When buying a car, there are a number of factors that need to be considered with the most important one being the ground clearance.
Ground clearance is the shortest distance between the ground and the underside of the frame (or chassis) of a vehicle.
The ground clearance of any vehicle is measured when it’s unoccupied by passengers, cargo, or any object that does not constitute a component of the vehicle itself.
According to Science ABC, whether the vehicle is going to have a high ground clearance or a low one depends largely on the conditions in which it’s going to be used.
High Ground Clearance
According to Science ABC, high ground clearance comes in handy when you’re driving on uneven terrain, like those in mountainous and rocky regions, by preventing damage to the undercarriage.
It’s also helpful in remote, underdeveloped, and rural areas where roads might not be even. You will commonly see high ground clearance in vehicles like SUVs, pickups, and minivans.
The downside of high ground clearance in a vehicle is that its handling is less efficient and it runs a high chance of rolling over while making sharp turns. This problem of handling is virtually nonexistent in low-ground clearance vehicles.
Low Ground Clearance
In automobiles, low ground clearance implies that the center of gravity of the vehicle is low. This trait significantly impacts the handling of the vehicle.
You see, a car with low ground clearance sticks close to the ground more strongly, and is therefore less likely to topple or roll over when abrupt and sharp turns are made. In contrast, a car with a higher center of gravity is more likely to be acted upon by outside forces that can move it laterally on the track and cause it to roll over.
For racing cars, it is therefore imperative to have low ground clearance. If not, a racing event would appear more like a contest where cars topple over all the time and perform staggeringly dangerous flips for no particular reason.
These factors help people to make informed decisions on which cars fit their preferences.
