Yesterday I realised why some people with big SUVs may drive so badly
My gorgeous BMW 4 series coupe was hit on the driver side by a kid this weekend and Enterprise gave me as a replacement a Volvo XC90. Well, this car is the worst thing I have ever driven in my life.
On paper, it's not significantly bigger than mine, excluding the height, but the way in which you see the road is just deceiving.
-You cannot see the kerbs (sorry for the previous American wrong spelling) if they are closer than 1 metre to your side. In which world my coupe is better at something like that?
-No matter how you fix the seat, the wheel is never at the right distance. It's like if it was planned for short women, no offence to short women.
-The wheel is so little and light that it seems to drive a go-kart. Again, were short women their target?
-At any turn it seems you are just about to roll over any moment. I know that a common problem with SUVs, but in a car like this which is relatively quick it's just disturbing.
I understand that the 7 seats may be a necessity for some and that those Volvos are very safe, but come on, those cars are just too big and obnoxious to drive.
At some points I found myself crossing the middle lane without even realising it or going faster than I was thinking without realising it. I know I would get used to it eventually, but if an experienced driver like me who has driven pretty much everything in the last 20 years and who was a semi-prodessional rally driver make such mistakes so easily with these cars, imagine someone with little experience or used to drive a Kia Picanto.
I have already asked for a more 'normal' car to Enterprise and hopefully they will give me something more suitable soon. Sorry for the rant, but I really felt the need to vent my frustration.
Edit: to everyone saying this proves I’m a bad driver: sorry for saying out loud that an oversized SUV can make even an experienced driver commit rookie mistakes before they’ve recalibrated to it.
The fact that I noticed those mistakes immediately is kind of the core point of the post. Bad SUV drivers may never notice they’re doing the same thing and then accuse everyone else of having “skill issues.”