Sport Utility Vehicle SUV Advantage and Disadvantages

The concept of sport utility vehicle (abbreviated SUV ) is a car with a similar ride to a sedan , but with an increased off-road capability as well as a ajar body for the appearance of the SUV. The off-road capability of the Sport Utility Vehicle varies from model to model. Usually SUVs offer four wheel drive, because they are intended primarily for use in road traffic.

Sport Utility Vehicle – A look at the SUV , what the advantage and disadvantages of this car model?

Forerunner of the Sport Utility Vehicle SUV model in the 1970s was the Range Rover . The use of the term SUV and the continued success of this type of vehicle really started only in the 1990s with the Toyota RAV4 and the Land Rover Freelander.

Especially in the USA from the 1990s onwards, the registrations of SUVs increased. In 1988, a total of 960 852 SUV were sold in the U.S alone. SUVs sold in 1997 reached 2,435,301.

In North America, full-size SUVs refers to vehicle like the Cadillac Escalade , because they are based on truck chassis. In its basic form, it is over 5 meters long with about 5.6 meters in length. Models about the size of a BMW X5 or Lexus RX are mid-size crossover SUV .

Some vehicle manufacturers call comfort-terrain vehicle “Sports Activity Vehicle” ( SAV), to distinguish them from traditional SUVs and prevent the association with a company truck (in Australia this utility vehicle is also known as pickup truck).

SUVs usually are technically similar to normal cars, but the typical technical differences are:

The transmission of an SUV (also called off-road gear or low range) has a separate, very short passages translated site, or (more likely) through a switching all levels downstream gear reduction. A high total reduction is beneficial in difficult terrain or for pulling heavy trailers, as it allows high thrust forces at low speeds.

Traditional Sport Utility Vehicle SUVs are equipped with rigid axles and a separate ladder frame, SUVs usually have a single-wheel suspension and a self-supporting chassis.

SUVs have – at least as an option – via differential locks which significantly improve the off-road capability.Ramps and slope angle, climbing ability, abdominal and ground clearance and axle articulation during off-road vehicle movement are significantly harder than for SUVs.

The image factor for these vehicles and the visual appearance is usually the rational reasons for purchase by the buyers. Higher seating position means improved accessibility and a better overview of the traffic.

Until the late 90s of the 20th Century, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers offered vehicles in this category, the Toyota RAV4 is considered the founder of this vehicle class. Meanwhile, most European manufacturers are represented in this market segment by “Crossover” vehicles such as the Audi allroad quattro , Volvo XC70 , Seat Altea Freetrack, Alfa Romeo Crosswagon Q4 , Mitsubishi ASX , Skoda Octavia Scout and Saab 9-3X .

Sport Utility Vehicle SUVs are for a number of reasons criticized. Above all, this is directed against the much higher fuel consumption than those in sedans with similar performance. The main reasons are:

- their larger frontal area and higher drag coefficient, thus higher air resistance and far higher weight. The built-in for almost all SUVs, four-wheel drive makes the vehicle more than 100 pounds heavier, causing more friction in the drivetrain.

- An analysis of 955 events based on vehicle restraint systems show that SUVs and pickups have an eight-fold risk of a vehicle rollover in the event of an impact compared to normal cars.

- Sport Utility Vehicle SUVs are also at increased risk of accidents for other road users: pedestrians, especially children, the risk of injury is due to the high front end. In collisions with other cars, the lighter vehicle is more damaged. Crash tests have shown that the crumple zones are only partially compatible.

- Also for motorcyclists higher anabolic vehicles are dangerous because during side impact they will not slide across the roof of the vehicle, but collide with the vehicle interior.

Sport Utility Vehicle SUVs were showcase at the International Motor Show 2011. However worldwide trends is that sales of the SUVs are decreasing. Few car makers can afford not to give up or reinvent this vehicle class. Even Porsche, the world’s leading sports car brand has its financial salvation, not least thanks to the invention of the luxury SUV brand called Cayenne.