Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) are vehicles that combine varying elements of off-road, all terrain, and road-going vehicle features. Over the years, SUVs have started to be offered in an increasingly large spectrum of sizes, with varying features and applications. Older SUVs tend to be full-size vehicles with poor gas mileage. The average range of gas mileage found with full-size SUVs are 14 to 20 miles per gallon. There are now gas-fueled SUVs available in mid-size, compact and sub-compact size that have better gas mileage. Still, they are rarely available with average gas mileage over 30 miles per gallon.

As such, if one were interested in purchasing a SUV, particularly a full-size or mid-sized SUV, one may be more interested in buying such a vehicle if gas prices were in a consistently low range. People may not be as inclined to purchase a SUV if gas prices are consistently high relative to recent years, due to concerns of spending too much money filling up the tank. Particularly in the last few years, studies have indicated that consumers tend to purchase SUVs at a much higher rate if gas prices stay at or under the $3 per gallon range in their general region of usual travel.