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.

Shmithecat2
Eh? How else should I park when I need to access the boot?

You're right, some car parks are designed by cretins and have no access to the back of the bay. Idiots! Do they not realise going into bays front first is a major cause of parking scrapes?

My work car park has signs banning front-first parking

I've not noticed any obsession with 4x4s. We had Land Rovers because husband did a lot of driving, sometimes in muddy, rural places with rough terrain.

As a passenger, I always felt safe in it.

Nobody ever said anything to us about our car, it was just a car.

The only car which has ever caused me serious back-pain (bad enough over a couple of weeks for me to have to go for sessions with a physio) was the large, upright tank which was given to us as a courtesy car while ours was in for repair after it was side-swiped by a taxi who wasn't looking where he was going and failed to notice there was anything in the lane beside him. Bolt upright with my knees at right-angles if my feet were not on the pedals clearly didn't suit my muscles at all in a car, though I find it the most comfortable position for sitting in a desk-chair.

We have a large SUV and live on the outskirts of London. Never drive off road. As SoyDora has repeatedly pointed out, those of us with more than 2 small children have little choice. We have 4 all in car seats and so not only need 7 seats but 4 of the seats in the back to have isofix points. Very very limited options.

The high ride position & ease of getting the children all in and out helps!

They do seem to be all the rage these days, but I wouldn’t mind a new one myself. A woman I know has the old jallopy type, she is one weird fuck! She has a very broad accent, yet every so often she puts on this ridiculous posh voice

Generally I agree with you, and definitely in relation to the bigger SUVs- nobody NEEDS one.

We NEED one. My god some of you would have a heart attack if you saw our truck. It's 20 feet long and 8 feet tall. It's wheels are as tall as ds.

Yes @MrsBethel, I much prefer to reverse park, so much easier. But like you say, some car parks just aren't designed for it, and with my car, I can't leave it forward to compensate as it would them stick out into the road.

4x4s are disastrous environmentally, and you should all care way more than you do about the air your kids are breathing. Wake up!

4x4s are disastrous environmentally, and you should all care way more than you do about the air your kids are breathing. Wake up!

I agree. Very few people in Britain NEED to have one.

Bought my Mitsubishi’s hybrid outright with cash, live in a village with one road in and one road out and have needed the 4 wheel drive capability during the wi yet when the one road often gets coveted in snow.

YANBU op. I live very rurally and I manage without a 4x4 with no issues.
I'm frequently nearly squished by 4x4 drivers (often Porsche Cayenne around here) going around bends in the middle of the road or coming down very narrow lanes. And in our nearest town frequently see families of four getting out of them at Asda after they have struggled to park.
They are (generally) worse for the environment. They are a selfish choice in terms of the space they take (and the way drivers of them seem to feel they are invincible), they are more dangerous for pedestrians.
No one (except Farmers) 'needs' one.
They Might want one as a status symbol and each to their own (but I reserve the right to internally judge )

Depends where you live. I live in the countryside and needed a larger car to tow my horse trailer. Bought a lorry and sized down. I don’t really see the point in having a massive car if you don’t need it but they do have lots of boot space for push chairs etc

The defensive posts here are hilarious. I think the OP's post was a fair question. Anyone who needs one because they live in the country/on a farm/up a muddy trail/needs it for work/is a photographer with loads of kit etc - fair enough. It wasn't aimed at you. Anyone who 'needs' one for most of the other reasons is kidding themselves because they want one, think it's 'safer', are slightly embarrassed, and can't justify it for any other reason. Just admit you like them. It's probably a fair answer. If you only drive in a city then maybe you need to worry. People in Berlin are planning on banning them. www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/09/berliners-call-for-suv-ban-after-four-people-killed-in-collision

While we're at it, sports cars are just as pointless but I'd argue they are a damn sight easier to park.

It's a fashion thing like saloons were in the 90's. It'll pass.

I love an estate. Much bigger boot space but, I agree, not as good if you have 4 kids!

I have a cute Fiat Cinqucento and I love it. Have no need for a big car and the road tax is only thirty quid.

Most people where I live don't have 4x4's and we have up to 6 months of snow and ice. FEET of snow and ice. Someone needing it to go from London to the Cotswolds is being fucking ridiculous.

My brothers live near the top of a mountain in Wales. They both have little, 2 wheel drive cars.

@Scarletoharaseyebrows

I love an estate. Much bigger boot space but, I agree, not as good if you have 4 kids!

Really? Which estate has more litres of space than, say, a Landrover Discovery, with the second row in use?

I need a car that can tow 3 and a half tonne, due to towing a heavy horse trailer with 2 large horses hence why I have a 4x4, plus I have big dogs and live in the country.

Even if I didn't have horses, big dogs, or lived in the country I couldn't think of a more unappealing car as an Astra estate!

I’m with you ...even though I have one. BUT I actually do need one as I live in the mountains and if it’s snows I can’t get out with a car

We live in the middle of the countryside in a country that can snow heavily in the winter. We have been snowed in before and could only get out because my dad was visiting with his 4x4. First opportunity I had I too got a 4x4, quite a big one. I love it. It’s a pain to park sometimes, and there are some car parks that we can’t go into, but I drive and park responsibly.
I also think it’s loads safer for the kids if we were ever to have a crash, and we do a LOT of driving.
If there is a valid need for them then they are great. Don’t see why you would need one living in a town though...

Your right some new cars are enormous.

We’ve got a VW camper. It looks large but it’s got a smaller footprint than many popular suv/4x4s. Weigh less than many larger cars and uses less fuel. (About 40mpg)

We’ve also got an electric car. Great and currently charging for zero cost at a charger in town.

I have a Grandland X, and interestingly used to have an Astra estate....it’s not any longer or harder to park...I actually find it much more comfortable to drive and easier to park than my husbands corsa.

As dirtyjellycat says SUVs do not take up more space than estates or people carriers of the same year. They are just taller. I know this because I have a narrow gate and checked width measurements of just about every 7 passenger vehicle out there last time we had to replace. (We have a very large family.)

Cars are getting wider all the time, thanks to improved safety standards (side air bags, for example) and people getting bigger. If you look around you will see even hatchbacks are wider than they used to be. Car parking spaces have not kept up with this trend so newer cars of every type are a tight squeeze now.

I drive an SUV because I need 7 seats, my six passengers are not tiny children, my tall husband and sons like the headroom, I like the high driving position and occasionally the four wheel drive is occasionally useful. Not that I owe anyone an explanation.

I have one, live in suburbia. Not top of the range but I bought it because I like it. That's it. Is that ok?

They annoy me as well. The car park spaces in a standard carpark aren’t big enough for them and I am pissed off every time I have to try and squeeze out of my car with the door only half open because the truck in the next space is right out to the white line. And it’s hard to pull out of the space safely because the length and height of the things means I have no visibility of what’s coming until my car is completely pulled out. Yes, some people may need them for work, farming, living in a remote hilly area but this doesn’t explain the huge number of them in town centre car parks and on urban school runs. They exacerbate congestion as they take up more space than small cars, raising levels of pollution that are harming us all, they use more fuel and material to manufacture, wasting resources in a way that is harming us all and they are more likely to cause injury in a collision with a small car or pedestrian. I don’t understand the lure - personally I would find the stress of parking a huge thing too much, and the cost of basic things like tyres would also annoy me, knowing that parts for a small car would cost a fraction!