If you think in terms of (people-miles) per gallon instead of miles per gallon, SUVs make alot more sense.
That is – if a honda gets 25 MPG and an SUV gets 15 MPG, to take 7 people 100 miles uses 8 gallons of gas in the Honda but only 6 2/3 gallons in the SUV because have to make two trips in the Honda.
This is why my wife and I each have a daily driver and a shared SUV, which is only used for pulling, camping, and mass transport needs. It gathers miles slowly, thus it will last many years longer than the daily driver, yet it provides capacity when needed.
