Your thoughts on "performance SUVs"

[Pupik]

I almost exclusively drive my cars outdoors.

My parents had a strict No Driving rule in the house after I broke that window.

 

[Joey D]

That and of course you can actually only drive one car at any given time, so it's not like fuel costs and other wear and tear stuff will stack up at twice the rate.

I mean I own two cars but I've probably done under 500 miles combined in both of them this year...

So maybe it's not double when it comes to ownership costs, but still, you're spending significantly more on two cars than one.

 

[Vegard]

So maybe it's not double when it comes to ownership costs, but still, you're spending significantly more on two cars than one.

In my example with the Porsches you would save $9000-$12000 by going for the two cars. That should cover the increased running costs for a while. Though I suspect that people in the market for a performance SUV aren't typically on a tight budget.

But like I said, perhaps the US market is a lot different. Over here a brand new Cayenne Turbo will set you back $260 000.

 

[Danoff]

In my example with the Porsches you would save $9000-$12000 by going for the two cars. That should cover the increased running costs for a while. Though I suspect that people in the market for a performance SUV aren't typically on a tight budget.

But like I said, perhaps the US market is a lot different. Over here a brand new Cayenne Turbo will set you back $260 000.

How much for the parking spot? Let's say you have a couple who both have commutes, do they each get a second car? 4-car parking isn't that easy.

 

[TexRex]

Though I suspect that people in the market for a performance SUV aren't typically on a tight budget.

Therein lies the root of their existence; not that there are people who can afford them but that there are people who want them. What's the point in dissecting it? So-called "hypercars" are about as superfluous as anything can be, and while I don't like them, I acknowledge that fact and the fact that there's no shortage of customers for them rather than question the supposed need.

 

[Danoff]

How do you guys feel about the F150 Raptor and why is it different? I mention it because I was parked behind one at the local elementary school while dropping off my kid.

 

[Joey D]

How do you guys feel about the F150 Raptor and why is it different? I mention it because I was parked behind one at the local elementary school while dropping off my kid.

The concept behind it is good, but I don't think anyone seriously into off-roading would consider one. You can build a better rig, with more off-road ability, for less money. Same goes for trucks like the TRD Pro Tacoma, Colorado ZR2, and anything else meant as a factory off-road vehicle.

This is not to say those trucks aren't capable, because they are. They just seem more like vehicles for people that want to say they have an off-road vehicle instead of doing actual off-road things with them. I know a few guys with a TRD Pro Tacoma, when I had my truck I could keep up with them without an issue in all the off-road situations we were in.

 

[homeforsummer]

How do you guys feel about the F150 Raptor and why is it different? I mention it because I was parked behind one at the local elementary school while dropping off my kid.

I'm sure most are used no differently from other performance SUVs, but I do find them cooler somehow. I think it's because it feels more honest - making something designed to go off-road better off-road, rather than making something designed to go off-road (or at least look like it does) not-quite-as-good at being a road car as an actual road car. The Tacoma I posted on the previous page and that Joey mentions above was pretty dire as a road car, but that didn't really matter because it was great at not being a road car.

 

[Danoff]

I'm sure most are used no differently from other performance SUVs, but I do find them cooler somehow. I think it's because it feels more honest - making something designed to go off-road better off-road, rather than making something designed to go off-road (or at least look like it does) not-quite-as-good at being a road car as an actual road car. The Tacoma I posted on the previous page and that Joey mentions above was pretty dire as a road car, but that didn't really matter because it was great at not being a road car.

I don't think the F150 is really designed as an off-roader. It's designed to be a functional on-road vehicle with some off-road capabilities (like most vehicles). In general, at least in the US, pickup trucks area mostly about image. They're a lot worse than most vehicles at doing - the stuff they get asked to do generally. But they provide the image of someone who hauls lumber, picks up a load of rock, and does real manly work.

I've seen people use their pickup trucks at a quarry - getting a load of rock dumped into it by a front loader. It's pretty tough on the truck. Massive rocks landing all over the exterior as well as mostly getting into the bed. Most of the people I know who own pickups would never dream of actually using them in that way.

 

[homeforsummer]

I don't think the F150 is really designed as an off-roader. It's designed to be a functional on-road vehicle with some off-road capabilities (like most vehicles). In general, at least in the US, pickup trucks area mostly about image. They're a lot worse than most vehicles at doing - the stuff they get asked to do generally. But they provide the image of someone who hauls lumber, picks up a load of rock, and does real manly work.

I didn't really word that the way I meant to. What I was referring to is that an F-150 is fundamentally still a "working" vehicle, even if it's possible to dress them up with leather trim and fancy stereos. It's a big body-on-frame truck with a decent payload and towing capacity and compared to say, a BMW X5, it's fairly rudimentary and will probably take a bit of a beating whether used for work or being taken down a rough track.

You can then build on those strengths to create something like the Raptor, making it tougher and more capable off the beaten track. That's where for me it diverges from an X5, which BMW tries to turn into a sports car.

It's impressive making something so big and heavy go like it does, but where an F-150's fundamentals make it a good trophy-truck wannabe, an X5's fundamentals make it a pretty lousy sports car.

This however is the juncture where I contradict myself by saying I also quite like the F-150 Lightning and trucks like the Syclone, even though those are also attempts to turn something not best suited to sporty driving into something more sporty. I guess the difference is that those were something of an exception to the rule in those days, and that making a 1980s or 1990s pickup with leaf springs and a live axle actually handle decently seems more of an achievement than doing the same with something that amounts to a normal car that's two feet taller.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

One thing I do like about 'performance' SUVs is their kind of warship-like nature. It's not a car, it's a Frigate. You aren't driving to the store, you are launching a campaign. They aren't delicate, light, or display finesse really. They bludgeon the road with overwhelming superiority. Not enough grip? HUGE TIRES. Not fast enough? HUGE ENGINE. Not dynamically suited for performance driving? ALL OF THE TECHNOLOGY. When you sit in the driver seat, the scale of an SUV or Truck is just so much bigger than a car, and usually there are more buttons, lights, and controls which again reinforces the kind of 'Master & Commander' nature of piloting one of them. You are in control of something substantial, something complex, something Brunellion. The satisfaction isn't so much in the sensation of driving, but in the obliteration of your chosen path.