-jumps on this-
why, exactly?
i'm really curious. genuinely.
i don't get the appeal of SUVs at ALL. they seem huge and cumbersome, and a lot of people seem to be completely unable to handle them and park the bitches.
I would agree with you in regards to the full-size SUV monstrosities like the Sequoia, Yukon, Suburban, Tahoe, Expedition and the like. I don't see the allure of owning a giant brick like that. Mid-size SUV such as the Highlander are about as big as I want to go though I'm most comfortable in the smaller units like the Rav4 and Escape. They have an elevated sit and aren't too hard to park in normal sized parking spaces. You're spot on about people being unable to handle their monster boxes on the road or in parking lots. In my experience, these people seem to think that because their vehicle is bigger that they can somehow bully smaller cars to cede the right of way to them. Also, some of the worst "parking" jobs are from these idiots and just about anyone driving a truck bigger than a F-150.
i had a 2000 saturn SL and a 2002 ford taurus, and i felt THOSE were too big. drove my brother's thunderbird and it felt like i was heading a small warship.
i downscaled, from a 4-door to a 2 seater del sol... and other than having a little bit of adoration for the honda crx models (those hatchbacks man) i never, ever want to scale back up. haha.
(keep in mind, the handling of my car... no power steering in those del sols, last models of mass-produced cars without power steering, and yet it steers like a little dream and honestly, i feel if it DID have power steering, i'd end up flipping the poor thing... i still park better than a good number of people with big vehicles tho LOL)
what's the appeal of these big cars, to people who like them? i'm genuinely curious here, because i see them on the road every damn day and wonder but it'd be a little weird to walk up to someone and ask them why they have an SUV... esp when they drive it solo 99% of the time. boggles my mind. boggles my mind even more to see people who have them listed as dream cars! o:
i'm kinda actually asking anyone who has a truck/suv down as their dream car, but still. what is this magic about extra space that it feels a requirement to some people, when most times, your max cargo will be a kid or two and some groceries? o:
I had to edit your response there...a Toyota Taurus?!?
You sound like you're quite comfy in a decent 4-banger sedan or hatchback. The smallest I'd go is a Corolla and to be honest the ones that they're putting out these days are roughly the same size as the Camry they put out 5-10 years ago. Something like a Yaris is too small for me.
In regards to your last question, I'll usually have up to three kids in tow depending on the situation and having a big enough back seat to accommodate them all PLUS having space for things like groceries is a necessity. My vehicle before this (not counting my Highlander which eventually got returned to the dealership in exchange for the Escape) was a Sienna. Yeah it's a minivan and there's a stigma attached with driving them but it fit everyone comfortably and had enough room for stuff in the back. Gas mileage was a downer but it doesn't seem any better in the Escape.
Also, I'm over 40 and IMO if I go and get a sleek 2-door sports car of some kind then there will be a part of my mind that will nag me that I'm suffering from some sort of mid-life crisis. The only way I'd justify owning a sports car would be if I had won a sizeable amount in the lottery (like one of those $3M jackpots) and I built a house that had a multi-car garage. Even then, I wouldn't drive the thing much as it wouldn't be very practical other than to cruise around in (and get the unwanted attention of LEOs ).
oops, shit! hahahhaa! i meant ford, yes, yes, hahaha, oops. i got them mixed up from reading other things and the fact that before i got the ford taurus i was looking more for a toyota (or a honda, but everyone convinced me not to go honda because "they get stolen a lot"... yeah, try to steal my del sol, most people can't even start it, AND it's manual, lmao! it has a quirky, picky ignition, so good luck XDD)
i dreamt it was a toyota, maybe, but, alas, a failing transmission 120k miles into its sad, short life (del sol sits strong at 250k, from 232k when i bought it! hoping to drive it to 500k+) firmly plants it as a ford LMAO
also, yeah, a lot of big SUVs push me off the road (almost literally) and they see my car... quick to accelerate, must be quick to brake. >.>;; ahhhhghh.
tho i find it amusing that you say a highlander is 'smaller', they all look the same to me LOL. the only thought i ever have in regards to ANY SUV is "please fucking stop pulling up, i can't see over your hood to attempt this right-at-red turn plz stop this is not a competition to inch over the white line"... on the other hand, SUVs never take my having to press the accelerator to keep up on a hill when my brakes can't handle the pressure anymore as a race challenge... a RAV4 and an expedition XL are one and the same in comparison to my car (2-3x the size, all of em!)... maybe if i get lucky i'll take a photo of my car next to an SUV and link it here XD
i guess i'm just used to my mom, who couldn't stand a big car... thus my brother (6'2" by 14), my cousin (5'2") and me (5'4"... don't ask about my dwarf problem ;I) would cram into the back of a volkswagen jetta and just have to deal. so to me, cramming a bunch of teenagers into the back of a 4-door is 'perfectly acceptable' and "not seeing out the rearview mirror" is just the problem with having to deal with some kids.
my dad would also cram the three of us into a toyota... tundra? which was even more hellish than the jetta.
"just deal with it" in regards to no leg room and crammed shoulders was the punishment of being a kid without a license LOL. so i guess i just don't hail from the land of considerable parents/guardians and the like, so maybe that's where my confusion is
i WILL say it was badass to ride in an aerostar (my aunt's) when i was 5. with all our shit strewn out on the floor and an aunt too depressed to give a shit about us climbing over the seats and playing in the floor. on the other hand, it seems ridiculous in retrospect... she had two kids and a van that could accompany a full family, i'll never get it. she downscaled to a 2-door 90s model mustang, then later got a hatchback. but that was probably... not the usual appeal of minivans to 5 year olds, as most of them stay securely in their seat with a seatbelt. by the time i was 8, i was a jaded little shit who thought the little tv screens my rich friends had in their parents' vans and the size was "too much" and "ridiculous", and that still holds true to this day LOL