Yes, SUVs are more of a pain in Europe and Britain, where roads are narrower and cities aren't built on a grid system. Large SUVs (even Merc MLs and BMW X5 seem big in Europe, they are considerably larger than the average car) are more suited to America which has no shortage of space. SUVs are particularly annoying in our car parks as they take up so much space, in America car parks have more space. There's also the environmental issue. Admittedly I wouldn't hesistate to buy a gas-guzzling sports car or luxury sedan (if I could afford one), so maybe this makes me a hypocrite, but I kind of wish there weren't so many SUVs around (America seems to have the most) it would be better for the environment. I find myself worrying more and more about climate change. Above all I just can't understand the appeal of an SUV unless you really needed one. A lot of crossover SUVs (X5, Q7, Cayenne) are plain ugly, they seem to be so ungainly, even though some of them are fast (though a fast SUV just doesn't seem safe to me). Would you really rather have a BMW X5 than a BMW 5-series? And don't forget the issue of big SUVs being dangerous to pedestrians and smaller, regular cars if they hit them. But I'm sure you've heard all this before, ahight, God knows I've said all this many times before, so if you still can't understand why some people dislike SUVs, there's probably not much else I can say. But I don't mind the smaller SUVs like the Honda CRV so much, and if your mother has a bad back and finds it easier with the CRV I guess that's OK. But I've never liked this "I like to sit higher than other cars" reason, if you want to sit higher up in traffic, go and ride the bus!