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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not understand the obsession with 4x4s

449 replies

Midlandsmum42 · 26/01/2021 12:46

I really don't understand why there are so many 4x4s on the road in cities and the country, half of the parents have them on the school run (when there was a school run). They are so bad for the environment and too big and unnecessary. They weren't needed in the past and aren't needed now. Completely understand why a farmer needs one or someone on construction sites but driving kids to school!!!

OP posts:
ittakes2 · 27/01/2021 14:40

I have a normal looking car with 4 x 4 capability. I choose it because its safer to drive on ice and snow. Large 4 x 4s takimg up two car spaces drive me mad.

CakeRequired · 27/01/2021 14:41

@pippy1958

Thread just about sums up mumsnet! For example, there is no topic thread for Environment and many people on this subject ie cars don't really consider the environment nor other people. At some point, we will HAVE to consider the environment and will not be able to do what we want because we "like it". Let's hope it's not too late...
It is too late, far too late. We will never catch up with the damage done. People are too selfish to be bothered until a critical disaster occurs and by that point, you're screwed already. Enjoy life while you can and expect your future generations to be putting up with our mistakes.

Doom and gloom yes but realistic.

Iminaglasscaseofemotion · 27/01/2021 14:42

@CounsellorTroi

Because as I said the markings are not designed for that size of car. They are designed for normal sized cars allowing for door opening. SUVs also can also stick out a foot further over the end of the bay than a normal sized car would. In a not overly spacious underground or multi storey car park this can cause an issue.

I imagine as a driver of one of these cars you just don't notice.

Actually it's estate cars that I have noticed sticking out of spaces more than SUVs, yet no one seems to bother about them. Is it just the height that gets people's knickers in a twist?
StillMedusa · 27/01/2021 14:43

I have a 4x4... but it's a fiat Panda Grin so not quite the enormous gas guzzler that most are talking abou, it's more the Jack Russell terrier of the 4xe world!
I live in the countryside and have a dog..and my previous car (a twingo) had to be pulled out of the mud, so when it was time to change I chose a small, compact but mud and country road worthy car. It's ace.
And proved itself in the snow this week!

Thebig3 · 27/01/2021 14:49

Nearly all the new 4x4s/suv are now hybrids too. So land rover discover sport is now a hybrid, volvo xc90 etc.

We have a volvo xc90, its a big car but we have 3 kids and there are very few cars that can fit 3 car seats across the back. We chose this as it was put favourite. It feels safer than any other car I have ever driven.

Shmithecat2 · 27/01/2021 15:07

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion

Doesn't even have to be an estate. A modern Mondeo saloon is longer than my ML350 - 4867mm to my 4804mm...

Countdowntonothing · 27/01/2021 15:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

spacegirl86 · 27/01/2021 15:46

We are looking at getting one. Our car seat in my fiesta is so high I am posting my growing child through a tiny gap. Not to mention the difficulty getting the pram in the boot. Would get a land rover if we could afford but it will have to be a less off-roady alternative.

However I do realise that it won't be any better in the snow unless it has winter tyres and I won't be able to take it down any green lanes. (Actually that would be dh anyway). Don't judge if you don't know the reasons.

Elai1978 · 27/01/2021 15:51

Where in my post did I say it wasn't diesel, or specify which type of fuel it ran on

You claimed it was “top of the range”. I’m betting it wasn’t.

Iminaglasscaseofemotion · 27/01/2021 15:54

@Elai1978

Where in my post did I say it wasn't diesel, or specify which type of fuel it ran on

You claimed it was “top of the range”. I’m betting it wasn’t.

It was brand new the most expensive BMW estate on the road at the moment (not that I could have cared less, it was dp that looked that up) and had every gadget you could imagine, could change it to different drive settings like sport, eco... blah blah blah. I'm not sure what you mean to be honest. What does top of the range mean to you?
Piglet89 · 27/01/2021 16:00

Because people are selfish and think only of their own and their family’s wants, not those of wider society.

They’re all on this thread.

Iminaglasscaseofemotion · 27/01/2021 16:01

@Shmithecat2 true, its always lower down cars I see with their arses hanging over the end of the space.

I don't actually think a lot of people know what they mean when they say 4x4s anyway. They just mean SUVs and assume they are all 4x4s.

