What does SUV stand for in Australia?
In Australia, SUV stands for sports utility vehicle. Frankly, that doesn’t tell you much, but an SUV in Australia will generally be bigger than an ordinary car, with higher clearance. It won’t necessarily have four wheel drive capability, however.
Australians, like Americans, a partial to a big car. This is partly pure machismo, partly about a suburban lifestyle where there’s always somewhere to park, and partly about long driving distances in Australia requiring something comfortable to drive.
Therefore, lots of Australians will drive an SUV. Many of them will not have the faintest idea what SUV stands for, but they will drive one nonetheless.
Meaning of SUV in Australia
So what does SUV stand for in Australia? Well, once you know the meaning behind the ugly acronym, you’ll understand why it gets abbreviated. SUV means sports utility vehicle.
This is pretty useless knowledge, given that there’s no universally agreed definition of what a sports utility vehicle is. They’re generally somewhere between a normal road car and an offroad vehicle. Commonly, they’ll be bigger than a usual road car, with considerably higher clearance. Sometimes, but certainly not always, an SUV will be a four wheel drive vehicle too.
Are SUVs and 4WDs the same thing?
In Australia, don’t make the mistake of using SUV and 4WD interchangeably, because car hire firms most certainly don’t.
If you hire an SUV without 4WD capability, you’re probably not going to be able to get down any roads marked 4WD only.
However, there is a significant difference between an SUV and a sedan or hatchback when it comes to unsealed roads and dirt tracks. There’s a grey area here, in that sometimes unsealed roads can be basically fine, and sometimes they’re riddled with potholes. You’ll have a much better chance of navigating said potholes in an SUV than you would in a compact or intermediate car rented from a car hire firm such as Hertz or Avis.
Popular SUV models in Australia
Popular SUV models in Australia include the Toyota Rav4, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson and Mitsubishi Outlander.
More Australian slang
Bottle shop | Budgie-smugglers | CBD | Cellar door |
Drop bear | Flake | Galah | Goon | Hoon | Manchester | Pom |