this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2023
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City Life

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What's going to happen to all of these SUVs? (beehaw.org)
submitted 2 years ago by Kwikxilver@beehaw.org to c/citylife@beehaw.org
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I live in the UK and I drive an Astra. It's a four door hatchback style car from the late 00s, I bought it used and still runs fine even if it's getting on a bit. I know it won't last forever, so I'll probably buy another used car.

Right now, it seems like every new car for sale is a SUV - maybe a crossover which is more moderately sized, but basically an SUV. Buying a new car like my Astra feels niche, I don't think I have ever seen one at a dealership in the last 5 years.

What's going to happen to all of these SUVs in 5-10 years? The used market is going to be filthy with them and people are going to buy and drive them because they'll be cheap - regardless of the fact they are unsafe, costly to run and damaging to road infrastructure. I don't think we will see any car other than a SUV style car, or a van, on the roads in 5 years.

Does this not terrify anybody else? Something has to change here - either a shift to micro mobility scooters and e bikes or a massive increase in transit investment - or we are headed towards an even bigger disaster. Anybody else feel this way?

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[–] Kwikxilver@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

I have owned a SUV in the past - Toyota Rav. I really liked that car. It was a pain to park and I scraped it a few times, but it felt nice to be higher up and comfortable, especially when I was a new driver.

I know in hindsight now I don't need any of those things. I'm a lot more confident as a driver and am perfectly happy with smaller cars.

You should watch Not Just Bikes' video on Light Trucks, it's pretty eye opening.