To not understand the obsession with SUVs/4x4s?

[GinDaddy]

I'm genuinely curious to hear people's views below. Nearly every parent I know in my area has a 4x4 car of some sort. That's dozens of folk. The car parks at our local supermarket are covered in the things.

My AIBU is to ask, what is the obsession with these things? Why are they the "default" choice for parents now, considering so many folk can't park them properly, and our roads aren't set up for them?

I watched in amused horror yesterday as a lady with a Vauxhall Grandland X (yep...me neither) tried to park head-first in a bay in our local supermarket. The width of the thing was the issue, but once "parked", the rear of the car was practically touching the front of the neighbouring vehicle.

It was just absurd. Why is this car any better than an Astra estate, or in the same price category, a Skoda Octavia estate, both of which are narrower and better on fuel, and the Skoda which has extraordinary amounts of luggage capacity and legroom?

I think the answer is simple, it's an image thing. People feel their life is more exciting with DCs if they're in something that looks like it could climb a mountain at the weekend.

Only problem is, my DW and I find public car parks absurd at the moment as I find more and more of these hideous things parked terribly at every juncture.

The beauty of living in a capitalist economy is the prerogative of choice, helped by dollops of PCP finance handed out by every car dealer, meaning anyone can get into a boxy car on stilts.

But for goodness sake can people learn how to drive and park these things if they're going to be bought by everyone? Driving down streets with parked cars on either side is a game of "my car is bigger than yours, so move over", which is just embarrassing.

NOTE: I have no issues with envy here; we have a 6-year old estate car from a well known Bavarian marque with a three letter acronym. I don't ride 2mm off people's bumpers, and it serves our family's needs well.

I have a perfectly normal car, a boring Golf, which was great until we had kids. Now with a buggy and car seats I feel like I'm driving a fiat 500 and desperately want more boot space and seats.

I'd have a 5 seater pickup truck if I could.

Boggles

I did 100k in a cappuccino (boosted turbo and delimited speed as I was also driving in Germany a lot of the time).

Capacity was 667cl. Kerb weight iirc 750kg. Shit off a shovel.

Under 2L and you’ll be relying on other people to move out of your way when coming on etc. DH had a 1.1litre old style micra and it was like shit off a stick. Smaller cars can be very nippy when it comes to accelerating

Also @BossAssBitch and others,

for the last time,

I am not envious of you, your lifestyle, your choices, the badge that adorns your car, or anything about you.

I just choose to have a different opinion about something you like.

Standard MN: someone has an opinion that's different to mine therefore they must be jealous or envious or secretly wish they had my life

No it is not the differing opinions that drives that, it's the insults and bitterness in the way those opinions that are expressed that demonstrates envy.

So you see them as a status symbol, if that's how you see them, that's how you see them. I don't see them this way. No more than I see a bmw as a status symbol. 🤷‍♀️

I will repost because everyone ignored me. We had a Skoda Octavia for 15 years until it fell apart. Brilliant car. We replaced it with a Skoda Karoq. The much hated SUV. It's a far superior car in terms of comfort and driveability. In terms of everything. We LOVED the Octavia (and back then everyone laughed at us for buying it). But we would never go back having experienced the SUV. And we park and drive it well, and with courtesy for others.

@GinDaddy

So why are some posts so full of vitriol and hatred

Nah I can tell good old envy a mile off

Sorry, by 100k I mean miles, not speed. Top speed was probably around 130 mph - but the Speedo was only marked to 90

I don't have an SUV never thought about getting one
I have a small car it's great
But my partner and I were out one day and driving on a motorway
A car flew past then slammed the breaks on in front of us
It was a very close call
My partner now thinks we should get a bigger car as it would be safer in an accident you hear about full families being wiped out and it's always the ones in the smaller cars that get it
I just wish more people could drive better and be more aware of other road users
I also wish people would reverse park with SUV and cars with blacked out windows it pulling out blind

@GinDaddy

I am not envious of you, your lifestyle, your choices, the badge that adorns your car, or anything about you

Try telling your posts that

“Under 2L and you’ll be relying on other people to move out of your way when coming on etc.”

