This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Consumer Reports writes, "Just because a big, heavy vehicle has the advantage in a head-on with a smaller, lighter one, it doesn't mean that lighter vehicles are unsafe. In short, SUVs are somewhat safer than sedans-but chiefly because of the danger posed to sedans by SUVs. No less a car enthusiast than Shop Class as Soulcraft and Why We Drive author Matthew Crawford writes, on the rise of large SUVs, "we have been engaged in an arms race of vehicular mass." He also agrees with something that some studies have suggested: the perception of SUVs as very safe-safer than they really are-encourages inattentive or even reckless driving, a phenomenon akin to the "rebound effect" in energy economics. The main benefit of an SUV in a crash is its heavy weight, which as mentioned above, many station wagons had too.īut heavy weight compared to what? Smaller cars. They're more susceptible to rollovers due to a higher center of gravity, for example. However, the SUV's safety benefits are less than many consumers think. SUVs and minivans, which largely replaced wagons, are widely perceived as safer in crashes, given the driver's high position and the vehicle's overall mass. They resemble lower-rise minivans and function about the same, despite being essentially elongated sedans. These vehicles boasted powerful engines and could weigh well into the 4,000-pound range.
Station wagon plus#
The station wagon, with its roomy trunk, wide interior, and seating, as in the now-collectible Buick Roadmaster Estate, for up to eight people (or fewer people plus equipment, bikes, or pets) clearly answered this demand.
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