Both SUVs and pickup trucks have earned themselves an increasingly large space in today’s automotive market. In decades past, both were marketed primarily as commercial vehicles. SUVs find their origins in the military (the legendary Jeep being a prime example) and in the agricultural world. Pickup trucks have been used in an extremely wide variety of working environments, not just farms but construction sites and warehouses among them.In the mid-century period, however, things began to change for both these types of vehicle. Thanks to models like the early civilian Jeeps and the International Scout, the SUV became a viable choice of personal vehicle for many Americans. Automakers started to build an association between the SUV and the world of leisure, such as camping trips and off-road excursions.The heyday of the pickup truck began a little later. From the start of the 1990s onwards, more and more pickup trucks arrived on the market that didn’t present themselves as workhorses, but as everyday commuters and family haulers. The most famous example is the Ford F-150, the light-duty flagship of the F-Series (the bestselling vehicle family in America for over four decades).If you’re shopping for a practical vehicle today, chances are you might be considering SUV and pickup truck options. While both have plenty of advantages and disadvantages, there are some instances in which the SUV is a better fit. Here are five (well, four-and-a-half) times the SUV has an edge over the pickup truck when looking for a new vehicle. When Passenger Capacity Is A Priority Over Cargo Capacity Volvo Pickups trace their origins back to the agricultural world, and even in today’s automotive market, where trucks offer plenty of creature comforts, they are still more oriented towards transporting cargo than transporting passengers. If you’re regularly transporting lots of stuff, but only up to four passengers, a pickup truck can be a viable choice of family vehicle for you.When the number of occupants grows, however, an SUV is the better choice. The world of SUVs includes plenty of three-row options, offering space for seven or even eight passengers. Cargo space will still be ample, but not quite as much of a priority. That being said, thanks to folding seats, some of the passenger space can often be converted into a cargo area if need be. In this way, SUVs offer much more flexibility than pickup trucks.Volvo SUVs are also more likely to offer flexible seating configurations, which allow you to customize your vehicle based on what your family looks like. Three-row SUVs, for example, frequently offer the option of a second-row bench seat or captain’s chairs (which removes seating for one person, but offers additional comfort). When The Cargo You Transport Can't Be Exposed To The Elements Cadillac Pickup trucks are very good at hauling goods from A to B, however there is one very important thing you will need to keep in mind. They were designed to transport cargo that could be exposed to the weather, such as construction materials or agricultural goods. The bed of a truck is fully exposed to the elements, making it less suitable for ordinary family items such as luggage or sports kit.That being said, there are some things you can do to protect your cargo in a pickup truck. Protective systems and accessories such as tonneau covers are widely available, but they often do not offer the same degree of protection as storing your items in a closed vehicle’s trunk.Tesla The climate of the area you live in also plays a part. If you live somewhere hot and dry, where rain is infrequent and predictable, you might be able to get away with transporting your stuff in the bed of a truck. If, however, you live in a colder, wetter climate, an SUV is likely the best transport solution out of the two. When Maneuverability And Driving Dynamics Are A Priority… Tesla Although pickup trucks can be sporty and performance-oriented, they are still unlikely to be able to compete with an SUV in terms of driving experience. When it comes to handling and performance, SUVs are typically more agile, maneuverable, and closer to cars.Maybe you need to maneuver your vehicle in and out of a tight parking space at home or at work. Or maybe you simply want to drive something that feels a little more responsive and enjoyable even on a winding road. Either way, if driving experience is one of your main priorities, but you still want to retain ruggedness and practicality, an SUV may be a better option for you than a pickup truck.Lexus From around the turn of the millennium, sporty SUVs began to gain popularity among drivers in the US and beyond. There was a strong appetite among consumers for a vehicle that combines the core traits of an SUV with some of the characteristics of a sports car: automakers responded by creating models that offered both practicality and excitement.Today, a wide variety of performance-oriented SUVs – such as the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio and the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT – can be found on the market. If you’re shopping for an SUV and still want to feel like you’re driving something with a little personality, one of these models may be the right choice for you. ...And Towing Heavy Loads Is Not Ford On some fronts, such as comfort or tech, you can make an argument for either SUVs or pickup trucks to come out on top. In today’s automotive world, the contest is a pretty close one, and there are models in either category that could be declared the winner. There is, however, one area of performance in which pickup trucks still have a very obvious advantage: towing.The origins of the pickup truck as a work vehicle have meant that, when it comes to towing heavy loads, a pickup is nearly always your best bet. Looking at CarBuzz’s own Best Trucks For Towing ranking, even the model with the lowest towing capacity (the Ram 1500) still has the capability to tow up to a whopping 11,000 lbs.Honda There is also a Best SUVs For Towing list, however in that particular ranking there is only one model that makes it into five-figure territory: the GMC Hummer EV SUV, which can tow up to 12,000 lbs. All other models have a maximum towing capacity of under 10,000 lbs.If towing very heavy loads is not one of the priorities, choosing an SUV rather than a truck is more likely to be your best option. When You Want A Smaller Vehicle That's Still Practical Jared Rosenholtz/CarBuzz/Valnet Compact pickup trucks do exist, but if you’re looking for something even smaller that will offer some ruggedness and practicality, you’re better off looking at the SUV’s smaller sibling: the crossover. These pocket-sized SUVs come with many of the advantages of their larger counterparts, but are still compact enough to fit into smaller parking spaces or narrow driveways.Hyundai Crossovers began to gain popularity a few years after SUVs. While SUVs had begun to make the jump from work vehicle to personal vehicle in the mid-century period, crossovers didn’t really emerge as an automotive category until the end of the 20th century. One of the earliest examples of a popular mass production crossover was the Toyota Rav4, first released in concept form in 1989. The Rav4 was marketed as a “neo-urban 4WD car designed to the active lifestyles of young city dwellers”; it helped introduce the average consumer to the idea of a vehicle halfway between a car and an SUV.Today, crossovers form a substantial part of the automotive market, and most major automakers include one in their lineup. They have even – in many cases – taken the place of formerly popular small urban vehicles such as hatchbacks. If you’re looking for something compact without sacrificing practicality, a crossover or small SUV is likely to be a better choice for you than a pickup truck.Sources: Birchwood Automotive Group, Hawk CDJ