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I currently own a pick-up, and probably won't go back, but I did own an older full-size suburban for many years and absolutely loved it. I could haul myself, 7 teenagers (I was a youth pastor for many years), and all our gear for a weekend camp-out and still have plenty of room left over. I debated for quite awhile about the truck or another suburban, but I'm happy with my choice.

bloke wrote:A suburban ain't an SUV.

A suburban is what people buy when they need something like a minivan, except bigger and tougher.

Glad to know I'm ok having owned a suburban

Your poll doesn't include mini-SUV's like my CRV, so I didn't vote. I need something to haul around my Rudy-Meinl Bayreuth BBb in its Jacob Winter case, and with the R rear 2/3 split seat folded and flipped up the case fits with a couple of inches to spare. The CRV also hauls 5 when necessary, gets 23-24 mpg around town and up to 28 on the open road, and has full time all wheel drive. My last 4 everyday vehicles have been CRV's going back to 1997 when they first appeared. I'm addicted to the Honda reliability and resale value. Over the years they have become more 'Americanized': my 2010 has a foot-operated parking brake, which I detest, rather than a hand brake, a fixed center console, an inboard mini-spare tire, and an interior that's not exactly spartan anymore. My younger sister bought my 2002 CRV on a dealer pass-through when I splurged on this vehicle. I know, bloke, I'm a wastrel, but I also realize I'm no shade-tree mechanic vis-a-vis today's vehicles. Hence the pursuit of reliability and an unused warranty.

gwwilk wrote:I'm a wastrel

Wow! It is not often that I expand my vocabulary by reading TubeNet. Thank you for making my day.

I do not (yet) own an SUV, but one may be in my future. I need a vehicle which can haul several folks, sometimes lots of instruments, too. It also needs to be capable of pulling one of the three trailers full of equipment for the bands I run/play in/teach.
I have owned six quad cab Dodge Dakotas and have been very pleased with them. I have driven them all to a quarter million miles and they fit in my garage!

Alas, Dodge has discontinued the marque. I am looking at Jeep Grand Cherokees, Dodge Durangos, Ford Flexes, as well as Toyota Tacomas (quad cab, "long" bed). I need 4 wheel drive a couple of dozen times a year. Minivans do not have a sufficient suspension to drag my trailers.

I own an SUV. Why do I love it? Simple: it's paid for.

Also, I live in a rural tundra where snowplows/salt trucks are either ineffective or nonexistent, so I do have regular occasion to engage the 4WD.

Lets see...

I drive a 2010 Jeep Larado as a work vehicle. 6 cylinder (no hemi), AWD. For what I do now, it is great (patrol a city of 5K people, with the occasional foray out into the real world, usually pretty fast). For general county wide (the county is the size of Connecticut) patrol, I would have run it into the ground already. I would much prefer the Tahoe for patrol work. Much larger, more comfy, and WAY more power.

I drive a paid for 1997 Ford Ranger 4x4 club cab. Tows everything I ask it to, hauls everything I need it to, albeit the drywall/plywood need some fanagling. Hauls all the sousaphone/marching percussion sections of the marching band I am in, with room left to hold everyone's cases and stands when we add sit-down gigs to the parades we march in. Dream replacement rig would be a Tundra 4x4 quad cab. Not likely, however.

If I had a buck for every crash that I have investigated that was the result of some person driving a 4x4 in foul weather conditions that believed that 4x4=invincible, I might be able to afford said Tundra.

Ally"does not own said SUV, therefore did not vote"House

We have a 2001 Ford Escape we purchased new that we do everything in: around town driving, highway trips, hauling supplies, light camping, including Boy Scout camping with my son: unibody, on-demand 4WD, V6, auto (for my wife's knees -- hence my answer), unibody, drives like a car instead of a truck, etc. We hope it lasts another 114,000 miles with as little maintenance as it has incurred to date. Because of its unibody construction, road manners more like an automobile than a truck, and FWD, I would put it one step towards the "crossover," before that term came into being with vehicles like the Subaru Forester, among others, which in my mind are more like inflated station wagons than down-sized SUVs.

bloke wrote:4wd has its great pluses. I have a 4WD truck, and have been able to - among other things - occasionally help out other motorists.

4WD can also get folks in trouble:

- 4WD doesn't do crap on glassy ice - neither steering nor stopping.
- There's nothing like being stuck in the mud with 4WD truck with all four wheels stuck in the mud.
- There's nothing like all four wheels of a 4WD vehicle hydroplaning, particularly when the driver has been driving as if 4WD is invincible.
- 4WD is a fantastic way to get into places that one cannot get out of.

Every 4WD vehicle oughta come with those four points engraved into the dashboard!

bloke wrote:4wd has its great pluses. I have a 4WD truck, and have been able to - among other things - occasionally help out other motorists.

4WD can also get folks in trouble:

- 4WD doesn't do crap on glassy ice - neither steering nor stopping.
- There's nothing like being stuck in the mud with 4WD truck with all four wheels stuck in the mud.
- There's nothing like all four wheels of a 4WD vehicle hydroplaning, particularly when the driver has been driving as if 4WD is invincible.
- 4WD is a fantastic way to get into places that one cannot get out of.

I followed a woman once up a hill after a snowstorm with significant accumulation. The road had snowpack, but was drivable. She started up the hill, but about two-thirds the way up she either lost her nerve or couldn't keep the throttle steady, because she spun her wheels once and lost all traction and came sliding back down the hill towards me. How I got out of the mess without an accident is a different story. But 4WD in the hands of someone who does not understand these limitations is worse than a conventional 2-wheel drive, because either the driver doesn't understand the difference as to how the vehicle will react, and so overreacts, or gets the false sense of confidence that 4WD (and antilock braking, for that matter) will somehow take care of the situation.

Some people just don't understand that 4-wheel drive does NOT equal 4-wheel stop! I've seen a scary number of people go tearing down an icy or freshly-snowed road at or above the speed limit in their SUVs or other 4WD vehicles and it just scares me to death if I happen to be in front of them when they have to stop...

My front-wheel drive, 5 speed '92 Corolla does just fine in the snow for me. I've been stuck once in the six years I've had it and that was simply because the snow was deeper than my wheels were tall!

Compact SUV's (CRV's, S-10 Blazers)- affordable, fun but still useful,...
Luxury SUV's- moronic
Big old two door SUV's (Bronco, K5) and Suburbans- awesome!

bloke wrote:4wd has its great pluses. I have a 4WD truck, and have been able to - among other things - occasionally help out other motorists.

4WD can also get folks in trouble:

- 4WD doesn't do crap on glassy ice - neither steering nor stopping.
- There's nothing like being stuck in the mud with 4WD truck with all four wheels stuck in the mud.
- There's nothing like all four wheels of a 4WD vehicle hydroplaning, particularly when the driver has been driving as if 4WD is invincible.
- 4WD is a fantastic way to get into places that one cannot get out of.

Agreed, 100%. Don't try to test the limits of your 4WD when you are relying on it - always log some practice miles in easier conditions.

Bob Kolada wrote: Big old two door SUV's (Bronco, K5) and Suburbans- awesome!

Before my current SUV, I had a 2-door of the bronco-shape and yes, it was awesome. I miss it.