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Comment by S_A_P | Hacker News Reader

Funny thing about SUVs. Everyone seems to universally hate them on the internet, but they make up for > 50% of all new car sales in the US. Even funnier to me is the folks that in one breath say they want the W126 manual wagon but then scoff at an SUV which is a STATION WAGON, slightly raised. Subaru has been killing it by marketing their SUVs as wagons or vice versa. I drive an SUV. Its a grand cherokee. Its the SRT model. Its my favorite car ever.

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I don't get it. Having owned both SUVs, wagons, and hatchbacks, I'll take a wagon or hatchback every time. Better handling (usually), better fuel economy (usually), and easier to get into (SUVs are tall), and usually less expensive (because SUVs have higher margins). If I really needed a third row, I'd buy a minivan.

I live in a NYC suburb, and driving a sedan or wagon on the highway feels awkwardly low among all of the 18 wheelers and SUVs. I would only feel comfortable in a sedan if everyone else also converted to sedans.

Unless we are vastly different heights, an SUV is always much easier to get into. I had an Audi A4 prior to the Grand Cherokee, and nearing 40 years of age, I grew tired of the "fall in/climb out" ingress/egress of a sedan that is low to the ground. Im 6'2", and my Grand Cherokee (which sits about and 1.5" lower than the other models) is pretty much perfect sit height. I don't need a third row, and the grand cherokee is not 3 row, you have to get the Dodge Durango for that extra row. I love wagons and hatchbacks and SUVs. They are variations of the same flavor. That was the point I was driving at. A wagon is the same shape as an SUV. The spaciousness of a wagon is practical. An SUV sits higher and is easier for some to get in and out. I don't see why there is any distinction made. I would not correct anyone who called my Grand Cherokee a "wagon". Remember the original Grand WAGONeer?

You're 7 inches taller than me, which I'm sure makes a difference!

Yeah, it really depends on the SUV. The big Lexus/Land Cruiser is tall like a truck. The mid-size RX is, like you said, effectively a tall wagon. Same for the Tahoe vs whatever GMC calls their mid-size these days.

And, yeah, the wife's little BMW is low and if I've had a few hard workouts (and the resultant sore back/legs/etc), it's an effort to get in/out. Getting "old" sucks (turn 42 this weekend).

I helped not one, not two, but three friends with my Jeep (also grand Cherokee) last week. We had eght inches of snow and my Jeep could easily handle it so when their cars got stuck... mine was there. Living in rural Illinois it’s almost a must to have a truck or larger vehicle

Or, snow tires. Just about any car on real snow tires will outperform cross-overs on all-seasons.

My family has a minivan and a subcompact. Snow tires have made a huge difference on both cars -- night and day. I learned that www.tirerack.com (no affiliation) has a deal where they send you 4 snow tires, on cheap steel rims, mounted, balanced, and inflated.

It takes about 1/2 hour to swap them out. I mark the tires with chalk so I can get them back on in the correct place, while rotating them front to back as well. First time, I made my teenage kids do the job, so they could experience changing a wheel.

With a garage and an air wrench, changing 4 tires is a breeze. I hope you made them do at least 1 each with manual tools.

Yup. We used the lug wrench and jack that came with the van. Each kid did one wheel that way, because that's what they'd be up against if they're out on the road. Then I also had them use my little hydraulic floor jack, and a cheater on the wrench, and finally a torque wrench. I don't have an extensive tool set, just because we live in a fairly small house and are trying to economize somewhat.

They've gotten pretty handy with tools. We're all into cycling, and messing around with old bikes.

I totally agree generally, in this case it was mostly cars with lower clearance getting stuck.

That sounds like a pretty compelling reason for me to stay in Texas. :) I like snow and all, but dealing with that daily is not something I would enjoy. That said, a Grand Cherokee is a very capable vehicle properly equipped. Its not like you could stick a Subaru Outback in its place and the outcome is any better. You need snow tires and or chains and to pretty much stay home when the snow is that bad.

Those same people would have scoffed at station wagons in the 1960s and minivans in the 1980s.

People want a vehicle that's easier to enter/exit than a go-cart, a full height storage area and a second row of seats that folds down. It just so happens that we call those vehicles "crossovers", "SUVs" or "cars" depending on whether you're asking the sale department, the compliance department or the engineering department.

Funny thing is so many liberals that say they care about the environment are buying them...

the type of person to complain about SUVs online are mostly young urban residents who don't have kids and probably have access to public transport. Not exactly representative of the world at large

The world at large doesn't drive SUVs. People in France don't complain about F150s and SUVs because they don't exist at nearly the frequency. They get by with twingos, why can't suburban California? Even the farms only rarely have trucks and even then they're taco sized, not F-series.

Don't conflate an SUV with a full sized truck. An SUV can be the same size as a Ford Fiesta or as large as a school bus. I would argue that most of the US is buying small to midsize SUVs and not the full size suburban/expedition that people seem to equate with over consumption. And while the 1,2, and 3 selling vehicle[1] is the Ford, GM, FCA trucks, the bulk of the top 25 top sellers in the US are not very big:

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g25558401/best-selling-car...

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