It can be tough to decide whether you want a large or a small vehicle.
On the surface, both serve the same purpose. Regardless of your vehicle’s size, it’s probably what you use for your daily commute and all your other travel needs. But when you compare a midsize sedan to a heavy-duty SUV, it’s like looking at two completely different beasts. How are you expected to compare vehicles that seem so completely different from each other?
If you’re hung up on this stage of the car buying process, here are some quick facts that should help you decide.
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: it’s a myth that larger cars are universally safer than smaller ones. While some large cars can be a little safer than their tinier counterparts, modern data indicates that a car’s age is way more reflective of its safety than its size. In other words, a 5-year-old minivan probably isn’t safer than a brand new sedan. It’s natural to want a safe vehicle, so rest easy knowing you’re in good hands either way.
So what factors should dictate which size vehicle you should get? Well, for starters, how much space do you need? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to discover that larger cars store more people and luggage than smaller cars. The tricky part is deciding how much space you need. If you plan on regularly transporting 1-3 people, a sedan should suffice for both everyday driving and ambitious road trips. However, if you think you’ll need more cargo space for transporting more items, or you want to start a family in the next five years, a larger vehicle might be worth the investment.
You should also consider the environments you’ll be driving in the most. If you drive in predominantly urban areas, a smaller vehicle will help you weave through traffic and fit into tight parking spaces. If you drive in rural areas, a larger vehicle might fare better on rugged terrain. In some cases, you’ll want to be very specific about the vehicle you buy. For example, if you plan to do any off-road driving, you'd definitely want an SUV over a minivan.
This can sound overwhelming on paper, but once you visit your dealership, your stress will slip away. For as many differences that large and small vehicles have, a lot of them have much in common. Many car manufacturers share a lot of design elements between their vehicles, so if you like their smaller cars, you’ll probably like their larger cars. From there, it’s just a matter of figuring out what kind of car feels best to you.
Better yet, cars come in all kinds of shapes and sizes! If you want a smaller vehicle but need a lot of trunk space, you can still find a car on the lot that’s right for you. Or if you want a kind of large vehicle for the future, consider getting a crossover. Finding the perfect car shouldn’t feel like you’re compromising your wants or needs. Rather, you should feel like your car exactly fits your wants and needs.
It can be daunting to begin your car search, but there’s no shame in taking your time to find the right car for you. The more vehicles you look at and test drive, the more certain you’ll be about your final decision. If you’re stuck deciding on the size of the vehicle you want, feel free to reach out and I’d be happy to help you through the whole process. With the above tips in mind, you might find that a perfectly sized car has been waiting for you all along.
