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-   -   Is an MUV or SUV really easy to drive in the city? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/97467-muv-suv-really-easy-drive-city-2.html)

Well I own a Safari and a Nano, two extremely different ends, I'll tell you my experience with both in city as well as highway driving.

First of all the respect on the road you get when you are in an SUV is awesome, an example : When I travel to the city, there is a crossroad I got to cross which is manned by a traffic cop, I always see that whenever I am in the Safari, the cop sees that I cross first and then stop the cars behind me to let the other cars cross. But when I am in the Nano, at the same place whenever the cop sees me coming, always he will stop me first to let the other cars pass.

Well If your in a SUV bikers don't seem to come close to your car especially on the left hand side to overtake but when you are in a Nano, don't ask they drive me nuts!:Frustrati

Well the third thing that comes to my mind is when any situation where only one car has to pass at a time like when theres is a broken truck on the road or something, you know you will get to pass as Soon as you flash your headlights of your SUV but when you're in a car like the Nano they think you dont exist.

Well the only plus point of a Nano is the parking, whenever I am in the city it becomes difficult to park the SUV or I have to search for the same preferred parking so that the tail of my ride is not extending too much out of the parking space, but when in the Nano, I am care free:D

Oh Boy ! YES is the answer . IMHO ,a SUV / MUV is way easier to drive in city limits . You just take control of the road .

The Simple factor is the huge size it carries and the " Nobody Messes with ME" kind of an attitude . The sheer size of the vehicle(s) is such that all the JAMES ( bikes /autowalas / cabbies ) , who drive wayward cutting lanes Left to right without honking /indicators , just maintain a handful of distance from the vehicle .

The high GC offers the driver better road visibility / traffic density to change lanes ever so quickly . Least to say the Macho feeling inside would fill you up and you tend to be Macho , hence nobody messes with you .

I have never seen / hardly seen the local transport (PMT) buses giving side to cars/ hatches to go ahead , but while in SUV / MUV , a simple dipper / honk plays the trick and you could see it making way or a "Please wait signal " . It definately gets respect on road .

Parking , well thats something very subjective and all I would conclude it with that it definately takes more space than a Hatch but all ends up at the confidence that you drive it with . Parking them at tight spots is not as easy as a hatch but everything comes at a price ( I am prepared to take the pain of parking (a few mins game ) .. if I get on road respect (substantial time) ) .

The bottom line in context with Indian traffic could be " BADA hai to Better hai " :D

Though the Estilo is the preferred vehicle to go inside the city (purely from parking and ability to get into narrow roads) - Xylo does score in terms of more road presence louder horn and overall might characteristics.

Because of a higher stance most bikers' RVM go underneath the Xylo RVM unlike the Estilo where you can be sure that a few bikes will brush your RVMs.

For all their ignorance about laws of physics, braking distance and the good stuff - most people will let a bigger vehicle pass before jutting out into your lane at intersections - no such concession for a hatch.

Hahaha kaviprem, I meant I take around 10 mins more than what I used to take in my Esteem for my daily office commute.

I wish we all could cover 11kms in 10 mins - that would be a drivers paradise I bet :)

All are good points but i dont agree 100%. In Pune, roads are not that wide. So its tough to drive a big vehicle. Yes, people will fear, give respect to your vehicle for sure but after all u have to drive it. In some areas like city area its very difficult to drive big vehicle. Problems increase when u want to take U turn or reverse the vehicle on the small roads.

Also parking is a very big issue now a days in Pune. So finding enough space is another problem with the bigger cars. On some busy streets its very difficult to find the suitable place :Frustrati

Ease of driving is subjective - For me, I always find my hatch to be more comfortable and easy to drive compared to my scorpio within the city. This is due to the fact that the ergonomics and space management in scorpio isnt too very good and the clutch/gear shift etc requires substantially more effort compared to a hatch/sedan. But then thats the compromise you need to make for the advantages mentioned above.

