Americans buying more SUVs, not family cars

When Americans switched in droves to fuel-hungry SUVs a generation ago, the movement was viewed in some quarters as wasteful and planet-destroying.

Now the switch has come again, only this time without the guilt trip that was laid on buyers last time.

Reason: Automakers have made small crossovers so fuel efficient compared to midsize cars that there’s little to be upset about.

A new study by TrueCar.com finds tooling around in a small SUV is no longer that wasteful. The sales-weighted fuel economy average is only 2 miles per gallon apart (26.83 mpg SUV vs. 28.84 mpg sedan); SUV owners typically will pay only another $3 more tankful to fill up their SUV compared to a sedan.

Of course, the SUV of today has changed dramatically from the ones that ruled the highways in the 1990s. They are unibody construction, combining the chassis and body into one. Not only does its give them more car-like driving characteristics, but it saves hundreds of pounds per vehicle compared to the previous method of attaching the body to the frame, still the preferred method on big pickups.

Engines are smaller and more fuel efficient. And some of the crossovers are smaller, too, so they save more gas. One of the hottest segments in the auto industry is a new class of small SUV, with models such as the Fiat 500X, Chevrolet Trax and Honda HR-V.

“Improved fuel efficiency in top-sellers like Honda’s CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Ford Escape, Chevy Equinox and Nissan Rogue mean that car buyers see little fuel economy penalty in exchange for much greater utility,” TrueCar.com said in a statement.

“Improved fuel efficiency in top-sellers ... mean that car buyers see little fuel economy penalty in exchange for much greater utility.”

TrueCar.com