The rise of the SUVs

Sports utility vehicles evolved originally from the US Jeep, which became a popular off-road civilian car after the Second World War, and from its British and Japanese emulators: the Land Rover and the Toyota Land Cruiser. 

In the 1970s and 1980s, manufacturers started making traditional passenger cars that had higher ground clearance and four-wheel drive. The term "sports utility vehicle" was first popularised when it appeared in a brochure for the Jeep Cherokee, in 1974. 

Today it is used in preference to "off-roader" or "four-wheel drive", because such cars are often not four-wheel drive, and can have little in the way of off-road capability; those at the less rugged end of the spectrum, such as Nissan's Qashqai, are sometimes referred to as "crossover SUVs". All SUVs, though, are larger than an average car, and higher, with chunky bodywork and stylings that gesture towards the outdoor life.

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How popular are they?

Since 2010, their numbers have jumped nearly tenfold globally. Across the world, there are now an estimated 330 million SUV-type vehicles on the roads today, out of perhaps one-and-a-half-billion passenger cars in total – up from about 35 million in 2010. In 2022, SUVs accounted for a massive 46% of global car sales; in Europe, the proportion of SUVs among new cars has risen from 8% in 2006, to more than half today. In Britain, six out of ten of the bestselling models in 2023 were SUVs or SUV crossovers. They have edged out estates and saloons as the family car of choice in Europe, the US and large parts of Asia. For instance, Volvo estates, once a favourite of the affluent middle class, are being withdrawn from sale in the UK, in favour of SUV models.

Why are they so popular?

Drivers are attracted by the high riding position, the feeling of safety and being above the fray afforded by a large, solid car. Their ubiquity has encouraged a sort of arms race: they make smaller cars feel less safe. Space and comfort are also part of the appeal, particularly at the more expensive end of the market. People like the sense of sporty freedom they afford, compared with estates or minivans, even if in practice they are seldom used on dirt tracks or mountain roads. In large part, though, the rise of SUVs is the result of a conscious decision by automobile companies to promote them. They command a price premium, although they don't cost much more to manufacture: the result is a profit margin 10-20% larger on SUVs than on smaller cars. Consequently, car firms spend lots of money advertising them.

How polluting are they?

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), SUVs consume about 20% more oil than medium-sized cars. Annual CO2 emissions from SUVs reached almost one billion tonnes last year; if SUVs were a country, they'd rank as the sixth most polluting in the world. These vehicles produce more emissions than the entire aviation industry, and have helped keep transport emissions rising at an average rate of nearly 1.7% from 1990 to 2022, "faster than any other end-use sector", says the IEA. Over this period, car engines have become markedly more efficient, but thanks to SUVs, the gains have been wasted. In November, a report by the Global Fuel Economy Initiative found that emissions from automobiles could have fallen by more than 30% if vehicles had only stayed the same size.

Are all SUVs so polluting?

The SUV is a broad category of car: it ranges from the compact Nissan Juke (which weighs about 1.2 tonnes, not dissimilar to a hatchback such as the Ford Focus) to the colossal Range Rover Sport (which weighs about 2.3 tonnes). The Juke emits about 132g of CO2 per kilometre (about the same as many smaller family cars); but a V8-engined petrol Range Rover Sport emits a whopping 261g per kilometre. In general, though, SUVs' larger engines and bulk mean that on average they have CO2 emissions 14% (16g/km) higher than an equivalent hatchback. The increasing popularity of electric vehicles may help offset this in the future, but EVs are even heavier than conventional cars, which raises energy and resource use, and micro-plastic pollution from tyres.

Why else are SUVs problematic?

Their sheer size is one issue. According to one 2022 study, cars in the UK and EU are on average 15% heavier now than they were in 2001. A Range Rover Sport is nearly five metres long and two metres wide. An analysis by Which? this year found that more than 150 models of car are now too big to fit in an average UK parking bay. One model, the BMW i7, sticks out by more than half a metre in a standard bay. There are also safety concerns. The US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that SUVs are 28% more likely to kill occupants of other cars; and, according to some studies, they're twice as likely to kill pedestrians in collisions, owing to their size and height. Raised emission levels also contribute to respiratory disease.

What should we do about them?

SUV owners already pay more road tax in the UK, owing to their bigger engine sizes and higher emissions. Emissions zones keep older models out of some city centres, and some councils charge more for parking large cars. But clearly, at the moment, this is not discouraging their purchase, and some campaigners want the Government to go further, by hiking taxes or banning the advertising of the most emissions-heavy cars – a measure already in the pipeline in France – or even banning vehicles of certain dimensions. In Washington DC, proposals have been made to charge owners of vehicles over 2.7 tonnes an annual surcharge of $500 (£396). Such measures are likely to be fiercely opposed in the UK, by both SUV owners and the automobile industry.