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How to Pick Out the Best SUV

A stock photo of a family picking out an SUV.

How to Pick Out the Best SUV for You?

When someone comes to Autohouse Kingston and tells us they want to buy an SUV, we know we’re about to enter an exciting process. There might not be a more diverse class of automobiles in the world right now. The modern SUV can be found in a wide variety of sizes and shapes with an even more diverse set of capabilities. A better question to ask yourself as a potential buyer is, ‘How do you pick out an SUV?’ From there, the questions get more specific to your individual situation. Will you be doing a lot of carpooling? Do you need a lot of towing capacity? Is four-wheel drive a must-have feature? No two Autohouse Kingston customers will have the same answers to these, or any, questions. Let’s take a look at some things you should know.

READ MORE: Check Out These Gas-Saving Driving Tips

Is There a Difference Between a Crossover and a SUV?

In the early days of the SUV segment, most automakers built them on pickup truck frames, using the same body-on-frame method of construction. This was great for people who wanted off-road capabilities or needed to do some towing. However, it wasn’t the most driver-friendly platform. Crossover SUVs made the class popular because of their unibody construction that made the vehicles easier to handle, while still offering comparable interior space found with traditional SUVs.

How are All-Wheel Drive and Four-Wheel Drive Different?

There might not be a more common question asked at Autohouse Kingston than the differences between all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. This is one of those discussions that can easily get bogged down in a lot of dense jargon, we’ll do our best to avoid that in our explanation below.

Four-wheel drive is a more robust system of applying power to all four wheels when driving through adverse conditions like sand, mud, or snow. Drivers usually need to engage the 4×4 system, locking in the differential to make sure all the wheels turn. Some automakers offer part-time four-wheel-drive that can be activated automatically.

All-wheel drive is designed for lighter-duty applications. This is the most common traction solution found on crossover SUVs. Depending on the type of AWD system a particular vehicle employs, the power sent to slipping wheels is limited for safety’s sake, which would be a problem for tough off-road driving. However, it works great for dealing with wet or icy roads.

Can Boats Be Towed With Crossover SUVs?

Crossover SUVs might handle like the sedans they’ve replaced, but that doesn’t mean they are lacking in capability. If you plan on towing something like a small fishing boat, motorcycles or a personal watercraft, there are a lot of crossover SUVs that can handle that kind of towing. Many of them will be of the three-row variety and will likely have a V-6 engine under the hood. Even some popular two-row models with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine can pull around 1,500 kg.

Make an appointment with an Autohouse Kingston product expert, today, to take a look at our available SUV and crossover SUV inventory.