SUV
[2] The predecessors to SUVs date back to military and low-volume models from the late 1930s, and the four-wheel-drive station wagons and carryalls that began to be introduced in 1949.
They generally have poorer fuel efficiency and require more resources to manufacture than smaller vehicles, contributing more to climate change and environmental degradation.
[13] Dictionaries, automotive experts, and journalists use varying wordings and defining characteristics, in addition to regional variations of usage by both the media and the general public.
[13] Automotive websites' descriptions of SUVs range from specifically "combining car-like appointments and wagon practicality with steadfast off-road capability" with "chair-height seats and picture-window visibility"[14] to the more general "nearly anything with available all-wheel drive and raised ground clearance".
[13][25] For example, corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) regulations previously included "permit greater cargo-carrying capacity than passenger carrying volume" in the definition for trucks, resulting in cars with removable rear seats, like the PT Cruiser, being classified as light trucks.
[32] In India, all SUVs are classified in the "Utility Vehicle" category per the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) definitions and carry a 27% excise tax.
[33] Those that are 4 metres (13 feet) long, have a 1,500 cc (92 cu in) engine or larger, along with 170 mm (6.7 in) of ground clearance, are subject to a 30% excise duty.
The relatively compact Niva is considered a predecessor to the crossover SUV and combines a hatchback-like passenger car body with full-time four-wheel drive, low-range gearing, and lockable center differential.
[48] Vehicles with a high center of gravity do sometimes fail the moose test of maneuverability conducted by Swedish consumer magazine Teknikens Värld, for example, the 1997 Mercedes-Benz A-Class and 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
[48][52][53][54] Regarding the safety of other road users, SUVs are exempted from U.S. regulation stating that a passenger car bumper must protect the area between 16 and 20 inches (41 and 51 cm) above the ground.
With ESC dramatically reducing rollover risk, the inherent advantages offered by SUVs' greater size, weight, and height emerge more clearly.
[59] In 2020, a study by the U.S.-based IIHS found that, of a sample of 79 crashes from three urban areas in Michigan, SUVs caused more serious injuries compared to cars when impacts occurred at greater than 31 km/h (19 mph).
[60] The popularity of SUVs contributed to an increase in pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. during the 2010s, alongside other factors such as distracted and drunk driving.
[62] SUVs generally have poorer fuel efficiency than smaller cars,[63] and thus contribute more to environmental degradation and global warming.
[4] Whereas SUVs can be electrified,[65] or converted to run on a variety of alternative fuels, including hydrogen,[66] their (manufacturing) emissions will always be larger than smaller electric cars.
In the United Kingdom, a crossover is sometimes defined as a hatchback model with raised ride height and SUV-like styling features.
In Japan, SUVs under 3,400 mm (133.9 in)—such as the Mitsubishi Pajero Mini—are included in the kei car category and therefore attract lower taxes.
These early models included the 1936 Kurogane Type 95 from Japan, the 1938 GAZ-61 from Russia as well as the 1941 Volkswagen Kommandeurswagen and 1936 Opel Geländesportwagen[79] from Germany.
[80] The most prohibitive initial factors to the potential civilian popularity of an SUV-like car were their cost and the availability of certain critical parts.
[81] Compared to a common, rear-wheel drive vehicle, any 4WD (four-wheel drive) needed many essential extra components, including a transfer case, a second differential, and constant-velocity joints for the driven front axle—which were expensive due to the precision involved in this required manufacturing gears and other specialized parts.
[82] An early usage of the term was the 1947 Crosley CC Four Sport Utility model, which used a convertible wagon body style and is therefore unrelated to the design of later SUVs.
[88][89] Developed as a competitor to the Jeep CJ, the compact International Scout was introduced in 1961, offering either two- or four-wheel drive and a variety of engine options.
[92][93] In 1972 Subaru Leone 4WD wagon was introduced in Japan, which was not designed as an off-road vehicle, but a version of the front-wheel-drive passenger car.
[99] The AMC Eagle introduced in the North American market in 1979, and is often called the first mass-market "crossover", although that term had not been coined at the time.
[105] As the new Cherokee became a major sales success, the term "sport utility vehicle" began to be used in the national press for the first time.
This created a loophole that manufacturers increasingly exploited since the 1980s oil glut (which started an era of cheap gasoline), whereby SUVs were designed to be classified as light trucks despite their primary use as passenger vehicles to receive tax concessions and less stringent fuel economy requirements.
Eleven Japanese models classified as SUVs were the Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser; the Honda Passport; the Nissan Pathfinder; the Mazda Navajo; the Mitsubishi Montero; the Isuzu Amigo, Rodeo, and Trooper; and the Suzuki Samurai and Sidekick.
[113][114][115] From the mid-2000s until 2010, U.S. sales of SUVs and other light trucks experienced a dip due to increasing fuel prices and then a declining economy.
For example: Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Bentley Bentayga, Aston Martin DBX, Maserati Levante, Lamborghini Urus, and Ferrari Purosangue.
Several derogatory or pejorative terms for SUVs are based on the combination of an affluent suburb name and "tractor", particularly for expensive vehicles from luxury brands.
