By Theodore Opara:

NIGERIANS craze for Sport Utility vehicles, SUVs, has no comparison. There is hardly any auto brand of Sports Utility Vehicle that you can’t find in the country. Some of these SUVs come into the country as brand new vehicles or used ones. But no matter how they come, there is always a huge demand for Sport Utility Vehicles for some reasons. These include poor state of our roads which makes it almost impossible for most Sedan to navigate through. The other reason for high demand for SUV is our people’s way of life as most people would like to show off with large SUVs and oppress users of smaller cars on the road.

However, some people would also tell you that they prefer. SUV because of the raised platform and spacious interior. They would even claim that it is cheaper to maintain SUVs. Admirer of the model Their reason being that the higher road clearance of SUVs give them an edge as the underneath hardly touches the road in rough terrain. In as much as these reasons could be said to be genuine, there are other side of Sport Utility Vehicles that most admirer of the model have not considered. Apart from the fact the most Sports Utility Vehicles consume more fuel than the ordinary Sedan, it has been argued that SUVs do not have as much balance as the saloon cars and more caution must be applied when driving the them.

The invention of SUV dates back to over 70 year ago by Jeep. Then the SUVs were created for rough terrains where Sedans dare not tread. The military found it handy for their tough tasks in unpaved terrains, and later SUVs were considered as passenger vehicle and luxury features were introduced into it.

In Europe and most developed parts of the world, the SUV were then, usually used in the farm and they were not as fast as Sedans but today, SUVs compete favourably with ordinary Sedans in terms of speed, luxury and safety to some extent. But it has been found that most people usually abuse the use of SUVs by over speeding and manuevering with the car, not minding that no matter how good an SUV could be, it can never have the same centre of gravity and stability like sport cars and saloon Knowing that the SUVs do not share the same level of handling with the ordinary saloon cars and sport cars, most manufacturers have introduced so many features to it, to raise their performance and safety standard.

For instance, electronically controlled Kinetic Dynamic suspension system for outstanding drivability off-road and comfortable ride on-road like in the Toyota Land Cruiser, keeps all the tyres firmly in contact with the ground even when travelling over rocks and other demanding surfaces so as to deliver a safe, stable ride with excellent traction for superior rough terrain drivability and control. Also vehicle stability control VSC is one vital feature that keeps the SUV stable in slippery road surfaces. VSC enhances vehicle stability by controlling engine output and braking at each wheel if sensors detect an abrupt steering operation or lateral slipping of the vehicle. There are other features like variable flow control power steering which responds to vehicle speed. So steering is light and nimble at low speed for easy manueverability and packing and firm and responsive at high speed for enhanced control and stability.

Without going into details, features like Hill Descent Control, Electronic modulated air suspension plus adaptive variable suspension system, full-time four wheel drive with torsen limited slip differential etc have been built into modern SUV to raise the safety standard. In some advance SUVs, the suspensions can adjust lower or higher depending on the speed of the car for safety reasons. But the fact remains that the few drawbacks of SUV have been observed by the auto makers and they have warned against over-speeding and manoeuvring with SUV. Apart from the lower speedometers, this warning by the manufacturers should have restrain SUV drivers from abusing the speed limit of this cars especially in convoys but the reverse is the case in Nigeria.

It is a known fact that there is no car that cannot get involved in accident. Even Princess Diana was killed in one of world safest cars but the fact remain that some car are more balanced than the others when it comes to speeding and caution must be applied when driving an SUV given the fact that the turning radius, centre of gravity and balance cannot be compared to Sedans. One cannot say that a particular SUV brand has been more involved in accidents than the other but one should also consider the number of such brands and models on the road with other brands.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/beautiful-sides-suvs/

Good points let d debate continue

SUV vs sedan

From ur write up is it correct to conclude dt
I. sedan is far safer on high speed than suv
ii. SUV is meant for off-road/bad road nt speed BC of its high ground clearance
iii. Overspeeding with SUV or sedan will still kill u so better keep ur speed anywhere below 100km/h on smooth highway

This deserves FP seun, marpol

OP, please learn to paragraph your posts. Makes it better to read.

Nice write up though. I've always admired the SUVs, but jad to ditch it for a sedan when I heard about the fuel consumption, cost of purchase and cost of maintenance of my desired SUV. No need me buying something to show off, only to suffer inside.

nice write up. i don lift my sedan yanch suspension so e high like suv. now my sedan dey waka go anywhere suv enter

masonkz:
OP, please learn to paragraph your posts. Makes it better to read.

Nice write up though. I've always admired the SUVs, but jad to ditch it for a sedan when I heard about the fuel consumption, cost of purchase and cost of maintenance of my desired SUV. No need me buying something to show off, only to suffer inside.

Thanks, correction noted. For your opinion I've been within cross roads since. Actually would love to buy an SUV cos of the terrain but thinking of other costs associated with it, apart from the fact that it is more expensive than a sedan it's age has made me run away.

ogawisdom:
Good points let d debate continue

SUV vs sedan

From ur write up is it correct to conclude dt
I. sedan is far safer on high speed than suv
ii. SUV is meant for off-road/bad road nt speed BC of its high ground clearance
iii. Overspeeding with SUV or sedan will still kill u so better keep ur speed anywhere below 100km/h on smooth highway


This deserves FP seun, marpol

I. = Yes
Ii. = not necessarily, hence the luxury features. Bottom line is, don't over speed as if you are moving a sedan when driving an SUV.

Iii. Exactly. Oya chop knuckle

Princenady:
nice write up. i don lift my sedan yanch suspension so e high like suv. now my sedan dey waka go anywhere suv enter

Well in as much as it serves the temporary purpose I don't think it's a good idea. A lot of mechanics will beckon you to do that but I don't think the manufacturers would approve cos somehow I know it's not good for the vehicle. Simply put, avoid paying routes that are not good for your vehicle. I dey do am well. Ask my babe. Some times I dey park miles away and she knows why.

I do prefer sedans. If at all there's anything I like about SUVs then it definitely has to be the ground clearance. Even though SUVs are now fitted with all those mechanisms that improve stability and safety,it makes them heavy as titanic,taking there thirst to a whole new level. The good thing now is,manufacturers now build their SUvs using uni-body construction,some are even bases on sedans but only made to be a few inches taller. I'm talking about cars like the Ford edge,highlander,FX35,Lexus RX and NX. These cars drive and feel like sedans,They also are cetainly more efficient that your GX470 or prado or...ok that's enough. Some people don't really car about efficiency at all,this means they have what is takes to tame the beast.