To not understand the appeal of 4x4s

[purplesquarepurple]

I live in a suburb with flat roads yet a huge percentage of cars driving about the area are 4x4s. Genuinely interested to know why people who live in areas like that drive cars like that. The negatives I can see are: more expensive, worse for the environment, much more likely to kill a pedestrian if you hit them (recent incident in Germany where a 4x4 killed 4 pedestrians), much more likely to kill driver/passengers in other cars in a collision, not actually safer for driver of 4x4 as more likely to roll in a collision, reduces visibility for other road users, takes up more space in bay parking spaces...and I'm sure there are lots more. I completely understand that they are necessary for certain people - if they live in a rural area or have lots of dogs for example - but that definitely isn't the case for most people in my areas. Just wondering, I suppose, what the positives are that outweigh all those negatives?

After two threads on this in the last few days, you’d almost think that’s someone on MN who is miffed because her neighbour / friend / whoever has just bought a Range Rover . Very odd thing to get worked up about.

I forgot to say I avoid visiting towns and cities at all costs,

"And driving in London (or other congested areas) doesn't preclude you from driving elsewhere"

True.

I live in London Zone 2, I do camping, driving over the Hard Knott Pass and up mountain tracks, fit in a dog, wheelchair, do big shops, , everything mentioned on this thread except towing, in my solid normal sized hatchback with a huge boot. I have never needed a 4x4 or a big wide thing.

Drives me bonkers when a big wide 4x4 ignores the lack of passing places in a narrow street (despite the high driving position), doesn't wait for oncoming traffic to get past, and then expects me to manoeuvre out of the way, when two normal width cars could pass.

You have made a choice that suits you and your circumstances Macaroni. But there are urban dwellers who have to use motorways, go out of town on essential journeys, and they might require something very different? It’s not really fair to label them as posturing and entitled without understanding personal circumstances. Everyone is different.

I don't understand what the difference is between a 4x4 and some of the massive boat like estate cars driving around. Does the height make them worse for the environment?
What about the many people who have people carriers and vw vans? I've noticed a massive increase in them lately.

Oh and to answer your question, perhaps because they like the look, they have more space, easier to get in and out of, the list goes on.

I have a 7 seater. I need it for my job. If I had the money, I would get an even bigger one becaise the one I have isn't actually big enough. Couldn't give a shit what anyone thinks of that.

This is the third thread about this exact subject in as many months. It’s been done to death.

I have one because I need one. That’s all there is to it.

Always amuses me that not a single person will admit to owning one as a status symbol.

Main difference with a true 4x4 is that using everything the drive train allows you to do, can cope better with snow, ice, floods, towing, very steep inclines, load carrying, extreme terrain. Some are useful for dirty loads as well, as they can simply be carefully hosed out! They give good visibility, good ground clearance, ease of getting in and out.

Plenty of space and I like being high up, in a robust vehicle.
Also like the power on long trips.

Loving the outraged reactions to my suggestion that people should feel accountable to the planet for the choices that they make.

I suspect a Venn diagram of these people and those that don't think we should listen to experts overlaps a lot.

Actually the reason I got it is because the tailgate is perfect for changing nappies on.

I find a 4x4 ESSENTIAL for getting the children to their Prep school in Esther .. not to mention the terribly hazardous driving environment I encounter in my way to Waitrose in Surbiton .. YABVU

Always amuses me that not a single person will admit to owning one as a status symbol.

Like I said I have one for my work, I refuse to drive a people carrier because I personally don't like them. If I didn't do the job I do, I would still have one and if I had more money I would have a more expensive one 🤷‍♀️

“ Always amuses me that not a single person will admit to owning one as a status symbol.”

Perhaps a Range Rover Velar or a Porsche Cayenne could be viewed as a status symbol, but a Nissan Qashqui? Come on.

I’ll admit to liking the style of my 4x4. Don’t know about ‘status’.

I used to drive a clapped out golf. Great little car, but would be shite for a family.

Out of interest, what is your main point, OP? That we should all be getting rid of our cars? Or just 4x4s?

Why are they perceived by so many as “status symbols“ though, any more than any other car of similar size and /or value of which there are loads?

I think a Tesla is possibly more of a status symbol as they are less common (I mean less people own them, not that 4 x 4s are common!)

Oh the irony of “ better in floods and adverse weather” type arguments. Climate change caused by ...

...but is climate change caused solely by 4×4s?

Actually the reason I got it is because the tailgate is perfect for changing nappies on.

Yes!!!

It's generally people who like to look down on the rest of us who just drive normal cars or pricks who like to show how much money they have.

Last week my sister was forced to reverse a quarter of a mile down the road to let a four wheel driver pass and it wasn't even his right of way, the look he gave her and he didn't even thank her! My sister very rarely gets mad or Calls anyone but on this occasion she was very pissed off. I told her to chill because nice, happy people don't go round looking down their noses at others.

My friend has a land rover because he has to tow a caravan and he's lovely so they're not all knobs. most are though

I love the assumption that just because someone owns a 4x4 that they must be singlehandedly making climate change worse.

It’s all about the context people!

My 4x4 is a hybrid. It rarely has diesel in it. How does that stand up against your car?
My DH uses everyday to drive across farmland. I use public transport and my feet.
We haven’t flown for a number of years now.
DH’s job is to do with actively encouraging conservation and is heavily involved in the push against cLimits change.
I mean, I could go on but keep on assuming.

Of course I love the middle class status

Always amuses me that not a single person will admit to owning one as a status symbol.

Maybe because the majority of people don't think in terms of "status symbols" and just want a 4x4 either for practical reasons or because they're nice cars? I do think your post neatly sums up how the anti-4x4 brigade think though.

What is endlessly amusing is how some people get so wound up over people's choice of car. The only thing that annoys me is when I find myself sitting behind a car belting out black stinking smoke from the exhaust - and funnily enough, they're almost always old saloons/hatchbacks.