Topic: True confessions

[Scaerio]

Well, I never thought I'd ever being saying this.  I never thought I'd ever consider buying an SUV, but this past weekend I rented the Embassy's "recreational vehicle," a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo V8.  It's a vehicle that has been retired from the motor pool, but is kept on hand as a rental vehicle for Canadian staff in Belgrade.  Legend has it that after the wars in ex-Yugoslavia, a Canadian working at the Embassy in Belgrade rented a local car with Belgrade plates and drove to Dubrovnik in Croatia.  The story goes that the rental car was demolished by local vandals because of the Belgrade plates.  The Embassy then decided to turn this old Cherokee into a rental car for Canadian staff because the diplomatic plates would help protect it from such incidents happening again in countries neighboring Serbia, specially Bosnia and Croatia.

Anyway, it was a hell of a lot of fun to drive a massive, overpowered monster through the streets of Belgrade.  It wasn't so much the size or the power, but the height that contributed to a sense of security, especially in this city's chaotic traffic.  Now I totally "get" the truck thing.

[nifty6]

Well, I never thought I'd ever being saying this.  I never thought I'd ever consider buying an SUV, but this past weekend I rented the Embassy's "recreational vehicle," a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo V8.  It's a vehicle that has been retired from the motor pool, but is kept on hand as a rental vehicle for Canadian staff in Belgrade.  Legend has it that after the wars in ex-Yugoslavia, a Canadian working at the Embassy in Belgrade rented a local car with Belgrade plates and drove to Dubrovnik in Croatia.  The story goes that the rental car was demolished by local vandals because of the Belgrade plates.  The Embassy then decided to turn this old Cherokee into a rental car for Canadian staff because the diplomatic plates would help protect it from such incidents happening again in countries neighboring Serbia, specially Bosnia and Croatia.

Anyway, it was a hell of a lot of fun to drive a massive, overpowered monster through the streets of Belgrade.  It wasn't so much the size or the power, but the height that contributed to a sense of security, especially in this city's chaotic traffic.  Now I totally "get" the truck thing.

pictures?

[HeliDriver]

Anyway, it was a hell of a lot of fun to drive a massive, overpowered monster through the streets of Belgrade.  It wasn't so much the size or the power, but the height that contributed to a sense of security, especially in this city's chaotic traffic.  Now I totally "get" the truck thing.

Welcome to the fold. 

For as long as we've been a two-car household, we've had one small, sportier car and one bigger (okay, often huge) SUV. Depending on the circumstances, either can be a thoroughly enjoyable vehicle to drive. Horses for courses, and all that...

[Benhaze]

A similar fun experience with a 1993 V8 Grand Cherokee got to eventually buy a 1998 and a 2002 Grand Cherokee. These can be quite fun to drive but the newer generation (1999+) not so great to own so be warned! Then Jeep lost its way with the 2005 model and has been seeking the beacon light since then...

[Wolverine]

I got the same impressions after I drove a Land Rover LR3 and a 1999 Mazda B2500. Will eventually have a truck/SUV some day, but only as a second car.

[airbalancer]

Once you have had a truck it hard to do without

[tpl]

Maybe so. But if you have never had one they are easy to resist.   

[sailor723]

We've always had one of our vehicles that can do all of the following....launch and retreive a small speedboat...... lug 3 people with 3 max sized suitcases and three carry-on bags to the airport...carry home a weekends worth of shopping after a pre-Christmas trip to the outlet malls in Maine....bring home sail bags,berth cushions etc from the sailboat in the fall (and back again come spring)....take the family 500 km to a ski condo with skis,bootbags,helmets,outerwear,luggage and a large cooler......get up our 100' driveway in 6-8" of snow.

 I've had an AWD SUV or wagon of some sort since the 80's and can't imagine ever being without one of our vehicles having these sort of capabilities.

[carcrazy]

Don't feel guilty. It happened to others too. Once you discover their benefits you'll understand why so many people are hooked on them.
I'm on my first SUV (since 2007), but I think I'll have one for many years to come for its utility and all-weather capabilities. I'm not into big cars and I don't have big family so a compact SUV does it for me.
The good thing is that most SUVs today are not a penalty to drive either. I drove some GM/Chrysler SUVs from early/mid 2000 and I found them awful compared to what it is available today.
We are a two-car household so the other car would always be a compact/subcompact as it would only be a commuter car. This way I can get the best of the two worlds.

[PlanB]

Anyway, it was a hell of a lot of fun to drive a massive, overpowered monster through the streets of Belgrade.  It wasn't so much the size or the power, but the height that contributed to a sense of security, especially in this city's chaotic traffic.  Now I totally "get" the truck thing.

Interesting, since you specifically mention the fact that the car is 'overpowered' you must have experimented with that 'power' and driven the car let's say 'enthusiastically' - logically then, the height that you mention giving you more security would in fact have been probably the worst factor in safety (raising your center of gravity) making the handling of the 'monster' that much worse. 

Granted, if you ever were in an accident the size and sheer mass surrounding the occupants would help in safety (if you could call it that) but I always find it funny when I hear people tell me they feel safer in an SUV/Truck than they do in a car/wagon when IMO the car/wagon most of the time will stop and handle (avoid collisions) far better than a comparible (seat occupancy) SUV and/or truck.