The average car purchased in 2023 emits higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) than its 2013 equivalent. This is due to the large proportion of SUVs in the mix, which tend to be bigger and heavier.

boem@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 1670 points –
Which pollutes more: a new SUV or a 10-year-old conventional vehicle?
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anyone who buys an SUV is a stupid fucker. there are other types of cars that have just as much unnecessary seat space in them. if you bought an SUV I'm talking directly to you and I'm calling you an idiot to your face. on the internet.

My Ford Taurus isn't going to get into the Uintas or Wasatch range. Getting rid of my SUV will really hurt my wifes ability to release rehabilitated animals.

But, I don't want to be a stupid fucker. What should I get after I get rid of my SUV?

Subaru hatchbacks are great off road and have about the same capacity as most SUVs.

100% agree. I'm a handyman and drive an outback. People are usually surprised when I open the hatch and it's full of my tool boxes.

Pretty low clearance but maybe we can get some beavers in there.

I was being snarky originally but you could have a point there.

You are literally the only reason they should exist. One does not need such a car in suburbs or cities.

Just require a commercial license/insurance for vehicles that large (and up)

You’ll have a lot less people who don’t need them

The older (until 2003 ish) Impreza can hold a whole ass washer/dryer/oven/dishwasher in the back no issue then they made it too round. I remember helping someone move and they had a stupid "truck" but could not get the bed cover off so me and my snoopy looking car moved all the appliances (3 trips) while the "truck" moved boxes and flat furniture.

Edit to add:

If you want to have a better chance at offroad with a subaru invest in a good skidplate and if really needed they have a higher clearance model. I have been places in them that the brodozers get stuck in seconds.

Even an older model SUV like a Honda CRV will take up a lot less space than its modern counterpart. Station wagons can be sexy too if that's your style.

Don't let me start about my station wagon. I can get them back seats perfectly horizontal connecting the back space with middle and it makes comfy double bed. Not to mention that under the floor there are tons of storage spaces to keep all the tools and food or whatever out of the way.

Emissions make sense to me, but does conserving space actually matter?

In cities it does. Here where I live there's being made a point of existing parking spaces being too narrow for modern cars. They are so much wider these days.

While parent is extreme and minimizes that some people have legitimate needs... You do raise another interesting point... You have an SUV and a Fullsize Sedan. I'm sure you have your reasons but it's an amusing anecdote.

yeah. turns out animal rehibition isn't very profitable and I wasn't really expecting to end up in a responsible/respectable life. We bought what we could afford.

I take my electric skateboard to school when I can(weather permitting) , but I will choose shitty emissions for a 10-50 mile drive to save an animals life over letting it die or live in a cage. and honestly, I am only going to school to get money to expand the rehabilitation.. I will try to get a vehicle that is better for the environment when I can afford it though.

A station wagon is easier for moving animals, more space than a small SUV - it's lower to the ground (huge plus if you have to lift them in, easier for them if you are leading them up a portable ramp).

The trade off is you can't do soft sand, cross deeper streams etc, but IMO animals don't need to be released far off track, to me it's worth the trade off.

People driving heavy terrain in wilderness around here use small jeep like cars. Even US army used use them back in the day before monster trucks became a thing.
Edit: I meant small variants. Not the big size ones.

A jeep is definitely a SUV

A four door jeep is very much a SUV, a two door jeep less so.

I don't think I agree. Pretty sure a 2 door jeep is still a sport utility vehicle

I am not a jeep fan but I don't think I can put a 2 door YJ in the same category as say an escalade. We need to make trains and smaller cars cool again.

But it's not huge ass truck like vehicle. One is parked right next to mu European sized car and Jeep's smaller overall even if bit higher due to being offroad vehicle.

Edit: I mean small jeeps. Not their big variants.

I think point of critique of modern SUV usage is about their unnecessary big size and weight which leads to space wasting and higher fuel consumption which has its own negatives.

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What about BEV SUVs?

They are a lot more efficient in their class and might convince some ICE drivers to switch. Their range tends to be quite good. Unfortunately they have drawbacks:

  • They require a very large battery. If you don't find >150kW chargers, you'll be waiting a long time
  • More batteries per car = worse environmental impact from production
  • Road degradation grows by the fourth power w.r.t. vehicle weight. The big batteries make electric SUVs very heavy
  • SUVs are more dangerous for pedestrians due to their size
  • In a crash SUVs deliver much more energy, killing more people.

it's a fucking stupid piece of shit for the same reason the other ones are pieces of shit. you think electricity is magic or something? like it comes free out of God's asshole? your car sucks ass you fell for a scam

It comes from the same ball of gases in the sky that you apparently stared at for too long.

how do you think solar panels and batteries and electrical infrastructure are made do those come from God's ball of dicks too

People say everything is possible ? Musk, the step father of the modern EVs also said electricity would be free back in the day. Something's fishy around here.

I can make my own.. Do you make your own gas?

I could, it's just a chemical. I watched people making fuel from plastic waste . Why?

I used to know a lady who made her own ethanol from old news papers and a still, but I get your point.

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Suzuki Ignis is stupid then?

Kinda yeah, why not buy a hatchback instead? The Suzuki being taller will inherently have more wind resistance, hence worse gas milage and Co2. Unless you absolutely need the extra ground clearance, which very very few do, it's stupid.

It is taller but it's overall still a small car and also very light. It also uses battery to help with acceleration a bit (mild hybrid). I don't think just because it's taller it automatically makes it worse. There must be other factors to consider too.

And the reason I personally don't like hatchbacks is because I'm quite tall and I don't like sitting low as it feels uncomfortable to me and makes getting in and out of a car pain in the ass... especially when parking near other cars with little space to open the door.

