
An SUV is better for a driver than a pickup truck for a long winter commute, a study says.
In a new study, researchers looked at more than 1.6 million daily trips to the U.S. from 2011 to 2015 and found that the pickup truck was the best choice for commuting by truck and SUV, according to a paper published Thursday in the Journal of Transportation.
The study found that a pickup with a four-door, all-wheel drive pickup was the most efficient for commuting.
For the SUV, a five-door model was the least efficient.
Researchers said that pickup trucks are more durable and quieter than vans and SUVs, so they can be used for longer distances and with less maintenance.
The study found, however, that the SUV was the worst for winter commuting in areas where temperatures are cold.
A van can be an effective winter commuter, but a pickup is a better choice for long-distance trips because it can easily carry heavier loads, the study found.
While pickup trucks were the most expensive and most efficient, vans and pickups were more expensive and less efficient.
The findings are in line with other research, including a recent study that found the best winter commute is a van.
But this study has some interesting findings.
First, the researchers compared the average commute times between the two vehicles.
“The average pickup truck trip was just over 4.7 minutes and the average SUV trip was 4.8 minutes,” said co-author Michael M. DeLong, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute in Ann Arbor.
This suggests that if you plan on using your truck for long distances, you may want to consider a pickup for longer journeys.
Second, the analysis also looked at whether drivers of pickup trucks or vans drove more frequently.
Driver fatigue was measured in an analysis that took into account both distance traveled and time spent driving.
Results showed that drivers of pickups and vans had higher fatigue during their commute compared to the drivers of trucks, with a maximum difference of 9 minutes between the vehicles in a 30-minute drive.
That difference was larger than the average difference between the drivers, however.
Drivers of pickup vehicles had a maximum fatigue difference of 11 minutes, which was greater than the fatigue differences between the trucks and the van, the research found.
The study’s findings are consistent with previous research.
For instance, a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study found a maximum maximum fatigue factor of 13 minutes for pickup trucks and 12 minutes for vans.
In a 2009 study, a different group of researchers found that pickup truck drivers had a fatigue difference greater than 13 minutes and a fatigue gap of more than 20 minutes for their van and SUV fleets.
Other research has found that truck drivers have longer commutes than van drivers.
There’s no evidence that vans and pickup trucks will ever compete with each other for long commutes.
Still, this study makes clear that the two models are similar, and it should be important to consider the differences between vehicles when choosing your next winter commute.