Study: Small SUVs will need to keep all their goodies
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SUV sales are down - way down - when compared to the market boom from a few years back. It's the biggest of the breed that is suffering the most, with large, luxurious models selling in mere fractions of their peak, and trends indicate that buyers are willing to downsize a bit in order to save some money when it comes time to refill the thirsty beasts. In fact, 61-percent of buyers polled who had downsized to a smaller 'ute say that poor fuel economy is "a problem." We're not sure about that other 39-percent... Still, a recent study from AutoPacific indicates that automakers had better not scrimp on the details when they drop down a size or three. Power features, third-row seats and backup cameras are all, apparently, necessities. Of course, this presents a bit of a conundrum for automakers. All those luxury features add complexity and weight, which reduces fuel economy. As the old saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too.
[Source: AutoPacific via Green Car Advisor]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
paulwesterberg 2:31PM (10/20/2008)
SUV buyers are not rational people, they think you can cut taxes, increase spending and balance the budget.
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jdkchem 5:13PM (10/20/2008)
That would be "urban/suburban" SUV buyers. The ones who need four-wheel drive so they can negotiate the speed bumps at the super mega macys mall.
Some of us use our SUV's (Honda Element) to haul our gear when we go camping and fishing.
AlanH 8:25PM (10/25/2008)
Who on earth participated in this survey? Most of those items are exactly what I DON'T want on my next vehicle. I don't want a replacement for a room in my house...I want a cheap, lightweight, efficient and quick way to get from point A to point B. Heck, I'm POed that I can't find a car without the stupid power windows anymore.
But then, these are probably the same people who replace their cellphones every 3 months...
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Kumar 10:41PM (10/20/2008)
It's fun reading this post back to back with the Car of the Year one promoting the Subie Forester due to it's minimalist jack-of-all-trades approach.
Give me AWD, a manual transmission, seat warmers, and diesel if I'm lucky and I'll call it a day.
The deal with half of that junk is that you don't need it so much with smaller SUVs. Folding mirrors? yeah, they're not giant when you don't have a giant SUV. Power lift gate? You can actually reach it in a smaller SUV.
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TX CHL Instructor 8:48AM (10/21/2008)
The vast majority of people who think they need an SUV don't.
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jim 9:38AM (10/21/2008)
Third row seating in a small SUV?
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Carlos Ferreira 12:18PM (10/21/2008)
Well, it's not surprising. SUV buyers bought the things because they liked them, not because it was the only available product in the market. So, they want the same stuff, not changing cars and feeling short-changed. Few people like changing to a smaller car, it hurts their status. So, if they're changing to a smaller SUV (note it's not a smaller CAR; it's still an SUV), they want the goodies.
Carlos Ferreira
www.greencarvalue.blogspot.com
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Chris 7:01PM (10/22/2008)
I'm glad my small SUV gets better mileage than a Civic or Corolla along with more capacity.
There are NO small SUVs that offer third row seating. You have to go up a step to get that. (Highlander, Pilot, Sorento, etc.) I can get five adults and a dog in my small SUV. If you've got more passenger than that, you'll need something bigger and no car (outside a station wagon) will do.
I get V6 equivalent power and have leather heated seats, SAT-NAV, moonroof, SAT radio, premium sound, digital dual zone climate control, and power everything. What more do you need?
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