Why drive an SUV?

I recently bought an SUV- a Mitsubishi Endeavor. It drives pretty nice and smooth like a car and has space and power of an SUV. I have always wanted to own and drive an SUV despite the fact that cars usually give you more bang for the buck and come with more luxurious 'extras'. But people who like an SUV would always like an SUV for some reason or the other...All wheel drive, family and luggage space, towing ability, Off road etc etc...knowing fully well that these capabilities are required in minority of circumstances in the urban setting. Urban US settings, especially in the crowded expressways in East Coast require low floor fast moving cars that are highly manouverable and can change lanes quickly.

Anyway..here are some useful tips for SUV drivers whatever may be your reason for buying:

When approaching dips or descents on the trail, take your foot of the accelerator and let your momentum take you down, controlled with the brakes. Also keep in lower gears for steeper descents.

- In snow and ice, the faster you go, the longer and the more distance you will need to stop your vehicle. This applies to all vehicles. Also recall your physics class! The greater the mass of the vehicle, the more force/better grip is needed to control your vehicle. Therefore, drive slowly. The four-wheel drive works better when it has surfaces to grip.

- Make your turns at a slower speed to prevent the vehicle from tipping over due to its higher centre of gravity. I've seen an SUV on its side in the city because of a hard turn! The worse thing that could happen is having your SUV powerslide and then suddenly grip the road, causing you to tip over and perform some undesirable circus acts.

- Respect your SUV. It is not a WRC (World Rally Car) and you are not out there to win medals. Treat your SUV with respect, and it will return the favour.

- Just before you hit the peak when you ascend a climb, let your foot off some of the gas to prevent overshooting to the descent.

- Approach obstacles at an angle to prevent your SUV from being lodged upon the object. The rules here is to keep at least three tires on the ground at all times!

-In deep snow, again, use your momentum, epecially when going uphill. I've seen some SUVs lose momentum uphill when they decide to slow down or stop completely in the middle of an ascent. Then they start to slide backwards.

Most of these tips should be executed at slow speeds no greater than 50km/h. 15 to 30km/h is ideal.

Also you may want to visit this interesting site on SUV. http://www.ihateyoursuv.com/
Yes...it is about SUV haters...but like i said..it is interesting.