SUV owners: do you regret it?

William Foster said:
If you are worried about fuel, you shouldn't be shopping in this section...
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im not, just curious how can people pull up to the pumps and take a beating every single time for fuel.
that 95% of the time does nothing better a Hatchback or Sedan can do.

I mean lets get real, in a SUV, you sit in exactly the same traffic, park in the exact same parking's, and drive on the exact same roads.
as somebody in a little Hatch or sedan, yet pay triple the cost, how do they justify that. its beyond me.

I mean I get it, 5% of the time, yes they make sense, where you need AWD and ground clearance, if your fording a river or there is no actual road.
but the rest of the time, its just a Hatchback that takes triple the fuel for going exactly the same distance on tarred roads making those extra features useless.

I think its more to do with Ego and showing off, than for any actual utility.
same as somebody might wear a T-shirt with a controversial logo, or style their hair in a mohawk, or have Yakuza style gang Tattoos

I guess SUV people need their Ego's massaged all the time,
 
Foxhound5366 said:
Zactly, I’d love to figure out what it is. Because lots of SUVs do have limited boot space, although it gets more usable if you drop the back seats (not possible for a family going on holiday). So I guess then you need an SUV with a trailer. Or a roof-mounted Thule box.

In terms of interior, SUVs usually are no different to the sedan versions of the same brands. At least, no better. For me, the big draw card is a bit more weight in an accident should make it safer, but to really feel safe I’d want front-collision radar and that is just one option practically nobody shells out for in South Africa (judging by the used market).

I think what got me thinking about it was the BMW X1 I drove past today. Like … yes … it’s a baby SUV. But why not get a 3 Series instead? You’re not even getting the only real SUV benefits there.
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The X1 is cheaper than a 3 series in the same spec. It also has a bigger boot. I would even go as far and say the X1 rear seat is wider than that of of the 3 series. X1 has more space than the 1 series and only cost slightly more.
 
Jet-Fighter7700 said:
im not, just curious how can people pull up to the pumps and take a beating every single time for fuel.
that 95% of the time does nothing better a Hatchback or Sedan can do.

I mean lets get real, in a SUV, you sit in exactly the same traffic, park in the exact same parking's, and drive on the exact same roads.
as somebody in a little Hatch or sedan, yet pay triple the cost, how do they justify that. its beyond me.

I mean I get it, 5% of the time, yes they make sense, where you need AWD and ground clearance, if your fording a river or there is no actual road.
but the rest of the time, its just a Hatchback that takes triple the fuel for going exactly the same distance on tarred roads making those extra features useless.

I think its more to do with Ego and showing off, than for any actual utility.
same as somebody might wear a T-shirt with a controversial logo, or style their hair in a mohawk, or have Yakuza style gang Tattoos

I guess SUV people need their Ego's massaged all the time,
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Yeah it’s a hard line of discussion, because it applies to everything. Why buy a Ferrari when it is limited to 120km/h, just the same as a Toyota Corolla? Why eat a steak when you can fill yourself up on a pie? *shrugs* Let’s be real, life is not about being sensible. It’s about picking your preferred combination of insanities however you wish to justify them.

I agree that it’s about image, completely. And why not? Cars are better ways to spend money than heroin. I just wonder if it’s possible to be definitively happy with a choice over SUV or sedan when both could make you happy. Just gotta buy both, like our friend with the S5.
 
Jet-Fighter7700 said:
im not, just curious how can people pull up to the pumps and take a beating every single time for fuel.
that 95% of the time does nothing better a Hatchback or Sedan can do.

I mean lets get real, in a SUV, you sit in exactly the same traffic, park in the exact same parking's, and drive on the exact same roads.
as somebody in a little Hatch or sedan, yet pay triple the cost, how do they justify that. its beyond me.

I mean I get it, 5% of the time, yes they make sense, where you need AWD and ground clearance, if your fording a river or there is no actual road.
but the rest of the time, its just a Hatchback that takes triple the fuel for going exactly the same distance on tarred roads making those extra features useless.

I think its more to do with Ego and showing off, than for any actual utility.
same as somebody might wear a T-shirt with a controversial logo, or style their hair in a mohawk, or have Yakuza style gang Tattoos

I guess SUV people need their Ego's massaged all the time,
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Lol, you sound bitter.
 
