[Fat Charlie]

The way I look at it

An SUV has:
- enough storage capacity to cover the owner's imagined balls.
- enough towing capacity and power to haul the owner's imagined balls.
- enough ground clearance to... you get the picture.

If I had to do anything that I've seen in an SUV commercial, I could still do it in a car. My 5x8 utility trailer (bigger than 90% of pickup beds out there) can comfortably fit a yard and a half of topsoil. My little Subaru handled it just fine. Since I switched to the Fit, I've self limited to a yard. Topsoil, mulch, gravel, whatever. I don't know what they weigh, but the trailer is fine and so's the compact car.

Suspension travel is great for offroading. Doesn't happen much. What SUVs have is mass to let you ignore bumps. My first car was a 77 Sedan DeVille. It didn't have much travel, but it soaked up the bumps.