We can’t turn a blind eye on the current trend for SUVs. This “new” category of cars that since the last decade has been conquering the market, putting a strain on lovers of sports … or maybe not.
What does that mean? It means that there is a shift from from big, clumsy and awkward cars, with little power and diesel engines, to a wide variety of models, types and power supplies. In recent years there has been a race of the most famous and sporty brands to create SUVs with the prerogative of remaining faithful to the DNA of the sports brand they represent.
The operation is not always simple; the stakes are monumental and it’s making the designers and product managers of these brands lose their sleep. A successful SUV can mean earning a sumptuous share of the market of people who might not otherwise have come close to that brand. Those who, seeing this comfortable and spacious means of transport better if elegant and technological, leave behind their prejudices, running into the dealerships.
Let’s make an example dear to us Italians… the SUV of Lamborghini URUS, that the house of Sant’Agata has decided to define SSUV (Super Sport Utility Vehicle).
This extraordinary pachyderm, fast and agile as a panther, has allowed Lamborghini to expand its network of customers like never before. There are so many URUS customers who have never owned a Lamborghini and the production line of this behemoth chumps more cars than the production lines of Aventador and Huracan put together.
Let’s just say that in previous years Lamborghini has achieved a constant record of sales from only two production lines year after year, just to understand the importance of this model for the Italian-German company. At the same time, manufacturers such as Ferrari, Aston Martin and Lotus are developing their “first SUVs”, and top luxury players such as Bentley and Rolls Royce have shown the world the most sumptuous declinations of this type of vehicle.
We now think that Audi, in order to sell the first fully electric car, the E-Tron, had to think of a type of vehicle that would fit in different continents, in cold places with lots of snow and then the same way in exotic places with sand and salt… what better vehicle than an SUV to make everyone agree then?
Check the Sport Exhaust for Audi
SUVs are the fashion of the moment and almost every manufacturer has an SUV in its catalogue for every segment of vehicle, from the smallest to the most ecological or sporty. So, does it really make sense to oppose all this?
A sports car purist, an ecologist, and even an anthropologist would have thousand and one reasons to criticise SUVs… lonely drivers with these “seven-seater trucks” (empty) wandering halfway around our cities in search of a parking space..
The reality is that it seems that this type of car has made everyone agree on the various continents, thus becoming the new type of all-rounder: a sporty car, comfortable (for many), spacious, suitable for long journeys etc.
Check also this article about the best SUV in 2020 (rated by consumers).
Does it make sense to fight them? I would say so. This current fashion is also driving the electric market and it seems that this “shape” is the best compromise. However, there are companies that continue the production of sports cars, for real enthusiasts, the low two-seater, with little trunk and lots of fun (for us). As long as there are real enthusiasts (even among engineers) our sports cars will continue to live and allow us to free our minds at the weekend. But for all the other days, why not travelling a little more comfortable?
