[dk6780]

Ban SUV adverts to meet UK climate goals, report urges

Pushing at an open door with me, but what do the rest of you think? Even with "green" electricity they use more of it, more resources and are more dangerous.
This isn't proposing a ban on their ownership for people that need them, just on encouraging more people to buy them.

 

[njm106]

I'd go one step further and ban them completely but yes they should at least not be encouraged. I can understand people with mobility issues finding them more comfortable but I think too any people buy them based on bigger is better and the whole feeling safer thing, which feels a little like an arms race to me. If it carried on I'd expect we'd all drive Hummers or tanks in 2040!

I was very tempted to buy a MG ZS EV though so I should probably climb down from my pulpit now

 

[Wolfieofbaildon]

There’s an awful lot of things advertised that I’d ban for sure, and I agree that pushing people towards vehicles like this as part of some “arms race” that @njm106 refers to is daft.

But I do wonder how many people end up buying an SUV due to lack of choice.

I have owned SUVs in the past, simply because of a lack of choice of square-backed estate cars on the market. If you look at the square shape of older estate cars, and compare them with the more swoopy-backed current offerings you’ll see what I mean. In the “estate” bit of the car I need both a reasonable sized floor space but with a decent height for the whole of the floor space. And only SUVs have really offered this for the past few years.

I suspect my next car will be a BEV SUV, as MG aside nobody seems to be proposing a BEV estate. I can’t help but wonder whether the public buy what they really want, or buy what they do because there’s no real choice.

 

[DragonQ]

It does kind of amaze me how many people buy SUVs given how tiny our roads and parking spaces are. Also they are obviously heavier and less aerodynamic, which reduces efficiency and increases pollution compared to smaller cars. The pollution isn't a problem with an EV SUV but the sheer size of some of them....it boggles the mind!

I'm buying a "crossover" EV but it's only 3cm longer and 1cm narrower than the hatchback it's replacing so won't make any difference in that regard. The slight increase in height will be useful for sure when trying to get a baby in and out of it!

 

[Wolfieofbaildon]

The pollution isn't a problem with an EV SUV

this is a very well made point...

 

[electricdriver]

There’s an awful lot of things advertised that I’d ban for sure, and I agree that pushing people towards vehicles like this as part of some “arms race” that @njm106 refers to is daft.

But I do wonder how many people end up buying an SUV due to lack of choice.

I have owned SUVs in the past, simply because of a lack of choice of square-backed estate cars on the market. If you look at the square shape of older estate cars, and compare them with the more swoopy-backed current offerings you’ll see what I mean. In the “estate” bit of the car I need both a reasonable sized floor space but with a decent height for the whole of the floor space. And only SUVs have really offered this for the past few years.

I suspect my next car will be a BEV SUV, as MG aside nobody seems to be proposing a BEV estate. I can’t help but wonder whether the public buy what they really want, or buy what they do because there’s no real choice.

That's me (the lack of choice point). There's no way I would buy an ICE SUV, however my choice in BEV from my leasing scheme was iPace or eTron. Went with eTron.

 

[mikegs]

If you want to ban something you have to define - legally - what 'it' is.
Can someone please define what an SUV is (for the UK, US have rather different expectations of that term).

 

[Tooks]

If you want to ban something you have to define - legally - what 'it' is.
Can someone please define what an SUV is (for the UK, US have rather different expectations of that term).

I think it’s anything bigger or that people consider more wasteful than their choice of car, in the UK at least.

 

[cah197]

If you want to ban something you have to define - legally - what 'it' is.
Can someone please define what an SUV is (for the UK, US have rather different expectations of that term).

Any car that someone demands to have because it can carry the proverbial fridge.

...and tow the caravan 1,000 miles at no notice, due to a family emergency.

 

[Tooks]

Bjorn really needs to start doing range tests towing a caravan, or horse box or speedboat, it’s how they’re used isn’t it.

When do we bring in the maximum state decreed annual mileage limit?

I mean, an ‘SUV’ driven for 6,000 miles a year is worse than a Zoe driven 20,000 miles, right?

 

[Naturetech]

SUVs are en vogue at present. They're thirstier than a similarly-sized hatchback or estate. They often aren't any bigger inside. So far it's not looking favourable!
But, they're often better in a crash due to having more metal in them. We're interested in EVs on this site. SUVs are an ideal format for electric power as the batteries can fit in the space below the floor, to justify the elevated body style. Saloon EVs often suffer from poor back seating for adults, with inadequate space between seat cushion and floor.

 

[roger davis]

Where does the Cybertruck count in this discussion? It's certainly big enough and seats six, but also very practical for moving 'stuff' around.

 

[Tooks]

Where does anything count in this discussion?

There’s always a case to say that the same amount of battery put into a smaller vehicle would be ‘better‘?

SUVs use more resources, but then so do bigger houses or having more kids.

It’s a very British disease sometimes, that of projecting your own view of what’s reasonable onto everybody else.

 

[WithEthyl]

On what basis would you ban them though?

If it's their CO2 emissions well then why just pick of SUVs? Logically you'd have to ban any car which exceeded a certain CO2 limit regardless of its body shape, that would quite rightly include a lot of conventional and sports cars as well.

Air quality? Well there's lots of things worse than modern cars for impact air quality, we don't ban the advertising of BBQs, outdoor fire-pits, stoves. The air quality impact of burning solid fuel makes a diesel car look positively green.

 

[mikegs]

Here are the specs for a popular 64kWh 'SUV' and a 62kWh Leaf. (Lifted from Parker's).

Weight .... 1731kg ..... 1685kg
Length .... 4490mm ... 4180mm
Width ...... 2030mm ... 2070mm
Height .... 1545mm ... 1570mm
Tng Circ . 11m ............ 10m
WLTP ..... 3.5 m/kWh . 4.0 m/kWh

Should the left or the right column be banned?
(The specs may or may not be in same the order I've listed them at the top.)

 

[SueH]

One of the reasons fuel efficiency has been going down for cars is their weight and that has been going up partly due to the vogue for SUVs, but that is currently reflected in licence costs and tax on the increased amount of fuel they use.

With the advent of EVs tax take will reduce but a simple mileage charge per vehicle and one perhaps based on AUW might be the answer. That helps with the issue of congestion too, and every mile walked or cycled (or or public transport) would have a direct payback

I've never driven one although I can imagine the higher driving position helps in some circumstances. Nor am I particularly impressed by the safety argument as I cycle as well and used to have a motorbike, where defensive riding is a given, and I've heard of plenty of crashes which seems to have been more due to weight and handling of such vehicles.

 

[tom66]

Yes. Besides pure EVs or >80 mile PHEV SUVs.

 

[Marli]

I belive 160gpkm or 4.2m
Are the criteria being mooted.
Most SUV will fall into this category.

No need to define an SUV.
We don't want to ban SUV advertising, just Big or Dirty advertising.

For reference, the MG ZS EV is smaller than a LEAF.

 

[Electric Jamie]

I don´t think a definition needs to be provided to discuss the basic idea of banning SUV adverts. Of course, if the ban were enacted you´d have to make a definition based on either size, CO2 or pollution.

Personally, I´d agree with banning adverts for new petrol and diesel SUVs, but I think electric and second hand SUVs should be excluded from the ban. A brand new petrol or diesel sedan may be worse than an electric or second hand SUV.

 

[andyswarbs]

The Kona EV is an SUV and yet is one of the most efficient cars around, EVs and ICE.

What needs to be banned is ICE cars or cars that are not efficient rather than a marketing term. After all if you ban SUV the car companies will just rebrand them.