Most SUV Buyers Really Want A Crossover

Fuel economy and ride comfort are the primary attributes shoppers are looking for in a new SUV - which helps explain why buyers are flocking to car-based crossover models

SUVs are purchased primarily with commuting and family use in mind instead of off-road adventures

35% of SUV shoppers won't even consider buying another type of vehicle

While motorists may have been initially drawn to sport-utility vehicles with the promise of go-anywhere adventure during the genre's surge in the 1990's, today's buyers are more committed to fulfilling their practical needs than they are their vehicular fantasies, according to the results of a BuyingAdvice.com poll.

Rising gasoline prices and shifting market trends are causing mainstream truck-based SUV sales to plummet - the Ford Explorer dropped 29 percent, the Chevrolet TrailBlazer 22 percent and the Dodge Durango lost a huge 37 percent of its sales earlier this year, according to published industry reports. "Clearly, consumers are responding to changing economic forces - from rising energy costs to growing concerns about the environment," says Jeff Schuster, executive director of automotive intelligence at the market research provider J.D. Power and Associates.

Still, SUV owners remain loyal - at least in concept - to their rides. Thirty-five percent of polled respondents said they would not consider choosing another type of vehicle. Include the 19 percent who said they would cross-shop crossovers (the poll made no delineation between the terms crossover and SUV), and this adds up to a full majority of SUV intenders who will not even consider buying a sedan, wagon or minivan.

When it comes down to how they intend to use their vehicles and the attributes they find most important, however, survey respondents overwhelmingly described today's user-friendly CUVs instead of their rough-and-tumble truck-derived counterparts.

Buyers are crossing-over to CUVs to obtain a smoother ride with true car-like handling and more miles-per-gallon, without sacrificing practicality. Indeed, the BuyingAdvice.com poll found that fuel economy was the most important attribute (23 percent) among SUV buyers, with ride comfort coming in a close second (at 22 percent). Safety (19 percent) and styling (11 percent) remain noteworthy factors, as they would be among most vehicle types, with car-like handling being primarily significant to eight percent of SUV shoppers.

Two areas in which CUVs tend to fall short compared to truck-sourced models are their reduced towing capacities and their lack of true off-road capabilities, given their car-like unibody construction and lack of low-range four-wheel-drive gearing. That doesn't seem to bother those shoppers who responded to the survey. An overwhelming majority - 71 percent - said they would use their SUVs primarily for commuting or family use, with only a mere five percent citing off-road adventures as their main focus. Among the nine primary buying attributes cited in the poll, "towing capacity" (four percent) and "off-road prowess" (three percent) came in last.

"Substantially less than 10 percent (of SUV owners) indicate that they ever go off-roading," says George Peterson, president of the AutoPacific automotive research firm. "We actually think that the percentage that actually off-roads is less than five percent, but we have to go with what the owners report - off-road for some of these folks could be in the shopping mall parking lot."

While midsize five-passenger models still tend to dominate the SUV market - they're preferred by 40 percent of those responding to the BuyingAdvice.com survey - next in popularity at 18 percent each are two of the quickest-growing segments among CUVs, namely midsize seven-passenger and sporty compact models. The midsize seven-passenger segment includes the just-introduced Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, Hyundai Veracruz, Mazda CX-9 and Saturn Outlook, with the sporty compact segment encompassing new-for-2008 models like the Infiniti EX35, Land Rover LR2, Nissan Rogue and Volkswagen Tiguan, and the redesigned Saturn VUE.

A parade of even more new CUVs is just around the corner. While only 14 such models were offered in 2000, automakers are predicted to sell a combined 70 separate lines by 2009, according to J.D. Power and Associates. Some analysts predict that midsize truck-based models may eventually all but disappear from automakers' lineups. "This shift is far from over and will fundamentally change the mix of vehicles on the road in the years ahead," says J.D. Power's Jeff Schuster.

Published on Friday, September 14, 2007 - Email to a friend

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