SUV-HISTORY AND ITS FEATURES

Sports Utility Vehicle(SUV) is a type of passenger vehicle which combines the loading and passenger-carrying capacity of a large station wagon or minivan with features designed for off-road driving. In more recent years, the term also grown to encompass vehicles with smaller size and style that are marketed as sport utility vehicles, but which do not actually incorporate substantial off-road features. A new category, the crossover SUV uses car components for lighter weight and better economy.

SUVs were traditionally derived from light struck platforms but have developed to have the general shape of a station wagon. SUVs are typically taller, with a roughly square cross section. In contrast ,station wagons are typically wider than they are tall, and minivans are taller than they are wide. Typical to a light struck platform, SUVs have higher seating than a station wagon and a suspension designed for giving ground clearance for off-road driving. In higher-end models, all four wheels can provide motion, unlike the majority of automobiles in which only the front or rear wheels provide drive. The design also allows for a large engine compartment, and many SUVs have large V-6 or V-8 engines. In countries where fuel is more expensive, buyers often opt for diesel engines, which have better fuel efficiency. Descended from commercial and military vehicles such as the Jeep and Land Rover, they have been popular for many years with rural buyers due to their off-road abilities. However ,in the last 25 years, and even more in the last decade, they have become popular with urban buyers. Consequently, more modern SUVs often come laden with luxury features and some crossover SUVs, such as the BMW X5,the Acura MDX, and the Toyota RAV4,have adapted lower ride heights and car chassis to better reflect their typical use. Some private SUV owners do indeed take their vehicles off the road to explore places otherwise unreachable by vehicle or for the sheer enjoyment of the driving. In Australia, China, Europe, South Africa and the U.S at least, many SUV clubs have been for this purpose.

Modified SUVs also take part in races, most famously in the Paris-Dakar Rally, and the Australian safari SUVs were immensely popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s.In the mid 2000s,their popularity has waned considerably. SUVs became popular in US for a variety of reasons. Owners pointed to their large, comfortable cabins, safety and the recreational possibilties of the vehicle. Additionally, most large SUVs have far greater towing capacities than conventional cars, and in the case of trailerable boats have superior abilities to launch and retrieve those boats from slippery boat ramps. The most common reason for SUV popularity cited by owners was once the incorrect assertion that they confer a major advantage in collision with regular cars. Infact, SUV drivers were more likely to perish in an accident with a smaller car than is the driver of the other vehicle. One reason for this was that SUVs are more than 16 times more likely to ‘roll over’ in an accident, and this has become more publicized in recent years. Therefore, most SUVs have electronics to prevent roll over.