Convince me that having a larger car than you need is not selfish.

[Rooners]

Because I cannot think of a single reason why it's not. I'm talking about cars that are huge for the sake of it, not cars that carry wheelchairs, or loads of people, in a relatively compact and utilitarian manner.

But something that only has 4/5 seats yet is the size of a small tractor - and no, I don't think this is wrong if you live somewhere with poor terrain. But if you don't?

1. They take up more space when the last things we need on our crowded roads are unnecessarily supersized vehicles.

1. You can't see past them because they are often much higher than 'normal' cars - great for the person driving the thing, rubbish for everyone else

1. They tend to use a larger amount of fuel than a 'normal' car - which is, unarguably, utterly unfair given the fuel crisis the world is facing.

1. They don't fit into a normal parking space which causes untold problems in car parks.

1. They don't fit in a narrow road so cause hold ups as people try to pass each other.

So please convince me, if you can be bothered, that I ought not to be so cross when I am trying to use the roads and one of these massive tanks makes it difficult, dangerous or just really bloody awkward.

I am willing to listen. It's that or spontaneous combustion really.

Sorry, but I don't get the parking space issue, if I drive DHs big estate car, I can park it in one space in a car park, if I take the fiesta (that we're selling as we don't need 2 cars), that takes one space, all though the fiesta would have more spare space either side of it, it's still just one car park space. The only vehicle I've seen not fit in a space (rather than just poorly parked), is a van, I've not seen any cars, no matter how big, not fit. (Granted, you don't get many monster trucks at our sainsburys).

Op, all our consumer choices have effects on others.

I have a family car, when not working I normally have 4 sometimes 5 at a push and on occasion could do with a 7 seater. I live in a town work in rural areas normally on my own but sometimes with others. In reality I could do either 2 cars - a small one for work and a large one for home but simply cannot afford 2. My DH has an old 4x4 it is a hard working vehicle regularly towing and carrying heavy equipment in rural area. In poor weather (snow and floods) his car has meant I can get to and from work safely when my car just would have got through and get shopping and supplies for us and for neighbours.

Community carers/nurses with 4x4s can visit rural areas but may live in towns and in the winter sick and elderly are relying on them to get there whatever the weather but probably dont need a 4x4 the rest of the year.
I have to so I don't get why people have them in towns and seem to struggle with driving and parking them and it must surely be more hastle then they are worth (or at least the ones I have seen on their holidays with their city numberplates in their shiney large 4x4's in Rock who cannot seem back out from the Sparshop parking back onto the road! )

The only status you get from having a big car is the Dickhead status. Never spoken to one person who is remotely impressed by them, in fact the opposite.

'I honestly think that of a driver can't cope with having bigger cars, vans and trucks. on the road they should not be driving.'

Not the issue at all here. The fact I don't LIKE having to pull over to let one of these behemoths squeeze past me seemingly unaware of their gauge, and going at some speed, is nothing to do with my ability to COPE with it.

I cope with it by getting out of the bloody way! But I wish I didn't have to because of someone else's priorities being all wrong.

Worry - you are not a bus though. Unless you happen to be available for randm car free people to use. In which case, my apologies

'Ours looks like a baby monster truck but I don't care because ... Safety first'

Yes, for you perhaps. It's a bit 'I'm alright Jack' isn't it?

By the way, Binky. I wholeheartedly approve of biofuel and so you get a 40% reduction on your selfishness tax

Well I have 3 kids and drive a 7 seater so I can give other kids lifts esp if the mums don't drive. How exactly is that selfish???

Mary westmacott. They take up a lot more space when street parking. Bays not so much but 3 smart cars could fit in the space of a lot of cars when parallel parking.

How so Rooners?

Wow!

How strange to judge other people's lifestyle choices. How is somebody being comfortable in their car meaning you can't be comfortable in yours?? And I really don't understand the point about seeing beyond 4x4s. What if you end up behind a van??

FWIW I drive a sports car. Only 2 seats, which although strictly speaking is 1 more than I actually need, is the smallest capacity I can get that suits my needs. However, it is fairly wide. Probably about the same width as a Range, although I've never not been able to either manoeuvre it along a variety of roads or park it. Fuel consumption is ridiculous. But I love it, it's a nice place to be, its a fantastic car.

I also drive different cars for work and pool cars cover A1s / 1 series through to Range Rovers and XC90s. The smaller cars are without exception shite on the motorway because small city cars just aren't built for motorway driving. I know people will drive them on motorways and will no doubt proclaim them to be marvellous, but in comparison to a bigger car with a bigger engine and more power they're just awful.

Our second car is a Skyline. Looks like a normalish family car, but is very powerful and uses shit loads of fuel. Oh and we have a motorbike as it cuts DHs commute in half. But I suppose that's the crime of the century too??

Mrsbennetseldest. They are dangerous because the cause more damage in collisions.
Why would you not drive a smart car?