I have some experience with the Sumo. To me more than anything else it is the 'height'. Its like sitting in a commanding position! So you have a good view of the road and oncoming traffic so you can drive 'freely', but not that 'easily' as a 'soft' hatchback I feel. Plus the fact many mentioned that seeing a Sumo or Scorpio or an Innova lesser cars give way!!! lol:

Sir, come to Bangalore and you'll feel Pune is a 6-lane expressway!

Btw, Bangalore has just started introducing the Odd-Even date-wise parking that Pune has been having since ages.

Worst part of Bangalore, the one-ways; you go to a place thru' one road and come back from a totally another part of the city!

Agree to the bad roads in Blore. But who told the even-odd parking is just being introduced in Blore? I have seen it way back in 2004-05 when I first came here. Are 'u' new here? :)

Well, none of the roads I went until recently had it. When I asked someone about it, they really did not know.

Came across odd-even parking some time back so thought they finally figured it out. Guess their first preference is making the road one-way :D

Looks like this is turning into a roads / infrastructure discussion. And quite rightly so.

Coming to the topic, I feel SUVs go better in city conditions. For me, parameters for easy drive in city includes better drivability, handling and comfort. Comfortable interiors play an important role because, in heavy traffic conditions you normally end up spending quite a lot of time inside the cabin. And the SUVs are better equipped to provide that, in comparison with the MUVs we have currently. And personally I don't subscribe to the notion about the respect MUVs command.

Some of the factors involved in city driving are

1) Maneuvering in crowded traffic (Light steering at slow speeds could come handy)
2) Adjust to quick stop and go / bumper to bumper traffic (AT would be very helpful here)
3) Easy to Park (big vehicles are relatively tougher to park in streets, especially parallel parking)
4) Low end Torque (to zip ahead from traffic lights)
5) Good comfortable interiors are always helpful

Though some SUV/MUVs are good to drive in cities, not all of them are and there is a reason almost all city cars are small too :).

With that said, especially in India it is not a common practice for majority public to have multiple cars - one for city and one for highway. So, I guess for practical/budget reasons if an SUV/MUV is bought then it ends up being used for local and highway. In our case, we have a Scorpio and that is used for local and highway. We don't have much to complain so far :)

I don't think width of road matters that much (theoretically this may sound wrong though). In tight roads, when 2 vehicles are traveling face to face, the thumb rule is "smaller one give way to big (or the rugged) one".
Frankly before reading this thread I never ever given any thought on "bigger size could be better while travelling in city", but suddenly things started making sense. I don't have an SUV/MUV, but I have a bike and I travel regularly from kothrud to hadapsar on bike. When overtaking is concerned, Sumo sometimes yes, but never dared to overtake Safari or Scorpio. as "a simple flying kiss from them could set me flying".


+1 to clutch and gear shift issue. Very valid point. When I TDed Scorpio few days back in city traffic, I was quite irritated by gear shifts, especially the vibrations of gear lever.

This is very much true. My friend and I travel together to our office and we prefer Scorpio over I10 for city driving. I personally prefer scorpio over any other vehicle in city. You dont have to drive aggressively. Even if you go on a moderate speed people give way, especially, the cabs and autos.

Also, it depends on where you live. We live in medavakkam and come till santhome. Most of our route has wider roads. Whereas if you have to use through center of the city like tnagar, vadapalani, saligramam then SUV will be a bit pain. Not 'cos of driving but the turns and roads are not wide enough and you cant really pull over in most of the roads for even a few mins.

As for driving in the city, personally, I dont find it to be any different. But yes at times, in tight spots, you may have to wait a bit more rather than being able to somehow squeeze through

I am now keen on getting an SUV. Why? Because, I am fedup of the way bikes try to squeeze between cars, when you are taking a turn, they also try to turn in that narrow gap and the list is endless

So, with an SUV, I am sure no one would try these stunts with me. Also, for my height, I need something bigger soon