It is no secret that the world has fallen in love with crossovers & SUVs. No matter where you go, the roads are almost guaranteed to be filled with them. From small to big, off-roady or sporty, the SUV has taken every possible form. But is it really the car to have?
If you think about it, the modern SUV is mostly a sacrifice. It performs great at nothing, but it is mediocre at everything. SUVs offer a lot of space, but not the most space. SUVs can be sporty, but they are certainly not the sportiest. You get the point, everything the SUV does has a trade-off. So, in the case of a family vehicle, is the SUV really the best choice? Or should you ditch the cool factor and spend your hard-earned money on a Minivan instead? Let’s have a look.
Why On Earth Do People Buy SUVs?
Crossovers are extremely popular today, this is a fact. However, what is the reason behind this recent boom in high-riding vehicles? You see, these vehicles aren’t the most practical cars, yet people still prefer them suggesting that there is a deeper psychological reason behind this.
We believe that this reason is relatively simple. A higher vehicle gives the driver a sense of superiority. You feel safer, you get a better view of the road, and smaller cars tend to feel lesser than you. Of course, people love this feeling of authority, and this might also be the reason why they love the SUV.
Furthermore, let’s not forget that owning an SUV has also become somewhat of a trend. Trends influence the market drastically no matter the product as most buyers want to fit in. So, if the SUV is the current hot thing, then it is what most people are buying.
Both the sense of authority and the need to fit in can perhaps be linked to the more primitive part of our brains. The ones responsible for our survival in older years were the ones who either needed to have power or needed to fit in. This may sound weird, but if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.
The Pros Of SUVs
As is the case with everything, the SUV has some good and some bad parts about it. The good ones include safety and capability. The higher ride high and heavier weight of the SUV means that in the event of an accident, passengers are less likely to be injured. In many cases, the second vehicle in a crash tends to be lighter than the SUV giving passengers of the taller riding car an advantage.
This is also true in accidents involving stationary objects as the SUV offers a lot of real estate for crumple zones and airbags. In simple words, an SUV typically provides more steel and material around its passengers than something like a Van or more profoundly, a normal sedan.
There is, however, a downside to the SUV’s taller ride high and that downside is its risk of rolling over. Studies have found that passengers are more likely to be injured or killed in the event of an accident solely because the vehicle has a higher chance of ending up on its roof.
Aside from safety, the SUV also offers the benefit of capabilities. Sure, not all SUVs are capable of off-roaders, but some of them are. This means that if you enjoy heading out into nature, you will have choices available featuring proper 4x4s that fit such needs.
The Cons Of SUVs
The cons of SUVs are that most of them are a sacrifice. Let’s take the BMW X5 as an example. The X5 is useless off-road because it tries to be good on the road. However, it will never be as good as a BMW 5 Series on the tarmac because its ride height is way too tall.
Therefore, we end up with a sacrifice both in off-road abilities and on-road abilities. Inside, it does offers a decent amount of space, but it’s cool design and high floor eat away cargo that can be found in excess in something like a minivan. Oh, and let’s not forget that SUVs tend to come at a price premium when compared to other types of vehicles.
The Pros Of Minivans
Minivans are perhaps the most versatile and functional family vehicles one can get. First and foremost, in most cases, they feature much more space than their SUV counterparts. This is mostly because they can have a low floor and a tall roof. Since designers aren’t too concerned with making a cool-looking vehicle, they can solely focus on the functional part of the design.
This is also observed with the sliding doors most vans come equipped with. Sure, they might be geeky, but there is no denying their usefulness. Kids can’t bump them into nearby vehicles, they are extremely easy to use in thigh spaces, and they provide a huge opening that can be used to access the interior easily.
But wait, there is more. In many cases, Minivans use the same engines as SUVs or crossovers meaning that they offer the same power but better economy. This is because the Minivan is more aerodynamic, and it has smaller and light wheels. And let’s not forget that if you need to, some of them can be bought with AWD systems that make them perfect all-season vehicles.
Finally, Minivans are cheaper to insure due to lower theft and accident numbers. No one wants to steal something from inside a van as they will most probably only find baby wipes rather than something valuable.
The Cons Of Minivans
The cons of minivan ownership are mostly just the image associated with them. They are viewed as geeky vehicles boring people tend to buy. This means that mums or even dads that want to be cool don’t tend to buy them as the SUV has a far trendier image associated with it.
Sure, one could argue that they also have less clearance but when compared to most crossovers that isn’t really the case. Crossovers aren’t meant to go off-road. They just have taller floors and cabins that make them feel higher without them offering much more clearance than something like a minivan.
So Which Body-Style Is Better?
Well, the choice here is relatively simple. If you need a taller riding vehicle to use off-road, then the SUV makes perfect sense. Be careful though, we aren’t talking about SUVs that are based on normal sedan platforms. If you want to go off-road, well, you get a proper Off-roader, something along the lines of the Toyota 4Runner, Jeep Wrangler, or Ford Bronco.
If you aren’t planning on off-roading, the Minivan will be more comfortable, more spacious, more practical, more economical, and will also cost less. So, if you can deny the urge to buy what’s currently cool, you can get yourself a better vehicle that will cost you less.