My opinion is that SUV concept is flawed.
SUV - Sports Utility Vehicle
It does not perform as a sports car. It offers some "utility" to carry things you might have shopped, but in Europe for example with much less SUVs than in USA people also do the same shopping and don't need SUVs.
Next, manufacturer needs to make car that is not very expensive, so there is only as much metal in the chassis as it is needed for safe ride. Structural integrity of most SUVs is compromised. On the cars which have satisfactory structural integrity mostly have much higher weight than ordinary sedans which adds to momentum during a car crash.
SUVs are type of cars made on the request of customers, it is a car designed so that the owner/driver will feel good, not that it will provide anything in extra power or higher mileage. Nor do the SUVs have long life in terrain.
For exact data on car safety please search for NCAP crash tests.
http://www.euroncap.com/Content-Web-Article/b8f9f2ed-6bcc-42c5-9d81-9ac04fe68b36/euro-ncaps-latest-crash-test-results.aspx