Criticism of SUVs

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Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) have been criticized for a variety of environmental and automotive safety reasons. The rise in production and marketing of SUVs in the 2010s and 2020s by auto manufacturers has resulted in over 80% of all new car sales in the United States being SUVs or light trucks by October 2021.^[1] This rise in SUV sales has also spilled over into the United Kingdom and the European Union. It has generated calls from car safety advocates to downsize in favor of models such as sedans, wagons, and compacts.

SUVs are classified as light trucks in the United States. In many cases, vehicles classified under "light trucks" can avoid certain fuel economy regulations and size regulations—often called a "light truck exemption". Thus, this loophole has led to the mass upselling and marketing of SUVs, with many viewing it as a corporate scam designed to increase profit margins for the auto industry, particularly for the Big Three in the United States.^[2][3]

SUVs generally have poorer fuel efficiency and require more resources to manufacture than smaller vehicles, thus contributing more to climate change and environmental degradation. Their higher center of gravity significantly increases their risk of rollovers. Their larger mass increases their momentum, which results in more damage to other road users in collisions. Their higher front-end profile reduces visibility and makes them at least twice as likely to kill pedestrians they hit.^[4] Large SUVs have been shown to have longer braking distances in the dry than traditional passenger cars and small SUVs.^[5] Additionally, the psychological sense of security they provide influences drivers to drive less cautiously or rely on their car for their perceived safety, rather than their own driving.^[6]