The smaller Suvs are fine with me,I just cant see the justification of a 7000# Monster to get one person to Wal-Mart ,yes around here you see a lot of single passengers in Suburbans( a fair amount of these folks claim thier gas mileage isnt too bad{ compared to what?}-Kevin(whoops maybe A Burban" dont weigh that much,an old Expedition in some trim levels ,did I believe)
Pro: you get show your neighbor that yours is bigger than his.
That accounts for an awful lot of SUV sales.
Thank you everyone for your responses. Your comments rather confirm much of what I’ve been thinking after test driving several small SUVs – Forrester, RAV4, Equinox, Escape. (Haven’t taken a CRV for a twirl yet.) In some ways they are nice but I find the higher center of gravity and its effect on handling somewhat unsettling in all but the Forrester. I seemed to have a better balance but was a physically tiring vehicle to drive, perhaps due to the AWD.
It is helpful to read all your feedback as just a few test drives of about 45 miles each is insufficient fully to sort out the everyday real world driving differences between sedans and SUVs.
I’m leaning toward a new 6 cyl Impala if I decide I can afford the price and continuing to get the same kind of gas mileage I’ve been getting with the present Impala. I started out determined to look at mid-sized sedans, 4 cylinder engines, small SUVs, etc. And I can live with one of those but confess the 6 cylinder Impala is a sweet ride and drive. 
Seems like folks are remembering '80s truck based SUVs. Modern car based SUVs, like a CRV or Rav4 are no more likely to ‘roll over’ than any other vehicle, thanks to stability controls. Their safety stats are about the best there are.
Stability program keeps the vehicle going where the steering wheel is pointing. Roll prevention keeps the vehicle from turning, against the driver’s command. You go straight toward whatever you’re trying to avoid. There is no bending the law of physics.
Nope, they’ve been proven to be effective. Fatality rates on modern car-based SUVs are lower than most vehicles.
For people who don’t actually do any “sport” or “utility” driving, the SUV is basically dumb. In fact, the SUV craze is proof positive that US consumers are basically irrational creatures dragged around by empty advertising and image. Forget the fact that most people using them never need the capabilities - so the “benefits” are just not there. But the costs are enormous. They do suck gasoline. In comparison to other vehicles of similar size/gas guzzling and cost the people & cargo room suck. They do make people stupider on the roadways, including the greater propensity to roll. They are ridiculous all around.
Yes - just someone who thinks the SUV fad was a joke. And I drove them for several years. Ford Explorers that came as a perq attached to my wife’s employment, so I never “chose” to have one. It came with the job at minimal cost. I admit - it was the early/mid-90s and it seemed hip for a minute. But mostly it was just plain dumb. If you buy an SUV, at least half your time needs to be in the mud or you’re just a poser. Otherwise they have pretty much no “utility” value to them. If you want the “utility” get an AWD minivan. Or if you don’t need something the size of a minivan, an AWD wagon.
“yours is bigger than his”
That makes me think back . . . about 13 or 14 years ago, I believe . . . when gasoline was dirt cheap again, at least for a short while
All of a sudden big SUVs were supremely popular. The bigger, the better.
I remember several people I knew were trading in family cars for gas guzzling Expeditions, Suburbans, and Excursions.
Only “losers” drove small SUVs such as Explorers and Tahoes
I stuck with my small cars with good fuel economy. And all my colleagues were looking down at me, calling me a loser. They all said I need to get a real vehicle.
I remember people buying Excursions, and then they realized they weren’t comfortable driving a vehicle of that size, not to mention that they didn’t really need it at all, except to feel better about themselves.
Some of these people were short and could barely see over the dash. It just didn’t make any sense, at least to me.
I got the last laugh though, but it was much later.
Years later, when gas prices were high again, these same guys that had bought these monster SUVs were complaining about the cost to fill up. These same guys that had told me to get rid of my Corolla in favor of an Expedition or something bigger, were asking me if I’d sell them my Corolla.
I said “Forget it.”
LOL
He who laughs last, laughs best
I believe that’s the expression, correct?
I don’t consider current small SUVs ‘gas guzzlers’. And no sedan offers the room and cargo flexibility.
This reminds me of the movie War of the Roses, when Kathleen Turner’s character felt so powerless in her marriage that she decided to buy a large SUV.
To each his own.
The mid-size SUV is disappearing. Ford, GM and even Nissan have moved toward Cross-Over vehicles. Although Nissan still has the Xtera. The 4runner is mid-size…although the 5th generation is bigger then my 05.
If you tow (like I do)…and do some off-roading or drive in snow country…then a mid-size SUV is great. If you tow large trailers…then you may need a full-size pickup or Large SUV. But the mid-size SUV’s can tow a lot. The V8 4runner can tow 7000lbs. My V6 with an aftermarket hitch can tow 6000lbs.
Automobiles can be significant status symbols and the manufacturers find that their greatest profit margins are in the conspicuous consumption category of vehicles.
With respect and appreciation for the various comments, let me, please, remind folks the point of my question.
