Hacker News Reader

Comment by gruez | Hacker News Reader

>It's sad that SUV's proliferated,

Sales for true "SUVs" (ie. cars that are built on top of a truck platform) have stayed relatively stable, and most of the "SUVs" you see are actually crossovers[1]. This might seem like a pointless distinction, but crossovers are closer to cars than SUVs, and aren't as bad for the environment as you think. The best selling crossover is the Toyota RAV4[2], which gets 30 mpg. The best selling sedan (Toyota Camry) gets 32 mpg, or 6.7% more.

[1] https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/research/the-rise-of-th...

[2] https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g43553191/bestselling-cars...

View on HN

32 mpg isn't great compared to e.g. a boring Toyota hybrid.

You can also get hybrid crossover SUVs that are going to be off by a similar factor from a hybrid sedan.

Agreed. My 1972 MGB got 28mpg. I realize cars have improved in many ways since then (crash safety, NOx emissions, comfort) but I feel like in 50 years we stopped caring about efficiency as much.

Many of the MPG winds of the 90s and 00s were eaten back up by mandated safety standards. A 2020 focus weighs 10-20% more than a 2000 MY one, for example.

My 1998 SC2 Weighed ~2400 pounds and got MPG in the low 30s (35+ on the highway).

> NOx emissions

Managing that often impacts fuel economy. Ask VW group =)

RAV4 is a Toyota vehicle available as ICE, HV, and PHEV...

Apple to oranges much? If we want to ban all pure ICE vehicles then let's discuss that, but if most "SUV" sales today get comparable MPG to other pure ICE vehicles then it's misleading for people to keep citing the stat that SUV sales are rising with the understanding that this means that average MPG is declining.

The posters point was that crossovers are not true SUV’s, they are built on a sedan frame not a truck frame. It is pretty great when compared to the 20mpg average of a Tacoma truck.

Hybrids are great, but it is sidestepping the point that the poster was trying to make.

Right, the “actual SUV” by Toyota is the Sequoia, which is substantially larger, can tow things, and gets about 18mpg.

But now the only Camrys being sold new in the US get 51mpg.

Pretty sure tesla model y outsels rav4…

Reply on news.ycombinator.com