Anyone with a SUV?

[pawnraider]

Jus so everyone know, I'm 53, never been married and no kids.

I just bought a 2014 Jeep Patriot and all I've had and bought before were used pickup trucks. My dad more or less steered me to buying it and, well, to try and make a long story short it's a lot of room that I don't think I'll be using. I think I may be having buyer's remorse. What I would like to know is are there any singles here with an SUV and do you like it? What are or were your thoughts about buying an SUV when you'd know you would most likely be the only rider in it? Feel free to add or say anything else.

 

[blackribbon]

I drive an SUV and love it. I think it is more practical than a truck unless you haul things regularly. I like being able to keep my stuff on the inside where it is locked and protected from the weather. I also wouldn't own anything that doesn't have 4 wheel drive after having to drive my family out of a ditch one black ice night. Yes, I currently do have kids so I am not always "solo"...but my son has his father's Dodge Durango...again, because if they are out in the snow, I want him/them to be able to drive out of a ditch and have the better traction offered in the snow. My daughter will eventually get the Cherokee and I will buy myself another SUV, maybe a little bit smaller it will be 4 wheel drive or AWD. I say it is for the winters here, which is mostly true,...but I think I will buy it even if move back down south. I like bigger vehicles and the fact everything is on the inside. I am not above blowing up an air mattress in the back and "car" camping in it when traveling or the weather isn't so tent friendly.

 

[mjmcmillan]

I never drove an SUV. Pickup trucks-- had those. Big vans-- driving a Chevy 2500 series now.

About the room: I sometimes miss the room I had in the Sprinter. You could stand up in that thing, and it could handle freight-- I drive professionally-- that I can't touch now with the Chevy.

SUVs strike me as being too big for a personal vehicle, not big enough for the job I need for it to do. Though, come to think of it, when my van shut down a couple of weeks ago, another driver with an SUV came and got the freight I had on board, he delivered it the next day. It was a tight fit, though.

 

[dayhiker]

I drive a wagon and love it ... smaller than an SUV but still has quite a bit of room. Gets better gas mileage than an SUV. I get wagons as when I travel I like to sleep in the back.

 

[bobross]

No SUV for me. I have an old person car (Buick) that I really need to upgrade but I'm really attached to for some odd reason.

 

[blackribbon]

My nursing study partner drives a HHR. He really did love it until he realized how I was so much more mobile during the winter. He has been looking at the new Cherokee for after graduation. I am not a fan of cars anymore because I like the high viewpoint. Really, there isn't that much more room in most SUVs (4-5 sets of seatbelts) than in anything but the smallest cars. The difference is that the back is open instead of a trunk. If I wanted a vehicle to carry multiple people, I'd go back to a mini-van or get SUV with 3rd row seating.

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

I drive a GMC Sierra Crew Cab truck. Although I love it, sometimes I wish I had a sporty little car like a beamer
Never had an SUV. I don't love the look of most of them and I don't get snow here and I don't have to cart many people around (except this week with 2 broke cars lol)
I love having the truck though because if I need to haul something I can. Today my son is using it to go to pick-a-part and hopefully get the car parts for his vehicle. And if I didn't have the truck, I don't know how we would get a hood home from the junk yard cuz that 's one of the parts he needs.

 

[sparkydave]

I have a small SUV, a Honda CR-V. Love it. I've hauled lumber, furniture, tools, and it has plenty of room for passengers. Even gets decent gas mileage, usually 23-24 commuting to work and as high as 32 on the highway. Even tows my little popup camper decently.

 

[mjmcmillan]

I drive a GMC Sierra Crew Cab truck. Although I love it, sometimes I wish I had a sporty little car like a beamer
Never had an SUV. I don't love the look of most of them and I don't get snow here and I don't have to cart many people around (except this week with 2 broke cars lol)
I love having the truck though because if I need to haul something I can. Today my son is using it to go to pick-a-part and hopefully get the car parts for his vehicle. And if I didn't have the truck, I don't know how we would get a hood home from the junk yard cuz that 's one of the parts he needs.

A Crew Cab does sorta qualify as an SUV. You have that huge (by pickup truck standards) cab that can seat five, and the truck's bed can haul large objects. Put a camper-shell on the bed and you have a vehicle that can take you into back country (though not as far in as 4WD) and give you shelter while you hunt/fish/tend the fence on the back 40.

I live in snow country, never had 4WD on any of my vehicles. Most of my vehicles have been rear-wheel drive, to boot. The occasions where I've lost traction and had trouble, 4WD would not have helped. On "black ice" the only thing that helps is keeping your movements as steady as possible until you're off of it. If you do lose control on ice, I suggest prayer. 4WD won't do you much good on ice.

 

[blackribbon]

Black ice put me in the ditch....most scared I have ever been in my life...I was praying out loud the whole way in. However, 4 wheel drive got me out when the police car that saw me go in was trying very hard to get down to where I was. I would have been sitting in that ditch for hours if I had needed to wait for a tow truck on that particular night. My goal is that if my kids do lose control on a winter drive, they can help themselves instead of sitting in a snow bank for hours waiting for help. My 4 wheel drive is because as a nurse, there is no such thing as "snow days" and I need to both be able to get to and from the hospitals on days when the plows haven't been out yet. Some day I also hope to do home care which means driving around town on those same days.