No, you shouldn’t.
If you got to this page by searching “Should I buy an SUV” – you probably don’t have a really good reason to buy one and might be better served with a sedan or similar type car.
Let me explain a little more. I’m not saying that no one should ever buy an SUV, but Americans today seem to be in love with this category of automobile to the point that it is a detriment to their finances. All things equal, it’s simple physics that a larger car will be heavier. Heavier cars cost more to make and operate. This is why an SUV will almost always be more expensive than a comparably equipped sedan. There you go, sedan’s cost less than SUVs (usually by several thousand dollars) so there’s a good enough reason.
Well, it doesn’t stop there. Continuing with the heaviness theme – heavier SUV’s will require more energy to accelerate and maintain speed – i.e., they will require more gas to operate over the same distance. The fact that they ride higher also adds to their reduced aerodynamics and lower fuel efficiency. Finally, it’s fair to say that a heavier vehicle will go through maintenance items such as tires and brakes slightly faster as those wear items have to dissipate more heat/friction related to the extra mass of the SUV.
So, if SUV’s cost more upfront, cost more to operate and maintain – at least they drive better than sedans, right?
No!
While it is true that advances in car technology has made modern SUV a lot more agile and easy-to-drive than before, but they still cannot quite compete with similarly priced sedans. Due to the lower center of gravity and reduced weight – sedans still have better driving dynamics than SUVs.
OK – but what about all that extra space you get with an SUV?
Do you really need that space? How often are you lugging more people or things than can fit in a mid-sized or large sedan? If the real answer to that is frequently – then go for an SUV, but all too often we fool ourselves in thinking we need a larger car for “all those times” we need to buy something over-sized that wouldn’t fit in a sedan or need to make room for 6 or 7 passengers. For many of us, that is a very infrequent occurrence that shouldn’t justify a purchase of a larger SUV. If you really do want that extra cargo space, you can consider a hatchback or wagon that can offer a lot of the extra cargo capacity while still maintaining the general size of a sedan.
Cars should cost less to buy, operate and maintain and present a more engaging driving experience. I think we need to re-discover the many benefits of buying sedans and wagons over larger SUVs.
