Australians are driving bigger, heavier, dirtier cars and it’s alarming both climate and road safety experts.
A decade ago, sedans and hatchbacks were the most popular cars in Australia. Today, Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and American-style utes dominate new car sales and advertising.
I was at a shopping center and the car park was almost full. Then i saw this dumb bitch in her big ford Raptor , trying to get into the parking lot which is already busy. Looking at her driving skill and face , I knew she’ll do something dumb so I took out my phone and started recording. 5 minutes in she side swiped another car. The guy who was driving a VW golf got out and yelled at her in some asian language. I recorded the full thing, its really fun to watch
A few years ago when the Pulsar was getting a little small for the kids and all their kit, I was looking for a wagon. Something like a Falcon wagon.
For a vehicle class that I thought of as ubiquitous, the options for a simple wagon were surprisingly few. Further, the SUVs were surprisingly economic to run. We’re talking a few years back, I forget the exact figures, but the Outlander that I ended up buying was in the same ballpark as a Falcon wagon.
So, I am a part of this statistic, but a bit of the blame needs to fall on manufacturers who pivoted away from medium cars and to SUVs. Electric cars were not on the cards at all. Well out of my budget, and the range of models out today didn’t exist, yet.
Would they not be driving gas-powered SUVs if not for the availability of electric ones? Are electric SUVs not more efficient than a gas-powered vehicle of the same mass? If so, then that’s still a win, just less of one than was hoped for.
Not necessarily. I bought an electric SUV (BYD Atto 3,) but would definitely have preferred something smaller. I definitely appreciate some aspects of its size, but if an affordable hatchback had been available, I’d almost certainly have gone with that. I could have waited, but there was no way to know at the time how long it would be until something like that was available. The most likely contender was the BYD Dolphin, but at that stage there was no confirmation that it would definitely be coming here.
While I’m sure many people buy the SUVs because they genuinely want something that size, I suspect a lot of people are like me and are buying what’s available.
EVs are more efficient than an ICE vehicle of the same size, let alone the same mass. But yeah, still a win even if not as big a win as desired. EVs at their worst are still better for the environment than ICE.
We bought an electric recently. Was very upset to have to choose the Kona in order to fit 2 tall people and 2 big dogs. It’s a great car but being realistic there’s no need for it to be so big.
It seems like the styles now being sold are small hatchback, sedan, and everything else is SUV. Very disappointing to see there’s not much middle ground lile the station wagon space or slightly larger hatchbacks. Especially with EVs. Most of my trips are like 40 km at most. I don’t need 500 km range with a full car…
Station wagons are excellent, my 2003 holden has more cubic space than these ‘I need it for the space’ SUVs
What a ridiculous argument. Hope their insecurities resolve after they back over their toddlers.
Yeah absolutely. This silly car doesn’t even have enough room for a suitcase and the dogs in the back but it’s a good head an shoulders above my dad’s holden station wagon.
Part of that is the battery sure (maybe the head part) a lot is also ground clearance. I need a bit of ground clearance sure but we used to manage with firm suspension just fine. If it’s shaking the crap out of you just drive slower. No need to tear down lumpy roads at 80 km/h unless you’re actually a farmer.
We are also talking 2 big greyhounds and 2 six foot people, one with back problems that prevent a more reclined seating position, living in the blue mountains. We’re not your average family. This stuff is marketed to average urbanites who defs need to be able to fit an entire Holiday’s worth of luggage and their whole family on those red pavement roads they take to the school in the morning?
Surely there’s room for more practical stuff ffs.
Definitely need bigger boot space I find the front is quite a lot of waste space but decided it’s better than hauling my aged hatchback WRX around with petrol price these days. I learn to live with it but roof rack is a must.
Just a reminder to keep discussions civil and respectful - This includes dog-piling, everyone is entitled to their opinion and if you notice the conversation degenerate it is fine just to agree to disagree.
