Just as wagons were becoming palatable to me...

[dubber36]

I like an estate car too and had 2 Passat variants when we had all the small children clobber to lug around. I think that in most forms, the Passat looks much better than its saloon derivative. The same came be said for most Audis.

[weytf]

Definitely agree with the Audi estate thing. They always look ace! Also love the C/E-63 estates.

I am obviously being quite dramatic with my comments, but there is definitely truth in them. Would definitely opt for an estate over an SUV any day!

Also, I was given a Juke as a hire car last week, and not only did it have less space than my Golf, but it also had a brilliant little turbo engine which was absolutely ruined by the bloody thing being on stilts. Why put a sport mode on something which can't take a corner without rolling over?!

[fredgroves]

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

It's OK, the SUV's and caravans sort them out in a Darwin type action...

[Watts]

I clearly don't get out enough as I can't see most of the stated issues with SUVs being a problem. They serve a practical purpose for some and an aesthetic one for others, nothing wrong in that. Most estate cars aren't seven seaters either which makes a difference these days. Gone are the days when you could buy a big saloon and shove as many kids as you wanted in the back seats. Probably a good thing though. As for estate styling, just like any car, some look bad and some look good. I loved my early 90s Audi 100 Avant (no, it's not an estate, it's an Avant ) and thought it better looking than the saloon equivilant. The A4 B6/7 was also a great looking "estate" although I had a saloon and loved that too.

And the loss of 3dr and estate Golfs in the MK8 is a shame, I really like a 3dr but perhaps I won't be a MK8 customer anyway.

[fredgroves]

My hatred for SUV's is purely about the excessive (needless) weight and subsequent pollution arising...

Although I will say that if you have enough children to warrant a minibus you probably are also contributing to the downfall of mankind in other ways too!

[Watts]

My hatred for SUV's is purely about the excessive (needless) weight and subsequent pollution arising...

Although I will say that if you have enough children to warrant a minibus you probably are also contributing to the downfall of mankind in other ways too!

Out of interest I just compared the weights of similarly specced Audis, an A4 quattro 2.0 tdi s tronic and the same spec Q5. The A4 was 1615kg and the Q5 1695kg. So not a vast amount in it. I didn't look at the emission figures as that might look like I had even more excess time on my hands and no life at all

When we were looking around for our next car which led to the GTI, we sat in a Q7 just for sh!ts and giggles. My OH in the driving seat, me right at the back. It was massive, like being in a bus. I was (not seriously) tempted to get it for her just to see her face driving it (current car is a Lupo and she thinks my Golf is too big to drive.....)

[ar899]

On the subject of (most) SUVs, where's the spare wheel then?! You buy a car the size of a tennis court and still get a can of chuffing glue.

[Jim_mk7.5]

My hatred for SUV's is purely about the excessive (needless) weight and subsequent pollution arising...

I think lorries, buses, old black cabs etc would be better place to start your hatred Fred. Most SUVs probably aren't adding any more solution than most regular cars.

[fredgroves]

My hatred for SUV's is purely about the excessive (needless) weight and subsequent pollution arising...

I think lorries, buses, old black cabs etc would be better place to start your hatred Fred. Most SUVs probably aren't adding any more solution than most regular cars.

Ok to illustrate my point:

T-Roc 1.5tsi DSG R-Line - 124g/km co2
Golf 1.5tsi DSG R-Line - 114g/km co2

Now 10 grams here and 10 there isn't much but if you scale that up.... its a 9% increase in co2 output.

I'd say that was fairly conservative across the lot too.

A "car shaped" car has a lower drag coefficient than a house brick - the increased height results in increased frontal area, which is more drag.

[dubber36]

Starting from the very first stage of the build process, over a 10 year period an Tesla Model X will consume 17% more C02 than a Porsche Macan S. It's not all about g/km.

Having said that, how many people actually buy cars based on emissions? Between 4 and 5% of people poled. Fedgroves, what do you drive and why did you choose it?