Old-school SUVs like the Infiniti QX80 are having a moment.
Old-school SUVs are having a moment. I’m talking about the high-riding, knobbly-tire, square-jawed SUVs that ride on ladder-frame chassis and can tackle gnarly off-road trails and summit sand dunes. They’ll spend most of their lives on pavement of course, rarely venturing onto so much as a gravel road, but they sure know how to make a driver feel rough and rugged in the Starbucks drive-thru line.
Among them are the new Toyota Land Cruiser and 4Runner, the Lexus GX, Nissan Armada and Infiniti QX80, the lightly refreshed Chevrolet Tahoe and its luxury offshoots, as well as the updated Mercedes-Benz G-Class. The latter is now even available as an EV. And there are more on the horizon; Volkswagen offshoot Scout Motors is readying two body-on-frame trucks (an SUV and a pickup) for a 2027 launch.
At the luxury end of the market – models from Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes and others – are the vehicular equivalent of $2,000 designer hiking boots or a $12,000 Rolex Submariner (that’ll never get close to its maximum 300-metre waterproof depth rating).
But, after driving many of these new body-on-frame SUVs, it’s safe to suggest most drivers would be better served by a less-expensive, more pavement-friendly alternative. Buy any one of the car-based crossover SUVs on the market and you’ll have enough change leftover to buy that Rolex or the fancy boots if you want – and you’ll get to drive a more comfortable, better handling, less gas-guzzling machine. Or, at least, that’s the rational thing to do because nothing about these old-school SUVs is rational.
Riding high in the new Lexus GX550 Overtrail+ with its two-tone leather interior and $111,000 price tag, I was disappointed (if not surprised) to discover this body-on-frame SUV rides more like a pickup truck than it does one of the many pillowy luxury sedans upon which Lexus built its reputation. Sometimes, when riding over potholes or bumps, you can feel the sheer mass of the vehicle’s live rear axle as the suspension rebounds up toward the vehicle. It was almost as if Thor had taken his sledgehammer and given the underside of the Lexus a tap. Also, the body-on-frame construction and live rear-axle layout are bulky, reducing cabin space.
The Tonka-toy look of the Lexus has a certain gorpy, outdoorsy appeal, but not more so than the equally new and similar Toyota Land Cruiser. But, if it’s gorpcore you want, the Ineos Grenadier is the reigning champ. Its tough, low-tech, no-frills vibe is only offset by its sky-high $97,000 price.
The new $105,000 Infiniti QX80 is another new body-on-frame SUV, but this one unabashedly leans toward luxury rather than adventure. It’s a porky beast, tipping the scales at 2,700 kilograms and not as spacious in the cabin as you imagine when looking at this slab-sided machine from the outside. Not even the optional air suspension can deliver a properly luxurious ride over broken pavement. Despite the fancy stereo and stitched leather, the crude ride and handling are dead giveaways that you’re driving a truck.
The prevalence of these big off-road SUVs only begins to make sense when you consider the pickup truck market is dominated by so-called “lifestyle trucks.” A report by consulting firm Axios quotes survey data confirming what everyone likely suspected, that two-thirds of pickup truck owners “rarely or never” use their truck for towing. A 2019 Strategic Vision survey found pickup drivers use their vehicles the same way car owners do: primarily for commuting, often alone. Still, people love their trucks and won’t quit them.
The headline, “You Don’t Need A Full-Size Pickup Truck, You Need a Cowboy Costume,” from the automotive site The Drive summed up the phenomenon.
I’d bet money it’s the same story with body-on-frame SUVs. Mostly drivers simply don’t use their extreme sand-dune climbing ability and massive cargo hauling capacity.
I get it; they’re fun. I like driving (some) of these SUVs too. Unfortunately, it’s not the kind of inconsequential fun as buying a cowboy costume, a luxury watch or overpriced designer boots. These big SUVs have some nasty, well-documented negative externalities.
Consider research from the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which found that tall- and medium-height vehicles with blunt, squared-off front ends are significantly more likely to kill a pedestrian in the event of a collision. The danger is even worse for collisions involving children. As the lead author of the IIHS study, Wen Hu pointed out, “There’s no functional benefit to these massive, blocky fronts.”
Then there’s pollution from the growing popularity of these oversized vehicles, which a recent study shows is curtailing the environmental gains we should be seeing from more fuel-efficient engines and growing electric vehicle sales.
The 2024 study, conducted by the Sustainable Transportation Action Research Team (START) at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., shows the shift toward more polluting SUVs and trucks has cancelled out more than 80 per cent of the reduction in average fuel consumption achieved by more fuel-efficient engines in Canada from 2010 to 2022.
Of course, there are some drivers who need these body-on-frame SUVs and all the capability they provide. But, for those who don’t, you could save money, backaches, air quality and potentially even a life by opting for a lower, lighter, car-based crossover SUV, station wagon, or – yes, whisper it – a minivan.
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