My sister and her husband both drive Suburbans (late model). The reason why is because they are both anesthesiologists and they have seen way too up close and personal the damage to the human body that can happen when that body is in a lighter weight car in a crash with a heavier vehicle.
Same reason that when I turned 16, my father bought me an Olds Toronado. It was the heaviest passenger car that year (and lots of other years; this was the era of the land yacht). My father is an anesthesiologist and he was determined that his daughter was not gonna be in the lighter car. No matter how much of a daredevil leadfoot she turned out to be (I stopped counting warnings when I passed 50 before I was 20). My teenage philosophy was that what my parents didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
Looking back, I think my dad made a smart decision.
My sister and brother-in-law are like my dad. They have two sons and their safety is the highest priority they have. My sister still has the car she got when she graduated from med school, a sporty little Mazda. Her sons have never, ever ridden in that car because it is small and lightweight. No way are they allowed to risk their lives that way.
Besides, if either of her sons put so much as a scratch on her little car, my sister might just fall into a hissy fit and never come out of it. She gets asked all the time if she's had it restored but she hasn't; she's just been very careful and made sure it always had a garage to live in.
I don't know if our family is atypical or not. I don't think so; when I go to a medical appointment, the doctor's lot is full of huge SUVs and full sized vans. They might drive something sporty for fun but for every day safety? Go with the heaviest vehicle you can get.
I have noticed that there are two types of people who drive the gas guzzlers: the well off and the very poor. Those gas guzzlers are older and just not worth very much. It is easier to eke out the money for gas each month than it is to qualify for a vehicle loan.
OT ... I drove a SAAB for safety - before it was bought out by GM. It had an integral frame, making the Swedish SAAB almost the safest vehicle on the road.
I suppose we can't draw any conclusions about the vehicle owner based on the vehicle type, as it sounds like the region does play a role in choice of SUV ... especially if vehicle registration discounts are available to SUV owners if the rear seats are removed.