A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a passenger vehicle with a taller body, higher seating position and often four-wheel or all-wheel drive, built on a truck or car platform. Crossovers are SUVs built on car platforms. See crossover utility vehicle.
SUVs, crossovers and pickups now make up most new passenger vehicles sold in the United States. They are wider, longer, taller and heavier than the sedans that many parking layouts were designed around, and that shift is felt in every older garage.
Effects on parking
- Stall width. Wider vehicles leave less room to open doors, which is why many designers have moved away from narrow stalls. See parking geometry.
- Turning. Larger vehicles need more room in turning bays and at ramps. See design vehicle.
- Clearance. Taller vehicles, roof racks and lifted trucks need more headroom at entries and on lower levels.
- Weight. Heavier vehicles, especially electric SUVs and pickups, have prompted questions about deck loads in older structures. See live loads.
- Compact stalls. Compact-only stalls are increasingly misused or empty. See compact stall.
The Parkonomics view
The design vehicle has grown faster than the codes and the old stripes. When restriping or designing, size stalls for the fleet in the parking lot today, not the one in the original drawings.
Related terms: Crossover Utility Vehicle, Design Vehicle, Parking Geometry, Compact Stall