Throwback Thursday: The real reasons not to buy an SUV

Call them crossovers, call them SUVs—just don't call them yours.

That has been, and continues to be, the consensus from the Motoring TV team since the show's earliest days.

And sure, SUVs have come a long way, but most of the reasons Jim Kenzie laid out as to why not to buy an SUV way back in 1997 still hold water today.

"There are some safety advantages of vehicles like this," Jim said of the then-current crop of SUVs on the market. "First of all, they are heavy, and, all else being equal, a heavy vehicle is safer than a light vehicle."

Jim also said that the higher vantage point afforded by most SUVs gives drivers a better vantage point.

But from four-wheel drive that does nothing to stop the vehicle any quicker to slower passing ability and longer distances to come to a stop, the SUV hasn't been, and continues not to be, the best choice out there.

This segment originally appeared on Episode 5 of Motoring 1997.