today that wouldn't pass emissions otherwise?
    - _dain_ 4y ago
      most of them?
- dghlsakjg 4y ago
  Wouldn’t a minivan be a better option in that case? More passenger room, more cargo area, lower floors with the same high seating, better visibility which seems especially important around kids, comes in hybrid and AWD, most can tow the same amount as a hybrid highlander. I own an SUV, and live in a rural area but I find it to be a pretty bad solution for moving stuff and people. I bought it, and use it, mostly for backcountry access along unmaintained resource roads.
  - Zak 4y ago
    Are minivans better for not killing cyclists? They seem like they might be a little bit (bumper height, hood angle), but they're still large, tall vehicles.
    - dghlsakjg 4y ago
      One of the biggest pieces of why suvs are more dangerous is the hood height. It’s not a small factor, its the main factor. Minivans will hit you in the lower body or legs, deflecting you up into the sloped surface of the hood. By contrast, most suvs have blunter higher noses, causes the initial point of contact to be in the chest or head area, where injuries tend to be more life threatening, and physics will tend to cause you to topple over onto concrete and under the vehicle. For comparison check out the contrast here https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/chrysler-voyager-2004-minivan-grand-voyager-vs-toyota-highlander-2019-suv/ https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/chrysler-voyager-20... It’s pretty clear that the minivan will contact you significantly lower. If you want something truly scary swap the highlander for a full size SUV like a Yukon
  - xyzelement 4y ago
    I do think minivans are somewhat more convenient but I think the line between a modern minivan and suv is minimal. Example: take a look at the first few seconds of this video [1], can you immediately say which one is the minivan and which is the SUV? [1] https://youtu.be/gtPyH9dB4PI https://youtu.be/gtPyH9dB4PI
    - 4y ago
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

by _dain_ 4y ago

most of those vehicles have a single occupant and never haul anything heavier than a coke can. the usable area to store things on the back is often the same as much smaller models from years ago!

xyzelement 4y ago

I live outside of NYC, most of the folks in my town are young families with 2 or 3 kids. Every family has an SUV. Maybe at a given time mom might drive to work alone, but there's plenty of road trips, carpools, etc. I used to be a "small car" guy, now I am an "SUV dad". We have a Toyota Highlander and it's "fully utilized" pretty often. Changes your perspective.

_dain_ 4y ago
are you actually going off-road? road-trips (on tarmac) and carpooling don't require an SUV. they require a car with a spacious interior, that isn't the same thing as an SUV.
- xyzelement 4y ago
  Do you consider something like a Subaru Outback a car while a Highlander is an SUV? Otherwise, what you are saying has not been my experience.
  - _dain_ 4y ago
    >Do you consider something like a Subaru Outback a car while a Highlander is an SUV? I don't really care about labels, but the Outback is way smaller and lower to the ground: https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/subaru-outback-2014-suv-vs-toyota-highlander-2019-suv/ https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/subaru-outback-2014... I know which one I'd rather cycle next to. By the way, check out the cargo volume stats listed underneath. Also the site lists the Outback as an SUV but here it's sold as an estate car.
- pandaman 4y ago
  Most SUVs on the market now are unibody design without a locking differential so they are not even designed to be taken off-road. But they are still much handier in an adverse weather on-road. E.g. I drove by quite a few drowned cars in a flash flood.
wardedVibe 4y ago
SUV's are station wagons built to exploit the small truck emissions loophole. Station wagons are great, SUVs are just wasteful.
- xyzelement 4y ago
  Is that really true? What's an SUV today that wouldn't pass emissions otherwise?
  - _dain_ 4y ago
    most of them?
dghlsakjg 4y ago
Wouldn’t a minivan be a better option in that case? More passenger room, more cargo area, lower floors with the same high seating, better visibility which seems especially important around kids, comes in hybrid and AWD, most can tow the same amount as a hybrid highlander. I own an SUV, and live in a rural area but I find it to be a pretty bad solution for moving stuff and people. I bought it, and use it, mostly for backcountry access along unmaintained resource roads.
- Zak 4y ago
  Are minivans better for not killing cyclists? They seem like they might be a little bit (bumper height, hood angle), but they're still large, tall vehicles.
  - dghlsakjg 4y ago
    One of the biggest pieces of why suvs are more dangerous is the hood height. It’s not a small factor, its the main factor. Minivans will hit you in the lower body or legs, deflecting you up into the sloped surface of the hood. By contrast, most suvs have blunter higher noses, causes the initial point of contact to be in the chest or head area, where injuries tend to be more life threatening, and physics will tend to cause you to topple over onto concrete and under the vehicle. For comparison check out the contrast here https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/chrysler-voyager-2004-minivan-grand-voyager-vs-toyota-highlander-2019-suv/ https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/chrysler-voyager-20... It’s pretty clear that the minivan will contact you significantly lower. If you want something truly scary swap the highlander for a full size SUV like a Yukon
- xyzelement 4y ago
  I do think minivans are somewhat more convenient but I think the line between a modern minivan and suv is minimal. Example: take a look at the first few seconds of this video [1], can you immediately say which one is the minivan and which is the SUV? [1] https://youtu.be/gtPyH9dB4PI https://youtu.be/gtPyH9dB4PI
  - 4y ago
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]