Are SUVs getting HUGE? (vehicles, 2011, minivan, fuel)

[DejaBlue]

I'm not really a car person but l always notice the difference in models on the road. A lot of names have the same body style for 4-5 years so in 2011 your first year 2007 could look like you just drove it off the lot a few months ago.

But in the past 4 years or so I've noticed SUV body styles getting really big compared to how they were.

In like 2001-2003, I finally started looking at cars and had an idea of what I wanted a few years later and really liked the Toyota Rav4 because I know Toyotas last (as seen by my noticing people on the road driving the 1992-1996 model Camry's with no problems, I still see them on the road even today).

Cute little Jeep
File:Toyota RAV4 II Facelift front 20090923.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But when 2004-2005 rolled around the Rav4 changed. It went from this cute little Jeep like looking thing to being kind of big and looking like the new Highlanders and more station wagon like.

Highlander Mini Me
File:Toyota RAV4 Limited.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Highlander
File:2010 Toyota Highlander Limited -- 09-03-2010.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Along with the Rav4, in 2001 I liked the Ford Explorer. I thought it was adorable but by the time I could actually drive the Expedition looking 2003 models had hit and it wasn't so cute little Jeep SUV anymore.

Model that lasted until 2001
File:95-98 Ford Explorer.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Then the new look 2002
Not so little anymore and double take looking like the Expedition
File:Ford Explorer XLT.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And now as of 2010
File:2011 Ford Explorer XLT -- 05-18-2011.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I mean for the Explorer that suppose to be the small version of the Expedition it's really. I think of a company's smaller SUV more for a single person who just wants/needs the space and the larger (the suburban, Sequoia, Expedition, etc for families with kids and road trips and stuff) but with the Explorer being this big now why pay more for the Expedition when the Explorer looks as if a family with 4 kids can fit very comfortable?

I mean, we had one of the first Ford Expeditions back in 1997 like the month after the hit Lone Star Ford we got one. But back then it was a decent looking SUV but then 2003 rolled around and it started looking tank like and then in 2007 it's looking HUGE. The front is massive.

I use to think the Toyota Sequoia was very classy looking for a bigger SUV in 2004 in comparison to the Expedition but I look on Wikipedia now and the first picture is the new ones 2009 model I think and looking at it I have to do a double take and make sure it's not the Ford Excursion because it's so long and massive.

2000-2007
File:01-04 Toyota Sequoia Limited.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2007-present
File:2008-2009 Toyota Sequoia Limited.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Big big big fella. I thought this was a Suburban at first.

And of course Chevy.

2000-2006 Suburban
File:2000-2006 Chevrolet Suburban.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Huge from the get go but this....

2007-present
File:Chevrolet Suburban LT GMT900.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maybe because it's so much lower to the ground in addition to the long size and massive appearing body.



Is anyone noticing this?

It's extremely noticeable on a quick Wikipedia search of an SUV (that's why I used Wiki as a one stop shop but this IS how they look) then scrolling down looking at each model class from the day it premiered to the current model. They just get larger and larger to huge.

I mean, I'll be at a light and an older model SUV will be behind me and it's no problem but when it's a new one and the driver feels the need to be on my a$$ so they can't even see my trunk it feels like Andre the Giant is breathing down on me looking in my mirror at the massive front and huge grill of a new model SUV.

Not a diss if you have one of the IMO massive looking ones but there is no denying that body style have gotten REALLY really bigger than what they use to be.

I remember people saying the Excursion wouldn't fit in a garage (was that really true?) but with this looking so much bigger and wider I wonder if mid sized car can be next to it in a garage and not have a passenger open the door a smudge to get out.

Just wondering if anyone else has notice this. I've mentioned it to people and they act like they see no difference. How can you not? Since like 2007, SUVs have been getting bigger and bigger. I'm sure they're all the same on gas as they always were since SUVs are in general but just seeing a so much bigger body style I immediately think whoa that thing is hurting pockets for gas.

Any ideas why they're getting bigger and not a little smaller? Body styles change of course but in the past it was a little touch here, make the symbol more pronounced there, but now it's a massive overhaul and noticeable body change to give the illusion of large or flat out make it big.

