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What’s the deal with cars getting bigger?
Have you noticed it’s becoming trickier to get out of your car in the parking lot? You’re not imagining it, because big cars have become a massive trend in recent years.
It’s true to say both that cars themselves are growing in size, and that we’re buying larger vehicles than we used to. For example, the Toyota RAV4 has gained about 15 cm in width and half a tonne in weight since it was launched in the 1990s. Meanwhile the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux have become the most popular new vehicles sold in Australia, and more than half of new vehicles sold in Australia are SUVs.
It might seem counterintuitive that cars are getting bigger while families are shrinking in size and we’re trying to minimise our collective footprint on the planet. So what’s going on?
What factors are affecting vehicle size?
While it’s impossible to narrow the change down to a single factor, here are a few aspects that are no doubt having an effect:
Safety requirements
As car safety standards have expanded, so have the cars that must accommodate the related safety features. Front and side airbags, safety cells, crumple zones, sensors, autonomous braking – all of these invaluable functions and features add up and require space, so car designs have evolved in response.
Better comfort and features
As a population we’re preferring bigger cars. And one simple explanation is that light commercial vehicles offer a much better experience than they used to. “As the comfort and features of SUVs and dual cab utes have improved in recent years, more buyers have been looking to these options for their family car,” says Carma’s Director of Buying Peter Willis. “They’ve become much more of an all-in-one vehicle and are really convenient when you think about running those weekend errands.”
The interest in outdoor adventures
Light commercial vehicles and wagons are generally better equipped for towing than smaller cars, whether we’re talking about a boat or a caravan. The pandemic prompted many families to invest in caravans, and the interest in driving adventures is still there with Australia’s trailer and caravan industry revenue worth around $3.3 billion as of 2024/5.
The EV revolution
This last factor might be a bit of a surprise, but our push towards greener cars could also be leading to bigger cars – at least, for now. Electric vehicle batteries are heavy, and these can require bigger tyres and car frames in an EV design. In fact, as of 2022 of the available EV models available around the world were SUVs.
