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Are SUVs environmently unfriendly, should we be buying them?

ehjaz

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What SUV to buy?

What is a good mid size SUV to buy? Does anyone own Ford EDGE here, how is it?
 
I like the shape ford edge has. Performance is good too as I drove it. But in the end it is a ford, and they're not reliable over the long term.
Go with Acura mdx. It is the same price but am awesome car. M class is amazing as well.
 
I like the shape ford edge has. Performance is good too as I drove it. But in the end it is a ford, and they're not reliable over the long term.
Go with Acura mdx. It is the same price but am awesome car. M class is amazing as well.
 
Re: what SUV to buy?

The Q3 seems overpriced for what it is. May as well get a VW Touareg instead and pay considerably less.

Not a big fan of the big cars so really haven't test driven any except the Q3 and the X5
 
The Edge is good, however the small premium the Explorer has over it is more than worth it
In other words the Explorer is a much better car considering the price difference.
Its quieter, more refined, and looks better IMO.
 
Infiniti JX is a good choice, can seat 7 easily and has a pretty neat interior. Also price is better than Acura, Audi etc.
 
Ford Explorer is a good SUV, or a Suburban even though it is not mid size.
 
If you are an average desi who wants reliability, style and most importantly easy maintainence then avoid high end vehicles like VW Toureg, Infinity (the crappiest of Japanese Luxury), Acurra MDX, Audi Q, BMW X series etc. These machines will use only super gas and maintenance requires an arm and a leg.

For mid size SUV, check out the all new the 2104 Toyota Highlander.
For smaller SUV, check out CR-V or RAV4
And for larger ones, LX 570. (Stay away from Nissan)

But yeah, if you want to live like an angraiz who are mostly single and have big hearts to freely spend "themselves" then look no further. 2014 Porche Cayenne is your calling.
 
Toyota and Honda scream desi fuddy duddy uncle from miles. Luxury brands are not as bad as people think when it comes to fuel cost and maintainence. Plus, you get luxury features you don't get with Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Ford etc. unless you upgrade it and that would end up costing you the same as luxury brand cars. It depends on what you are looking for. If you want style and luxury and don't mind paying a bit extra, than go for the luxury brands. Lexus is probably the most reliable, but Acura and Infiniti are great too. I know several friends who switched from Benz, BMW and Audi to Infiniti and are loving it.
 
If you read below, you will see that SUVs seem to be selling like hotcakes but we are told that they are environmentally unfriendly - should we be buying such cars? What is 'fuelling' this demand?

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Soaring demand for SUVs drove record sales for premium carmakers including BMW and Mercedes last year, leaving the industry on collision course with government efforts to tackle global warming despite big investments in electric vehicles.

BMW said on Friday deliveries by its main luxury brand rose 2 percent to a record 2,168,516 vehicles last year, thanks to a 21 percent jump in sales of its “X” branded sport utility vehicles (SUV) which now make up 44 percent of the BMW brand’s global sales.

At Mercedes-Benz, the world’s best-selling premium car brand, every third luxury car sold last year was an SUV.

Automakers across the world are investing billions in electric vehicles to try to meet tougher emissions regulations. But the jury is out on how many drivers will buy them.

“Consumer preferences for SUVs could offset the benefits from electric cars,” the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned in its November World Energy Outlook 2019 report.

The IEA said a doubling in market share had seen emissions from SUVs grow by nearly 0.55 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2) during the last decade to roughly 0.7 gigatons.

As a result, SUVs were the second-largest contributor to the increase in global CO2 emissions since 2010 after the power sector — ahead of heavy industry including iron and steel, cement, aluminum, as well as trucks and aviation, it said.

There are now more than 200 million SUVs around the world, up from about 35 million in 2010, accounting for 60% of the increase in the global car fleet since 2010, IEA data shows.

“If the popularity of SUVs continues to rise in line with recent trends, this could add another 2 million barrels per day to our projection for

2040 oil demand,” it said.

The German carmakers say their vehicles are among the most fuel efficient available, thanks to hybrid and other technologies, adding customers could also choose to buy smaller, more frugal cars instead of SUVs.

Both BMW and Mercedes owner Daimler say they aim to achieve new sales records this year, and are preparing to launch fully electric SUVs which they say shows a commitment to a cleaner future.

While acknowledging the growing popularity of SUVs, Germany’s powerful VDA auto industry association said much of the demand was for more efficient models.

“Only just under 5 percent of SUVs are large luxury class vehicles. The market success of the SUV segment is mainly due to the model offensive in compact and medium-sized SUVs, with correspondingly lower fuel consumption,” VDA said on Thursday.

The newly registered SUVs of German group brands had reduced their CO2 emissions by 35% since 2008, it added.

European Union lawmakers agreed in December 2018 that automakers had to cut CO2 emissions from cars by 37.5% by 2030 from 2021 levels, in addition to a 40 percent cut between 2007 and 2021, or face fines.

Evercore ISI analysts say the average German auto fleet emission is still too high at around 124 grams per kilometer in Europe, compared with the average limit of 95 grams per kilometer for 2020.

“The current CO2 performance is simply not good enough and we continue to flag that carmakers run the risk of facing considerable fines if more is not done,” they said in a note.

Electric and hybrid vehicles made up only 3.9% of new European sales in the third quarter of 2019.

BMW plans to launch 25 hybrid and electric cars by 2023, with more than 12 models being fully electric versions. By 2025, half of all its cars are expected to be hybrid or electric vehicles, it said.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/537281/so...kers-on-collision-course-with-climate-policy/
 
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