[Jezer]

I've noticed it for years. Not just SUVs either, every type of car has ballooned.

Just look at how the VW Golf has evolved as an example.

[plwhit]

Originally Posted by Jezer

I've noticed it for years. Not just SUVs either, every type of car has ballooned.

Just look at how the VW Golf has evolved as an example.

No, they are just getting back to the sizes of older cars:



Back in the old days SUV's were called station wagons...











http://d30opm7hsgivgh.cloudfront.net/upload/19669131_mfyjkYJQ_b.jpg (broken link)

[Jezer]

Guess I'm talking about mainstream European cars.

[hoffdano]

OP - you said in the beginning of your post that you're not a car person.

If you were - you would know that virtually all vehicles today are larger and heavier than they were 10, 20, or 30 years ago. We don't have many cars today as large as the Cadillacs and Buicks of 30 years ago - but look at the Honda Accord.

The 1st generation Accord was introduced in 1976 and was only 162 inches long. It weighed 2000 lbs. Today's Accord is 2 1/2 feet longer, wider, and weighs perhaps 1500 lbs more. It is far more powerful and its fuel economy is actually better than the original.

We may be near the end of every year they get bigger. Pressure on fuel economy and emissions makes it sensible to start downsizing a bit.

[trlhiker]

All vehicles sold in America are getting bigger. They have too because Americans are getting bigger around the gut.

[DejaBlue]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

OP - you said in the beginning of your post that you're not a car person.

If you were - you would know that virtually all vehicles today are larger and heavier than they were 10, 20, or 30 years ago. We don't have many cars today as large as the Cadillacs and Buicks of 30 years ago - but look at the Honda Accord.

The 1st generation Accord was introduced in 1976 and was only 162 inches long. It weighed 2000 lbs. Today's Accord is 2 1/2 feet longer, wider, and weighs perhaps 1500 lbs more. It is far more powerful and its fuel economy is actually better than the original.

We may be near the end of every year they get bigger. Pressure on fuel economy and emissions makes it sensible to start downsizing a bit.

That's been a growing issue in the past decade yet SUVs have still gotten bigger. It's hard to think that soon they'll be downsizing. I would have thought since like 2005 they would have started shrinking them down more but pictures don't lie. They are super sizing SUVs.

[eofelis]

A couple of years ago we went looking to buy a good small 4wd pickup truck. Looked at new Toyotas. Yuk. Ended up buying a 1996 Tacoma. They don't make them like they used to.

[plwhit]

Originally Posted by eofelis

A couple of years ago we went looking to buy a good small 4wd pickup truck. Looked at new Toyotas. Yuk. Ended up buying a 1996 Tacoma. They don't make them like they used to.

That's for sure...

[Coldjensens]

Size and mileage are not necessarily related.

Our minivan and full sized van get almost the same mileage.

Our Ford Ranger gets worse mileage than my F-150 did. An Avalanche gets better mileage than either. Silverado beats them all and the new giant Dodge Ram is right there with the Silverado.

My daughters Lincoln Town Car gets about the same Mileage as a 1999 Subaru Outback and you could probably park two outbacks in her trunk alone. She also gets much better mileage than my Jensen Healey and her car is probably five times the size of the Jensen.

Age and mileage are not necessarily related either. My old Honda CVCC got something like 57 mpg. Many big older cars got as good or better mileage than newer smaller cars becuase they did not have the emissions junk and all the weight of airbags and other safety features.

Engine size is not the answer either. I can get better mileage in my 5.7 liter Camaro than the aforementioned Subaru with a 2.7 litre engine (or is it a 2.5?). ("Can" not always "will" Depends on conditions and my mood). The big V-8 in the Camaro also gets considerably better mileage than the 4 cyl engine in the Jensen. It is not uncommon for 6 and even 8 cyl cars to get better mileage than some 4s.

Hybrids also do not necessarily mean better mileage. The best mileage does not come from hybrid cars. Some Hybrids actually get worse mileage than their standard counterparts (Silverado for example).

Thus, while some vehicles definitely get better mileage than others, you cannot generalize. It just does not work.