Team-BHP - Is an MUV or SUV really easy to drive in the city?

Its always been : 'might is right' in India. In the days of walking, a person on a horse was mightier, the person on an elephant the mightiest.

Likewise the truckwalla/ buswalla are truly road kings today followed by big suvs followed by large cars/small cars/rickshaws/scooters/bicycle and lastly the pedestrian.
On a lighter note: When you cant change this system then its best to follow it i guess.

Nothing is really easy to drive in Indian cities. There always is a fear of bumping into another vehicle, human or cow due to non adherence to the rules by majority of other elements on the road. Having said that, MUV or SUV can be easy as compared to Trucks or buses but it is always mostly tougher to maneuver a larger vehicle than a smaller car.

The logic that a larger vehicle is more respected is true but it is the larger vehicle that is assumed to be wrong in case of an accident. I think we should stick to smaller vehicles in cities considering the road space available here

People who drive hatchbacks and move to a sedan claim that sedans are difficult to drive. People who drive sedans claim that SUVs and MUVs are difficult to drive. It probably depends on the vehicle that you learned to drive in and are comfortable with (though both are not necessarily the same vehicle - I learned to drive in a Nissan Sunny but I am more comfortable with something bigger because I can't push the brake pedal all the way down in that tiny space between the steering wheel and the seat).

In Indian traffic, a sedan is perhaps the best vehicle size because you can stow away all of your luggage and seeing over the hood isn't a problem. In an SUV, visibility gets reduced because you can't see directly in front of the vehicle. An MUV reduces the problem a bit. Vehicles like the Ertiga are a lot like a stationwagon as they aren't as long as regular MUVs. If you do drive an SUV or an MUV, do look out for those tiny lanes in the city that are only wide enough for one vehicle.

My view after experiencing first hand drive in Hatchback, Sedan and SUV is as following

1 - Hatchback easy to drive in city, however one gets bullied easily
2 - Sedan is also equally easy to drive provided the handling is best in class. With Sedan also I experienced bullying even by autos as I need to save my skin rather than show ego or power.
3 - You have SUV, no one bullies, one gets the way to drive. With Scorpio I had only bigger SUVs bullying me, however when drove Ford Endy, the scenario changed to such an extent that I was king of the road.

Being said all above points, still SUV doesnot give driving pleasure in city drive as driver is stressed more in saving others than own. On a small 2 way road, most of the time it becomes difficult to drive. Hatch can without clutch brakes at moderate speeds, however SUV is forced to drive in max 2nd gear.

After all experiences, I still prefer Sedan only for city as can dump lots of grocery store visits, at the same time have comfort and pleasure of drive without getting stressed.