Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), Japan: SUV is simply the abbreviation for ‘sport utility vehicle’. It is a powerful used vehicle with four-wheel drive that can be driven over harder terrains and conditions. Despite, of the fact that, many of the SUVs are built on light-truck chassis although they are operated as family car.
The unique SUV design with comfortable interiors and light handling, and spacious interior to comfortably seat five to seven people, depending upon the size. Examples are Toyota Harrier, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, Toyota Rav4, Honda CR-V, Nissan X-trail etc.
Subscribe our YouTube Channel to get the latest updated video for Japan Used Cars market information.
The shape and design of the SUV:
SUVs use a “body on frame” design. In that case, the body is built separately from the frame and placed together later.
Many SUVs have been an upright built body and tall interior packaging, with a high seating position and center of gravity, and they are available all-wheel drive for off road capability. Some of the SUVs includes the towing capacity of a pickup truck with passenger carrying capacity of minivan or large sedan cars. The traditionally based SUV truck is more and more being supplanted by unitary body SUVs and crossover based on regular automobile platforms for lighter weight and better fuel efficiency. In recent years, in some countries the term SUV has replaced terms like “Jeep” or “Land-Rover” in the popular lexicon as a generic description for light 4WD vehicles.
SUV Market Segment Classifications:
Mini SUV:
The mini Suv also known as subcompact crossover, it is a class of small sport utility vehicles. This term is generally used for crossovers based on supermini platforms. For the very first time mini SUVs appeared in year 1990 and they were built on body-on-
frame chassis as off-road vehicles. Such as the Suzuki Samurai which is brand from Japan. Still many of the current models use this concept. Because of their off-road process and more manageable size on the trail. Nowadays, Modern SUVs build on unibody construction and offer only fewer off-road capabilities, hence falling into the crossover SUV category.
The Nissan Juke from Japan has started the trend of modern mini SUVs that are based on unibody construction since early 2010s. Examples: Toyota Rush, Mitsubishi Pajero IO, Toyota C-HR, Suzuki Jimny, Nissan Juke, Honda HR-V.
Compact SUV:
It is a class of smaller SUVs that are commonly built with less cargo and passenger space, and often with smaller engines resulting in better fuel economy. The term is often interchangeable with crossover SUV. In many country markets they were originally a sub-segment of Utility Vehicles. But the smaller size versions have grown to become a dominant segment.
The modern compact SUV models were introduced in 1983. Most compact SUVs since the mid-2000s are crossover SUVs with monocoque construction and limited off-road capabilities. These models are often derived from a compact car or small family automobile platform. There are many different brands and models available in this market segment across numerous national markets. Example: Subaru Forester, Nissan Rogue, Nissan X-Trail, Toyota Land Cruiser (J70).
Mid-Size SUV:
A mid-size SUV is a class of medium-sized SUVs whose size typically falls between that of a full-size and a compact SUV. This term is not commonly used outside North America, where full size and midsize SUVs are considered similar. Examples : Mazda CX-8, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota 4 Runner.
Full-Size SUV:
Full-size SUVs have greater cargo and passenger space than midsize SUVs. Full Size SUVs are usually given higher safety ratings than their smaller counterparts. Examples: Mitsubishi Pajero, Nissan Armada, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Sequoia.
Extended-Length SUV:
Sometimes, it is based on long wheel SUV. These are the vehicles that are similar to a full-size SUV, except of that these vehicles have a larger cargo area of around 3.30 m and passenger space that can seat up to 8 or 9 people with the available third row seating that when folded or removed and can adds more cargo space. Examples: Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Suburban, T-98 Kombat.
Luxury SUV:
Also, numerous luxury vehicles in the form of SUVs and pickup trucks are being produced. The luxury SUV class encompasses both smaller 5-passenger SUVs and larger 7-passenger SUVs, with luxury features both inside of the cabin but also in the outside. Luxury SUVs typically offer the most expected safety features including side airbags, ABS and traction control, and many of them also come with electronic stability control, crash resistant door pillars, dynamic head restraints and backup sensing systems.
Use of SUV’s in the Remote Area:
SUVs are sometimes driven off-road on farms and in remote areas of such places as the Australian Outback, Africa, the Middle East, Alaska, Canada, Iceland, South America, Russia and parts of Asia which have limited paved roads and require a vehicle to have all-terrain handling, increased range, and storage capacity. The scarcity of spare parts and the need to carry out repairs quickly resulted in the popularity of vehicles with the bare minimum of electric and hydraulic systems, such as the basic versions of the Land Rover, Jeep Wrangler, Nissan Patrol and Toyota Land Cruiser.
Some buyers choose SUVs because they have more interior space than sedans of similar sizes. In areas with gravel roads in summer and snow and ice in winter, four-wheel drives offer a safety advantage due to their traction advantages under these conditions.
Use in Recreation and Motorsport:
Some highly modified SUVs, together with their more rugged off-road counterparts, are also used to explore places otherwise unreachable by other vehicles. Modified SUVs also take part in off-road racing competitions, including the Dakar Rally, Baja 1000, FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup, King of the Hammers and Australasian Safari. The Trophee Andros ice-racing series is another competition where SUVs participate as well.
Why SUV are becoming so popular?
- SUV’s, come in all shapes and sizes and at pretty much any price point.
- SUVs are the Swiss Army Knife of cars; you can drive them on good roads, bad roads or in the absence of roads and they’ll take it all pretty much in stride.
- SUVs do it better than almost anything; the high roof, low floor and wagon shape give SUVs comparatively boundless headroom, legroom and storage space.
- The higher ride height, taller doors and shorter sills mean drivers and passengers don’t have to bend and stoop like they would in sedans and hatchback, which means less effort, less pain and more dignity.
- SUV’s are the great family car, Great for families that take road trips.
- They offers better visibility while driving, for elderly and people with mobility problems, SUVs offer convenience as they are easier to enter and exit.
- They are safer to drive in harsh weather.
Top popular Suvs are:
SUVs gives you an experience of a balanced driving between comfort and style. They are very much practical and safer with lots of adorable features. There is no better way to cram everything you own and love into one vehicle.