William Foster said:
Lol, you sound bitter.
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Well he’s not entirely wrong. My humble little Polo was doing 4.7l/100km/h on the N1 between JHB and PTA today. I remember driving a Mercedes ML63 AMG which thought nothing of going to 30 litres/100km during hard acceleration. Admittedly that’s extreme, but the exhaust grumble was literally the sound of the engine gargling petrol lol.

I think the perfect car is … not invented yet. So let’s celebrate our bad choices.
 
Not sure what your price range or if you are looking at new cars but if you are at the 400k price range check out the chery tiggo 4 pro 1.5t elite se.

The car has 108kw which is more than most cars at this price point, has a very good sized boot, crazy back seat space, back seat aircon, is fully interactive with apple play/andriod auto, can open the sun roof with your voice, adaptive cruise control so in traffic the car drives itself, can kinda drive itself if lines are painted, 360 camera, pre collision warning and comes with 6 airbags.

Cars that cost 100k more don't have half these features.

I bit heavy on petrol 9-11 per 100km.

I love the Kruger, spend as much time as I can there and the car is lekker high so you can see the animals. Don't regret anything about buying it.
 
I wasn't a fan of SUVs at all. Then my wife wanted to replace her A1. While walking to vw to choose a mk7 gti, she saw (the then brand new) 2017 Tiguan 1.4 Tsi full spec.

I'm a total convert. I really enjoy driving it, it's comfortable. Smooth. Well made. Well kitted, has a consumption of 7l/100km over the last 6 yrs. Zero faults. Full motor plan up to 8 yrs.

It takes 2 prams and 2 big 360 child seats for our twins (and she fits in the middle). A gti and many small sedans can not do that. The larger windows and ride height makes driving feel less tiring.

I think if you choose a model that suits what you need (don't get 4wd if you don't need, don't get a supercharged V8, rather get a second sports car) I think it's an excellent choice. The tiguan does 0-100 under 10s and top speed 200. So it's no slouch.

Don't knock it until you try it.

(Note, I will never chose an X3M over an M2, or any performance suv for that matter, except a tiguan R if we could only have one family vehicle)
 
Foxhound5366 said:
I’ve never owned an SUV. Been doomed to hatchbacks and sedans my whole life.

Now I’m pretty comfortable with not getting a bakkie (parking is hard enough as it is in some shopping malls), mostly due to being honest that I’m never gonna move a load of bricks, but I can’t escape the battle over whether an SUV is objectively better than a sedan for family life.

Higher off the road is fun, but heavier is slower and thirstier on fuel … and a ridiculous number of SUVs in South Africa aren’t even turbocharged.

The primary draw card for me is I want speed and safety … but maybe I’m missing some considerations? So this thread then: to all those SUV owners out there, are you happy with your decision to get an SUV (rather than a sedan), or do you ever find yourself regretting it and looking longingly at something low and fast.
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Who are going to be the regular users of your car? You , or you and your family?

Also by Sauav, what do you mean by it. Are you talking a bigger car, but with fwd or are you talking about an off-roader?
 
I love it.

Boot is insanely big, can just throw stuff in it.
Parking has become easier, i just park up nearest pavement or piece of ground.
So much room inside, panoramic sunroof is also very nice.
 
konfab said:
Who are going to be the regular users of your car? You , or you and your family?

Also by Sauav, what do you mean by it. Are you talking a bigger car, but with fwd or are you talking about an off-roader?
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Mostly me and my family hey. I work from home.

I’d prefer to get an AWD like BMW’s X-Drive, just for the capability. Getting an SUV that gets stuck in a puddle … that would be a hard moment for my ego.
 
Craig_ said:
My wife's cousin has a fortuner, and a trailer, he struggles to get everything in when they go camping ( and they camp a lot) as there's almost never enough space. He actually needs a bakkie, or a bus type vehicle but refuses to get either. He will replace it with another fortuner soon.

So yeah, there has to be a moerse drawcard to these suv's as many people drive them even when it doesn't suit their life style perfectly.
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Not that there is not enough space, but my dogs go in the back of my Touareg, luggage goes in one of these.

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Foxhound5366 said:
Mostly me and my family hey. I work from home.

I’d prefer to get an AWD like BMW’s X-Drive, just for the capability. Getting an SUV that gets stuck in a puddle … that would be a hard moment for my ego.
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I’m not much of a car guy, but what are these SUVs that don’t have 4WD or AWD?

Are they SUVs at all?
 
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