Just as wagons were becoming palatable to me...

[scanesare]

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/the-next-vw-golf-wont-have-estate-or-3dr-options/

Till yesterday I thought my next car was going to be either a MK8 R wagon (especially if looks improved a bit compared to the current model) or a Cupra 4Drive Estate (I already like that shape better but the new Cupra badge is  ).

Hmm, I guess it now has to be a Tiguan R (release sometime in 2019?) . Have to say I like that much better than an R wagon. More "natural" looks and I would never take any of them to the track (unless for a couple of fun laps maybe) anyway.

I think UK buyers will cry (there's a huge soft spot for wagons over there it seems)

[fredgroves]

The "no more 3 door" thing has been banging around for some time... no more Golf estates doesn't surprise me either.

Why not buy a SUV or the Passat estate instead?

Albeit that I'd even question the purpose of the Passat any more - those "rep mobile" cars are really dying a death, partly because when it comes to "large family car" the transit vans with windows have been a better option and partly because the idea of a company car is long gone, both because of (UK) tax reasons and that in this day and age you don't sell products by sending a salesman to a customer... Engineers usually use vans, sales are done by phone, webex, email or website...

Obviously it would be a bold move by VW, but I think we all know its coming.

Personally, I think SUV's should be banned - extra weight (=extra pollution) and for no real extra benefit. the trend for SUV's are why the UK's CO2 figures are shooting up.... and its easy to see why!

I'd put a 1.5 tonne limit on domestic vehicles, with only (true) commercial vehicles allowed to exceed it... and then bring down the weight limit over time. Would do more to fix pollution than anything else!

[dubber36]

Personally, I think SUV's should be banned - extra weight (=extra pollution) and for no real extra benefit. the trend for SUV's are why the UK's CO2 figures are shooting up.... and its easy to see why!

I'd put a 1.5 tonne limit on domestic vehicles, with only (true) commercial vehicles allowed to exceed it... and then bring down the weight limit over time. Would do more to fix pollution than anything else!

Really? So you'd take away the option for someone that prefers a larger vehicle with its elevated driving position, space, comfort and towing ability? These vehicles are already subject to VED at a higher rate to dissuade people from having them, but some prefer pay the extra to have what they enjoy, whether they need it or not.

I have had my Amarok for about 18 months now. We bought a Golf 7 a few weeks after it, but never gelled with it, despite having a 6 before it, both of us preferring to drive the Amarok. The Golf has gone now and been replaced with a Tiguan, which does just about everything that a family car could be asked of.

[weytf]

SUVs do my nut in.

Headlights directly at your eye level? Check.
Impossible to see through? Check.
Lethal to smaller cars? Check.
More cargo space than other vehicles? Ummm... sometimes.

Also, why as a driver do you need 'more space'? Unless you're driving a kei car, there's sod-all difference. You have to sit a fixed distance from the pedals anyway. It's all a bullsh*t arms race. The people who 'prefer the elevated driving position' are just putting those who prefer otherwise in more danger.

And why do they all seem to be occupied by one person?! I thought they were for 'families'?

/rant.

[fredgroves]

SUVs do my nut in.

Yup, me too.

A proper 4x4 (think Landcruiser or Range Rover or G-Wagon) is bigger internally, but these bloody things now are just bigger exteriors on standard cars. A T-Roc is a Golf in a heavy suit, that Nissan Duke thing is just a Micra in a sumo outfit etc etc.

Its just pollution and consumption for style and with where we are supposed to be moving to is away from this nonsense. If we don't, then all cars will end up being banned by the tree huggers,

[dubber36]

I'll concede the headlight height thing.

Why are you following so close that you need to see through the car in front?

Vehicles of any size can be lethal. It's the operator that decides whether it should cause harm to others or not.

Some have more cargo space than others, but that's not the main reason people have them.

More space is not required. I design houses and can't understand why people need large bedrooms. You only occupy a small part of it, but large bedrooms are what some people prefer. And as for an elevated driving position putting others in danger, I refer you to my 3rd point in response to your questions.

They often are occupied by one person. I'm sure that you don't have all of your family in your car for every journey. But on the odd occasion when you do need to carry a few passengers, it's nice to be comfortable.

If I were to meet you, it's quite probable that I would take an instant dislike to you, but I wouldn't mention it, I would just walk away and let you be you.

[fredgroves]

PS if my weight limit banned caravans as a result.... I'd not shed a tear!

[dubber36]

Caravans or large trailers don't cause the long queues. It's the incompetent drivers following too closely behind to be able to see the safe opportunities to overtake, or leave insufficient room for those further back to be able to pull into to overtake them that are the problem.

Jeez, it'll be cyclists riding 2 abreast next.

[scanesare]

I have been skeptical about all this SUV trend for a while too. However, when you're faced with the need to carry more people and stuff more comfortably, your choice is either those or an estate. In my eyes at least, there is no other more un-natural shape of a car than an estate. In the majority of cases it is a car out of proportions. Something which you can easily see that was designed to be something else (a hatchback or a sedan), and had only a couple of its dimensions altered (thus ruining proportions) to simply be more practical, an after-thought. An SUV just looks more coherent.

By the way, factory equipped LED/Xenon headlights with self-adjustment never blinded anyone. It's usually people that do their own cheapo conversions that drive you crazy at night.

And there's hardly that much weight difference between an SUV and the equivalent estate, isn't it? Almost the same weight difference between a FWD and AWD Golf, hardly the stuff that kills people on the road.

[Jim_mk7.5]

So ban SUVs? 

Do you know what SUVs contribute to sales for lots of manufacturers? The likes of Porsche wouldn't be still making cars like the GT4, GTS, GT2 and GT3 if it wasn't for the revenue contribution from the Cayenne.

There is only one growing car segment in the Uk. Guess what it is? Yes, SUVs.

Like them or not, they are the future for most people. As for estates, a nice estate is actually far better than an SUV. All the room without the extra weight. I'd take an RS4 or RS6 Avant over the SQ7 any day of the week.