How To Choose Your First Suv And Not Lose Your Money?
SUVs or also known as Sports Utility Vehicles are one of the most popular car segments across the world. There are a lot of reasons behind why people prefer SUVs over the other Sedans or Hatchback types of vehicles.
Firstly, the Sports Utility Vehicles are very comfortable for a lot of people due to their high seating position. The high seating position allows the driver to have a good visibility rate. The handling of SUVs is much better in an overall situation due to the added weight and also the large tyres that are fitted onto the frame of the car.
All of these advantages make a Sports Utility Vehicle a very lucrative option for a person who is looking to buy a car. Well, there are a lot of SUVs available out there depending on the budget, style of driving, what your needs are, and also your lifestyle. Due to the high amount of options available for a particular person to choose, it can definitely be tricky to choose.
There is nothing to worry about since if you follow this article till the end you will find the SUV of your dreams and make an informed decision for the same. We would like to provide the readers of this article with some pointers, using which they can shortlist a perfect SUV according to their needs.
One major point you need to understand is that the definition of perfect varies from person to person and you need to decide the best car for you on the basis of several criteria.
- Looking Around the Showroom
A lot of the time what happens is that a person while looking for potential cars comes with a preconceived notion about the car and hence develops a tunnel vision. This should be avoided and hence the first thing you should be doing is looking around the car showroom.
This is done to ensure that you may find better choices out there in the form of a sedan car or a hatchback. Nowadays there is a trend for cross SUVs which may be preferable for you. Plus if the only reason you are looking for an SUV is that they fit a lot of people, then you can have a look at minivans as well.
Minivans are good and a comfortable option for a person who has a large family and looks to travel with a lot of people on a daily basis.
- Should you buy a Two Wheel Drive or an All-Wheel Drive?
A lot of the budget variants of SUVs do not come but the All-Wheel Drive option. If you are especially looking at the cross SUVs version, most of them do not come equipped with the AWD.
Two-wheel drive basically provides power to only one set of wheels, and most of the time in the case of SUVs it is the front set of tyres. The major advantage of 2WD is that it saves quite a lot of fuel since there is only one set of tyres that are working. All-Wheel Drives work differently per each setup of the car.
For example, some of the AWDs power the front wheels initially until they detect slippage. Once slippage is detected the systems will allocate some power to the other set of tyres in order to get the necessary amount of traction to the wheels.
Some of the AWDs systems on the other hand send power to all the four wheels at the same time but a little more power to the front end depending on the car. Either AWD or TWD is fine enough for drivers without much of a change except in terms of traction.
- Off-Roading Aspect –
A lot of SUVs such as the Jeep, Toyota 4Runner, and the Chevrolet Suburban specialize in the aspect of off-roading since they have been equipped with the state of art 4 Wheel Drive tech.
The 4 wheel drive has a significant difference from the All-Wheel Drive tech. In a car with the 4WD option, you will have the option of changing back to the 2WD tech. This is done since the 4WD is strictly for off-roading or slippery surfaces. If the tech is used on regular roads and hard surfaces, there will be significant damage handed over to it.
If you are looking to buy a car with 4WD you need to be aware of the fact that the cars with these techs cost more than others and also lower the fuel efficiency to a much lower level. Unless you go to campsites and off-roading on a regular basis, this particular feature is not required at all.
If the concern is that of traction, then the All-Wheel Drive or the AWD tech will more than compensate for it.
- A Big Car will be expensive
These days cars are already expensive due to chip shortage. So if you are getting a car that is oversized do keep in mind that they tend to be a bit pricey both in shorter and longer terms. Firstly in terms of wheels, these cars will definitely have a much larger wheelbase as compared to the other sedans as well as the hatchbacks. Speaking in terms of future costs, the tyre is eventually going to wear out and would need a replacement.
In this context, if you have gotten a car with huge tyres this would cost you extra since bigger tyres are obviously costlier than the smaller ones. There is also a chance of getting the wheel damaged in case of jerk or pothole damage since a car with a big size tends to get a bit heavy.
Just like every car segment out there be it SUVs, Sedans or Hatchbacks, there are a hundred options to choose from. Maybe all of these cars are good in a particular way, but you need to evaluate your needs and how you intend to use the car in order to determine the best car for you. A lot of car hunters tend to overcompensate by going for unnecessary features that cost them more and make them miss out on the basic features that are imperative for a car.
