Pity SUV drivers, fast being priced out of their badges of contempt for the planet | Catherine Bennett
www.theguardian.com
With the royals as ambassadors for these luxury cars, there’s little hope for the rest of us
  • YungOnions@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    561·
    8 months ago

    “Insurers, who say the vehicles are too likely to be stolen, seem to be deaf to the suffering of owners whose only fault was to buy an obese status symbol coveted by many hard-working criminals, as well as by Prince Andrew.”. Damn, savage! It’s a good article, though. EVs are heavy enough, without continuing to make SUVs part of the product lineup.

  • awwwyissss@lemm.eeEnglish
    191·
    9 months ago

    Owning an SUV is a big red flag for me. Not joking at all, I don’t have a single friend who owns one and it’s not an accident.

    • betz24@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
      1245·
      9 months ago

      I think this is just another news cycle to pit normal citizens against each other to blame for current crisises. Given the utility of an SUV, I assume the difference is marginal.

            • betz24@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
              16·
              9 months ago

              I live in a city with elevations and I’m hard pressed to find any MPVs on the road. I see MPV (vans) broken down on the side of the road because they lack the horsepower to go up and down the highway every day. I don’t have an issue with MPVs and wish most short haul businesses used them instead of pick-up trucks, but they just don’t offer the same benefits as an SUV.

              I own an SUV (clearly), it gets good mileage (27-34), I travel across the country in it, and I can’t tell you how many times it has been useful on the pavement having that extra power and height for safety reasons. Is the hate on SUVs how big they are? Is it because it’s considered a symbol of status? MPVs are not better mileage wise, unless you are comparing a new MPV to an older 2001 SUV. Hell, Jeeps have the worst MPG and no one is complaining about them.

              • Dyf_Tfh@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
                6·
                9 months ago

                I’m talking from an European view where we replaced the MPV body style with the SUV body style. Basically the same type of car underneath, some models even kept their name during the transition. I’m still quite flabbergasted in how we ended up in this situation.

                It is true that they don’t take more space/consume more but they have zero usability advantages vs an MPV?

                They are more cramped, waste space with the higher floor/ bigger wheels, and you don’t even have a better visibility since you are more upright in an MPV.

                The only thing they have is not looking like an MPV.

      • ClockworkOtter@lemmy.worldEnglish
        241·
        9 months ago

        I’m pretty sure the general recipient of attacks on SUVs is the manufacturers. They’re the ones building and advertising the planet killers, and lobbying against restrictions.

        • huginn@feddit.itEnglish
          171·
          9 months ago

          Yeah but also they’re consistently more popular in the North American market since there’s a cult of mutually assured destruction among drivers.

          “There are so many big cats on the road, if they hit my sedan they won’t get hurt! I must buy a bigger car so they get hurt and I don’t”