Nope... disagree, this is a bit silly.

So many new hatchback manufacturers are using twincharged/supercharged engines (Volkswagen TSI, Ford etc) and their 1.0 litre engines are seriously peppy - easily enough to get up to speed. It’s my car and the like that’s using old naturally aspirated technology where you need a bigger engine and displacement to get up to speed

You work for Skoda?

@BossAssBitch

You can’t be reading my posts correctly.

I don’t dream of being in the big car, angry, unable to reverse on a bridge.

I show no envy. I could buy one today.

I choose not to.

Why is the fact that I choose not to do what you do, automatically translated to “envy”?!

@GinDaddy oh yes yes I hear you.

Really 4x4s driven for a reason and usually driven competently, no problem.

But the SUV fake 4x4s..... Just why did cars have to get so big and high up? They can’t park in their garages as they are too big so they litter up the roads. Here in Cornwall the hapless drivers appear in August in their droves in these monstrosities, usually complete with top box. They can’t drive them, they cant park them, they can’t reverse them, they won’t put it closer than 2 foot to a hedge so resolutely sit there in the middle of a single one country road whilst the family look down on you disdainfully waiting for you to reverse half a mile because.... well they can’t! Everyone is pissed off with them - one of my friends calls them the fake 4x4 top box wankers.

I live in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and drive a 4x4, it's literally a case of choosing life over death.

Some idiot could run into me of course but odds are in my favour if I'm in a bigger vehicle.

@BossAssBitch

I think you need people to envy your car in order to justify your purchase as that bit more special.

Ghastly

I'm on the fence it doesn't bother me except when one thought because they were bigger and better than me they could shove way through when it was my right of way.. I didn't back down.. He had to reverse giving me the finger and gestures.

However I've equally seen people driving cars for example last night in tesco a lady driving a fiesta who took 8 attempts to park.. There was no cars either side. You'd of thought she was driving a tank.. That's just as infuriating when you're waiting to get by.

@GinDaddy

I don’t dream of being in the big car, angry

You sound very angry to me

Do you always get so wound up and hateful towards strangers probably need to have a word with yourself, it can't be good for you

Not read the full thread 😲

I have an old 4x4. BUT I live at the end of a 1.5 mile rough track, which connects to a lane, and in turn 4 miles later to a 'B' road.
I winter, me, and two neighbours are the ' go to ' people for shopp7img, hospital appointments, train journeys and any other miscellaneous emergencies nearby village may have.
We actaually need the transport, due to location. My old jalopy is scraped to hell, mud splattered and the inside is hazardous😂
But I, and my neighbours need it.

I think anyone living in a town or city needs their heads examined though!

"I'd never wear fur"
"Oh you wish you could afford it"
"I'm not keen on avocado"
"Careful there, your envy's showing"
"Have you got it in red?"
"Ooh, you really want the pink, don't you, don't you want the pink"

Fun times at the @Bossassbitch house

@BossAssBitch

Ok I get what you’re trying to do...

It must get tiring putting words into people’s mouth, and stereotyping men as angry etc

Have a lovely life with your car, I’m genuinely sad you seem to have used this thread as an attempt to wind someone up and mischaracterise them.

unfortunately they are for a lot of people. And then there are people for whom it forms part of a larger obsession. They have a new build house, wear joules head to toe, have a sausage dog/pug/lab, send their children to the local indi and they drive their evoke. There a literally hundreds of these people where I live and this kind of thing is ridiculously important to them.

But who cares. People do what they want. I think I need to just go to another thread, I'm obviously not really getting this one.

I can just imagine
One loses control of one’s 2 tonne car on an icy road and smash’s into someone’s mini.
One jumps out and says ‘well if you’d got a Range Rover you wouldn’t be spending the next 6 months in hospital’

It is a free world and we can all buy what we want an others can judge us for it.

@GinDaddy

Zzzz

You're just not very funny are you bitter yes, but just not funny

@GinDaddy I will, thanks !