Hooniverse Asks: Do you think fast SUVs make sense?

Jeff Glucker

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There’s some news dropping later today about a certain full-size luxury sport utility vehicle. You’re going to learn a lot more about what’s in store for the Cadillac Escalade-V. Before that arrives though, I want to ask if you think fast SUVs make sense?

There’s no question there’s fun to be had with an over-powered sport-utility vehicle. Land Rover has been making them for years. Recently, more automakers have gotten into the fun. And Land Rover wasn’t the first either. Remember the GMC Typhoon? Dumb question because of course you do. Now we have all sorts of SUVs that can hit insane speeds, blitz through quarter miles, and generally do pretty silly yet entertaining stuff.

But I’m sure a lot of you would rather be doing this stuff in a car or wagon, right? Maybe not… maybe some of you love the idea of a powerful throne raised up a bit from those around you. I get that too. I recently spent time with a Jaguar F-Pace SVR and it was hilarious good fun. That Defender V8 I drove was a blast. And I have to imagine, based on some stuff I already know, that the Cadillac Escalade-V will be an oversized riot of a good time.

About

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker is the co-founder and Executive Editor of Hooniverse.com. He’s often seen getting passed as he hustles a 1991 Mitsubishi Montero up the 405 Freeway. IG: @HooniverseJeff

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8 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: Do you think fast SUVs make sense?”

  1. Mister Sterling Avatar
    Mister Sterling

    Anything fast is fun. As we’ve seen, high horsepower vehicles eventually end up owned by kids in cities who wreck them and kill pedestrians and bicyclists. New York City has a serious problem now that overboosted German sedans and Chargers are in the hands of 17 year old gang bangers. It’s been a bad week in New York. I think we will have 10 dead in 7 days going back to Friday May 6. I really hope the EV era introduces speed limiting tech for city driving. Drive 120MPH to Vegas, but keep it under 26MPH in NYC.

    Reply
  2. mdharrell Avatar
    mdharrell

    I’m not the person to ask, as I don’t even think fast race cars make sense.

    Reply
  3. Neight428 Avatar
    Neight428

    Absurd power is actually most enjoyable out in the wide open spaces which tend to require a road trip to get to in the first place.

    It’s rare that I don’t deeply appreciate more power.

    Reply
  4. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    Joining in on the “power is good”-mantra, but if it “makes sense”? All I can think of with the lead photo above is the absolutely terrible, mind-bogglingly confusing forward visibility. How do trends come about that make people want to buy vehicles inspired by semi-aesthetics? We all truckers now?

    But, yes, I’d love to try one! I still remember driving a Volvo XC90 T6 at a Volvo event when it was all new (I was running the then-largest Volvo forum in the world back then). By today’s American standards, it’s rather compact, but I found it huge. 272hp were unheard of. That’s almost 20 years ago, it just hit me, but a 2t rocket was novelty back then.

    Reply
  5. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    Business sense or real world sense? I have no interest in going any bigger than an F-Pace for something with tons of power (and even the similar sized 392 Wrangler is still goofy), but I get that people buy them.

    Reply
  6. OA5599 Avatar
    OA5599

    As a long-time owner of a Typhoon (and formerly of a Syclone), let me remind everyone that a Typhoon doesn’t do SUV things well. It doesn’t haul a lot of people or stuff, off-roading is out of the question because ground clearance is practically nonexistent (and you definitely don’t want to damage the cladding) and the rims have the rigidity of marshmallows, it doesn’t come equipped to tow a trailer (and if you do add a hitch, it shouldn’t tow much more than a pair of jet skis), it isn’t easy to get in or out of, and it will be hidden in a parking lot since whatever is parked next to it will probably be taller and longer.

    But it’s extremely fun to drive, and if Cadillac wants to build high performance into a real SUV that can haul ass with three rows of your close friends or a buddy and a sheet of plywood, they have my permission.

    Reply
  7. crank_case Avatar
    crank_case

    Of course not, but few consumer products do – though why anyone with the money to buy a Lamborghini Urethra / Cadillac Darkwing Duck would go with an arguably slower, more expensive to run thing in the age of Rivians. It seems to me that this sort of vehicle is a daily driver thing and the one most suited to a honking huge battery and all the torques from electric motors. They’re bought as OTT daily drivers, not really your weekend LOLs car that still does make sense for being ICE.

    Reply
  8. Salguod Avatar
    Salguod

    Big time power means you can get into big time trouble in a big time hurry. I get the appeal, but 200-300 HP with good handling is a lot of fun for a daily and you have to work harder to do something stupid.

    Reply