Well I have a large mpv. We need about for about 15% of the time. It is better to keep it than switch it for a brand new small one (ie Mini Cooper) and hire bigger ones when we need them. We balance it because DH had a mid life crisis and got himself a GWizz. Whoopee!

midnightagents
I don't think anyone who drives a large car is asking for any kind of approval from someone like you. Wherever possible, people in general live in the house they choose, they have the number of children they choose, they drive the car they choose - simply because they want to and it suits their lifestyle, it is convenient, and often necessary - you have no idea what is going on in people's lives. People make these choices because it suits them, and not to gain approval from anyone else! If you think it earns someone a "dickhead" status, then you're entitled to that view - how many pets, children/future consumers do you have? Are you sure all your groceries are bought locally and carry no carbon footprint at all? Do you have a compost bin? A water butt? Do you recycle absolutely everything you possibly can? I'm sure you do, but someone looking at you in the street would not be able to foretell that, so don't pass judgement on others without knowing the facts. In other words, don't call someone a "dickhead" with no reason, other than you don't like the car they drive. Someone who does that, is actually a dickhead.
And to those who have mentioned bad parking from large car drivers - have you seen how some small car drivers park & drive - or are you conveniently forgetting all of them?? Oh yes, of course you are.

Because Landrover employs 25,000 people in the midlands and Liverpool and exports 80% of them, helping the country get back on its feet

I ought to have a 4x4 because we live in the middle of nowhere at the end of a pot holed dirt track and have to cross fords to get anywhere (and this year with the rain it's been worse than ever). Our "road" has been flooded for 2 months.

I have had 4 punctures from pot holes and have been stuck in a ford twice this year so far. I took the dog out for a walk after work and before collecting the dc today and scraped the whole of the underside of my car on a a gravel pot hole. God knows what damage it has done.

It depends what they are colliding with really. Yes, I imagine a Smart Car would not fair so well against a RangeRover. That's why I wouldn't have one. I have sat in one once and would not want to do it again.

If I wanted to pootle around in a shoebox with the accelerating power of a cheap hairdryer, I'd buy a smart car.

As it is, I do a lot of motorway/dual carriageway driving and want something a) big b) safe c) powerful enough to cope. I also didn't want to balance my children on my head. So I bought a proper car.

The reason I don't like her is because of the fact that she expected me to leave my 6 and 2yos on the pavement, get back into my average sized car and park further down the street so that she could park her enormous Volvo outside her house (on a public road) so that her teenage son and daughter didn't have to walk very far. Her words. I had nothing against the Volvo itself, it was rather nice. But she has replaced it with the biggest Range Rover I have ever seen.

I'd kill for a landrover (alongside the Dacia - our second car, my car, is a Punto). But not a posh all singing all dancing Landy, an uncomfortable, draughty, ex Army Landrover.

Bloody things can go anywhere, take any punishment and be fixed by a couple of smacks with a torque wrench and some black and nasty tape.

(Would look particularly good with a couple of muddy springer spaniels in the back)

As soon as we settle down I'm going to work on DH to replace the Punto with one - and paint it Matt black.

Gwendoline - sorry, not trying to sound mean here, but if your neighbour is parking her car on a public road (she is perfectly entitled to do that), how is that expecting you to leave your children on the pavement? You should surely take them with you in your car and walk back with them, not leave them on the pavement, at such a young age. How is your neighbour making you do that, just because she has a bigger car than you would like? It doesn't make any sense at all. If you got to that parking space first, which of course you would be perfectly entitled to do, if it is a public road, then she in turn would have no right to complain to you. The fact that she gets there first has, I think, nothing to do with the size of her car. Any car of any size would be a bit of a pest, surely. Or am I missing something there?
(Incidentally, Range Rovers come no bigger than L 4972mm/W 2216, I believe those are the correct dimensions, but stand to be corrected). Not entirely sure how you could have seen a much larger one than that.

Thanks for the reduction Rooners, it is also an ex army, draughty, no frills landy. Do I qualify for anymore reductions?

Ahh now, tell me have Springers too, go on (lie if you have to)

Sorry no, Collie and Staffies, I do however have a son that does a very good impression of a springer, he will even stick his head out of the window and flap his ears if you ask him nicely.

I don't know where it is your driving, but I can't say I am affected by the size of other people's cars in terms of them not fitting on the road or into parking spaces. I am frequently annoyed by people parking over 2 spaces, but that's through bad parking, not through the size of the car - in fact, more often than not it's a smaller car badly parked than a great big one. Same if someone is driving on your side of the road. Roads where I live are big enough to take a bus or a lorry in a single lane - why should you be forced to pull over because someone is driving a 4x4 ?

I've always wanted an old County series painted in zebra stripes. Would be the ideal car for the DSs to learn to drive in too.

What age/engine is your Meriva OP?

Quite a lot of models have worse fuel economy that some very large, much more powerful cars