I am looking for specific pointers about aspects of driving, handling, steering, whatever with small SUV/crossover type vehicles that are different from those of sedan cars. The class of SMALL SUV/crossovers I’m looking at are a DOWNSIZE from my current Impala.
I’m looking at these for the step in height being not too tall, like mid and large SUVs, and not too short like getting in and out of cars smaller than my current Impala.
I won’t be towing anything, I won’t be going off road, I won’t be toodling through mud bogs, I won’t even be loading up lots of big items from Home Depot. If an item is bigger, bulkier, heavier than what I can get in and out of a generous sized car trunk, it is something I cannot physically handle.
So I’m looking at a modestly sized, modestly priced daily driver with plenty of room for groceries, bags of cat litter, my golf clubs with pull cart, or luggage for a trip, something that isn’t a budget buster, is safe, has decent performance and comfort, and that is easy to get in and out of and ride in.
Didn’t mean to start any flame wars about vehicle choices. Just asking for PRACTICAL feedback regarding small SUV/crossovers versus sedans since I’m not familiar with driving anything but a sedan. I very much appreciate the mostly on topic comments posted but please don’t let this topic get off into judgmental squabbling.
Marnet
Oh come on now Marnet. You always say still “reading…still learning.” If you’ve learned one thing about this place, it’s that the discussions get quite lively and wander around a lot. 
But a valiant and nicely put attempt to bring your thread back on track. I’ll start.
I don’t drive a small SUV or crossover, but I drive a small wagon (escort). And based on what you have described, I think you would probably be thrilled to get out of a sedan and into such a vehicle. The key is that, despite being small, it’s quite easy to make a lot of room in them for regular daily living stuff (golf and cat litter and stuff). The back stays high rather than sloping down to the trunk and the back seats go flat. Suddenly where you once had an irregularly shaped little box (back seat), you just have a small cavern. It’s what many people have always liked about station wagons before the minivan/SUV thing killed them. That kind of rear cargo space/design will be found on all of the small SUV/crossover/wagons and it’s really handy.
As for the driving/handling etc. of small SUVs vis a vis sedans, I can’t say. I would say to go on a lot of test drives.
@cigroller – LOL Fair enough. I don’t mind the topic wandering. In fact, some of the most educational threads I’ve read, including my recent question about engines and transmissions, end up off on quite interesting tangents.
Didn’t mean to sound crabby. I just didn’t want this to be another argument about big gas guzzlers versus small gas sippers.
Just need to know about anything significant, especially in the safe handling of a vehicle with a higher center of balance than I am used to driving, about everyday driving and use of a small SUV/crossover that might not be overtly apparent just in test driving.
Marnet
…still reading, still learning…and always open to fair criticism.
I didn’t think you sounded crabby at all. Just still looking for some info.
I went back and re-read what you said about your test drive models and the Impala. I am no place near even thinking of a new car. But if I was, the first one I might go take for a spin would probably be a Toyota Venza. I think that if you go look at one, you might find an Impala married to a Forester - sort of.
to summarize… I have found the seat in my jeep, much easier to enter and exit than the one in our cougar. I dreaded getting in and out of that car. how ever I have to agree with whitey about the jeeps roll over risks. but if you don’t go barreling into corners and the like you should be fine. since you seem more inclined to go with the car based models, your center of gravity won t be too high. your golf clubs will be much easier to slide out the back of an suv than to lift out of your trunk. while you aren t going to be off roading as a rule, its nice to have that ability for emergencies. awd in any type of bad whether increases your control of the vehicle. but if you want that “sweet ride” your impala gives you, you may want to go with another impala or similar vehicle .
hope it helps,
wes
I almost forgot about the high door sills on the 2013 Rav4. It’s easier to clean a vehicle with low ones and easier to get in and out. The new hatch is tough to open. The pull open door must have been so much better for loading and unloading. It would have been better without the spare tire on it. Difficult grocery loading was with clamshell doors on the GMC Sierra. Nobody in a non-handicapped parking space could get stuff into the back seats. Now, with the Rav4 I have a decent back seat.
The storage in the Rav4 is kind of lousy and the cover bar is hard to remove for me and the spring on the cover makes it hard to pull out over the cargo. I may throw it in the trash or install a handle.
The right front door has no key operated lock and the key fob remote has tiny buttons. If you want to change a tail light you have to remove two bolts and use a pry bar to get the plastic assembly out. Better than the old days when people could steal your light bulbs which cost $.49, now $5.00. The sunroof is OK except for the sea gulls. The heater controls are strange but at least they work better than the Impala I rented.
Did you know that a ground hog is a grizzled marmot? We thought that was remarkable.
I used to drive a 40’ coach when before I found a job driving a desk. Once I park the thing, I got in my little subcompact, a Scion xb. It wasn’t that I didn’t have the skill to drive a big SUV, but I didn’t like it. I’m well aware that the steering of a big vehicle isn’t as responsive as a smaller car and braking takes a little longer. I compensated for these shortcomings when I had to but I draw the line with my daily driver. Sometimes, it is the kid running after a ball rather than your stupidity that necessitates evasive mamuver and I doubt that a car on stilt would be a faithful servant