Sport utility vehicles were all the craze just a few short years ago. I remember the near hysteria that people drove themselves into over the Hummer and the Excursion and other large size sport utility vehicles. However, nowadays, since the economy took a turn for the worse and gas prices skyrocketed well above $2 a gallon, people have been rethinking SUVs and seem to no longer want anything to do with them. As a matter of fact, you may remember that many people actually rushed back to car dealerships in a last ditch effort to get rid of their SUVs only to find out that the dealership wouldn't take them back- not even for a trade in!
While things are slightly better than that today, there still looms the hidden issues with many SUVs. For example, when I allowed my boyfriend to drive my Jeep once, we were in the car and were approaching an exit ramp that had a posted speed limit of 15 miles per hour. I advised him that he had better take the sign literally. Of course, he took the turn too fast and practically had to slam on the brakes. Having driven my Jeep for a while now, I know how it handles. I also know that SUVs don't typically handle tight turns the same way that cars do. Because he was used to driving his BMW Z3, which is an extremely small convertible, he can zip around those turns without a problem. In fact, I am almost too sure that the tires on his car are specifically built for sharp turns as well as overall speed.
My Jeep is built for driving through muddy terrain, sand, snow- pretty much anything that a lot of other cars would get stuck in. However, it is not built for driving super fast or for handling tight turns. In fact, many sport utility vehicles will actually flip over relatively easy if you mistakenly take a turn too fast- even if it is a wide turn. This is why it is important to always make sure that you drive cautiously when you are driving an SUV for the first time.
On the other hand, sport utility vehicles are generally pretty safe vehicles to be in. Whenever you see an accident involving a sport utility vehicle versus a car in a little fender bender, almost always you will notice that the sport utility vehicle has next to no damage. Cars, on the other hand, will usually sustain quite a bit of damage from an SUV-involved accident. When my boyfriend and I were visiting his family in upstate New York several years ago, we were completely stopped at a light when an older woman behind us mistakenly stepped on the gas and rammed into the back of my Jeep. At the time, I had just bought my Jeep and was a bit miffed that this was actually happening. I got out of my car and was almost positive that there would be a lot of damage. However, I was both shocked and thankful to see that the only damage was a small tear in my tire cover!
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