I don't think just because it's taller it automatically makes it worse.

It makes it get less mpg/range. Also Less "safe" as the higher center of gravity will mean taking emergency maneuvers "swerving to avoid collision" more difficult and the chance of rollover more likely. These are just facts.

And the reason I personally don't like hatchbacks is because I'm quite tall and I don't like sitting low as it feels uncomfortable to me and makes getting in and out of a car pain in the ass...

I'm 6'5 and understand where you're coming from but, your comfort is basically bad for the environment in a small minute way is my point. I'm sure it's still more efficient then 99% of cars in general by the sound of it though.

You're the asshole here. There's SUVs and crossovers (aka short SUVs), almost zero sedans are manufactured these days thanks to the dumb ass govt and cafe. I don't even want nor have**** an SUV, but judging people for having something you don't want is ignorant and foolish. People pick from what is available for the most part. Giant cheap ass SUVs are easier to find than a small sedan that gets 4 mpg better mileage and that's the govt's fault.

it has nothing to do with personal preference. that is your own selfish rhetorical frame. those things are wasteful and dangerous and require shitty hostile infrastructure. they are also a huge scam and you don't need one. this is why Americans are depressed as fuck.

I have a 7 seat tandem bicycle and tow a wagon on my grocery trips. Don't mind the fact that the nearest Walmart is a 14 mile trip since I can't take the highway on my 7 seat bicycle, that's not relevant. I just have to keep in mind that as my toddlers grow their pedals and seats need to be adjusted, but at least they should have more power to drive us up 15° grades as they grow. Thank goodness we will never have to leave our home in any case of emergency because our nearest hospital is only 10 miles away, well, make that 20 miles since we can't use the highway. At least we have the consolation of only getting 8' of snow each winter. Could be worse. Just gotta get my 4 year old to use his weight for traction. So long as we have public transport we should be just fine. All I have to do now is lobby my government for the infrastructure to create public transport. That should be easy. I mean it's one infrastructure, what could it cost? $10?

sounds like a shitty life

Sounds like you don't understand that other people's lives are different from your own.

I have an SUV thst weighs 2,000 pounds and has a 1.3 liter engine, it seats two, you need to stop being a dumbass and sell your gas guzzling car because it absolutely has more wasted seats and a larger engine.

What suv is that?

It's a crossover. Mine has an even smaller engine.

Ok but, what make and model exactly?

Kona 1 liter

Why not get the i30 instead though? They're the same car but the Kona gets less gas milage and is worse for the environment?

Kona -

Emission NEDC CO₂, Combined 117 g/km

Fuel Consumption NEDC City 6 l/100km Highway 4.7 l/100km Combined 5.2 l/100km

I30 -

Emission NEDC CO₂, Combined 117 g/km

Fuel Consumption NEDC City 5.4 l/100km Highway 4 l/100km Combined 4.5 l/100km

Kona info

i30 info

Why not the i20? Why not the i10? Why not walking?

I like the Kona so I bought it. Now I have it and I like it so I'll keep having it.

The whole point of this post is how cars today emit more Co2 than they did ten years ago. I'm just pointing out that people like you are the reason this is true. The Kona is literally(not figuratively) an i30 jacked up a couple of inches and now emits more Co2.

Maybe I wanted to buy a slightly higher car and find the Kona more appealing than the i30. Who are you to police my taste? It's still a car that's not the gas guzzler you try to portray. You could also say the i30 is just a slightly bigger version than the i20 and now emmits more CO2. Where do you cross the line?

In my country I actually pay taxes according to engine size and emissions and guess what, I pay very little because it's still on the lower end of the pollution scale. It's a 3 cylinder for Christ's sake! I don't see you complain to sedan, offroad or sports car owners, and they pollute (and pay) way more than a small crossover. Or people that use their car everyday. I ride a small 125cc motorcycle everytime it is not raining. I bet I pollute a lot less than you do.

I dislike big SUV's as much as you, but I find odd people trying to put them all in the same boat ignoring their body and engine size. People like what they like and have no need to justify themselves. If you're worried about pollution talk numbers because that's what really matters.

  1. I'm not judging you or telling you what to buy with your money. Everything I wrote is factual.
  2. The i20 is a smaller car than the i30. When I say the Kona is literally the same car as the i30 I mean literally the same car. Same size, same chassis, same interior, made in the same factory. It's the same exact car except with one being taller and because of that height gets worse gas milage/more Co2.
  3. If you're upset that someone wrote an article about your life choices, take it up with them. The authors name is at the top.
  1. That's pretty much all you did.

  2. It's not the same but, even if it was, why can't I prefer a taller car? You are judging according to your preferences. If I had chosen a sedan you wouldn't care. By the way, what do YOU drive. I bet it has a bigger engine than mine, yet here you are.

  3. I answered a comment, not the article. I'm actually inclined to agree with the article. You're the one that felt the need to pick up a fight from your own high horse. Just because I reminded someone not all SUV's are huge trucks with huge engines. How dare I prefer something your excellency finds not due if thy approval.

And regarding the i30 and the Kona, you have no clue what you're talking about. I actually took my time to pick that car. They both use the same platform, yes, but that's it (obviously, they share some of the same equipment) . The Kona was supposed to be a crossover version of the i20 but they used the bigger platform to accommodate the electric version. That was way before they came up with the Bayon.

I never considered the i30 because it was out of my price range. Yeah, price is a factor buddy. Yes, the Kona was considerably cheaper than the i30. I was actually debating between the Kona and the Citroën C3. They had similar prices. But I wanted a larger car so the Kona was a no brainer. I basically got something like an i30 for the price of an i20 and boy am I happy.

So, with the dilemma of having the car I needed or your approval, well...how hard could it be. So, get a life.

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