[newoldbeemer]

.. or is it just me?

After a long time I drove an SUV this weekend - a friend's Audi Q5 - about 200 miles, and it reminded me of the same thoughts I had when I drove other SUVs before.

I've only driven two other SUVs before, on long-ish drives (> 100 miles). Those were a Ford Explorer and a GMC Acadia. On both occassions, I felt very unsafe / unstable driving those cars. I had this constant feeling that the car would topple or go out of control. I couldn't get used to such a high riding position or rather, high center of gravity. The body roll in the corners and the scary lean when taking corners without braking would unnerve me (I'm not referring to turns, I'm talking curves on the highway here). That was sometime back, I had just chalked it up to those cars being Ford and GMC.

But the one I drove this weekend was an Audi Q5 - a car I guess people consider to have relatively "sporty" handling. Well I couldn't call it "sporty" at all! Coming from an F30 (an E90 before that and a Mazda 3 before that), I guess it could be just me being too used to cars that handle well.

So I'm wondering, is my driving style too adjusted to cars that handle well? Is my judgment of SUVs correct, or am I just driving them wrong (i.e they need to be driven in a different way)? Or is it just a question of getting used to the sitting height and "trusting" the car to rise to the occasion?

I am not new to driving, I have like 50k miles and five years but every time we go on a long trip in an SUV, it is just scary. My lane changes are slower and more careful, the way I take on-ramps and exits is different, even my passing is different. Sudden braking is scary too on these cars.

So... is this more about SUVs in general, or is this about me?

Are the BMW SUVs any different? I haven't driven any, except for a short X1 test drive.