CharlotteRose90 · 27/01/2021 16:08

Bigger, more space, more safer in an accident and room for my dog. I don’t have one but I am planning on buying one soon.

Elai1978 · 27/01/2021 16:13

It was brand new the most expensive BMW estate on the road at the moment (not that I could have cared less, it was dp that looked that up)

A £60k 340bhp petrol seems an odd choice for a courtesy car I must admit.

change it to different drive settings like sport, eco.

I think you can do that with all automatic BMWs and MINIs currently on sale, not sure about the manuals.

Dogonahottinroof · 27/01/2021 17:06

Great for dogging

Every position possible including missionary.
Lots of windows give an all round view.

peaceanddove · 27/01/2021 18:07

I used to turn my nose up at huge 4x4s, especially at their women owners who couldn't manoeuvre them at all. But I got a Range Rover Sport recently, and I absolutely love it with a passion. It's very powerful, but is so quiet and just glides so smoothly everywhere. When you get in, it just feels so comfortable and cosseting - leather seats that heat up at the touch of a button which is lovely in this icy weather. Another touch of the button adjusts everything to my exact requirements, so seat position, music, phone, steering wheel. It's the difference between wearing normal shoes and wearing a handmade, bespoke pair that fit like a glove.

KatherineJaneway · 27/01/2021 18:08

I don't own one but have driven a few, large and small.

Great for motorway driving, great to transport lots of goods each time.

KathleenTurnerOverdrive · 27/01/2021 18:43

Great for dogging

Every position possible including missionary.
Lots of windows give an all round view.

Plus the off road capabilities mean you can get it right into the woods. Alas the lack of sunroofs on modern cars mean that it is difficult to indulge in seagulling in modern cars.

peaceanddove · 27/01/2021 18:48

As a MN veteran I know better than to Google what seagulling is.

Mine has a panoramic glass roof, but it's fixed - so, presumably a case of they can look, but not touch?

Bangable · 27/01/2021 18:52

@DinnaeFashSassenach

I live rurally and I have to say, I've had cars like a Fiat Punto, a Ford Fiesta, an Astra, a Suzuki Swift, a Zafira, a Landrover Discovery and even an old Landrover and my favourites to drive will always be the Landrovers. The 4x4's. Big, tough, high off the ground, spacious motors that laugh in the face of winter roads. Yeah they're probably not the most suited to cities but they are really nice to drive and as DH says, feel really safe. So I get it.
Yep same, live rurally and wouldn't be without my Landrover, a wonderful workhorse of a car. During the recent snow, most cars were turning around on a particularly bad patch of road, my landy just sailed through. Mine is a PHEV so no more environmentally damaging than any other electric vehicle. Love being high up too, visibility is so much better than my DH's beemer.
KathleenTurnerOverdrive · 27/01/2021 18:56

Mine has a panoramic glass roof, but it's fixed - so, presumably a case of they can look, but not touch?

Yup. But better than nowt.

I'd been talking about seagulling with my mum and generally sniggering about it. About 5 minutes later my sister's incredibly straight laced partner came in to say he'd just been looking at a car, but he was disappointed it didn't have a sunroof. He couldn't understand why my mother and I were helpless with laughter.

UrAWizHarry · 27/01/2021 18:58

Fucking hell this thread is fu of stupid.

Iminaglasscaseofemotion · 27/01/2021 19:00

A £60k 340bhp petrol seems an odd choice for a courtesy car I must admit.

I can't even remember if it was petrol. Yeah we were pretty surprised aswell, but not sure what you want me to tell you 😂 it's just the car we were given because Arnold Clark had to supply us with a courtesy car at short notice and that's the one we got from an Arnold Clark hire company. Noy sure why I would lie about that.

So, what do you consider top of the range? I did ask but you seem to have ignored that?

petitdonkey · 27/01/2021 19:07

There’s so much sneering here town a few miles away you do see loads of them parked in driveways of housing estates

Oh god no! People on housing estates choose to spend their money on something you don’t like Shock

Bet you rant about flat screen TVs too OP...

addicted2spaniels · 27/01/2021 19:07

We've got a range rover. It's a complete joy and gets us in and out of the house whatever the weather (rural hamlet only accessed by a steep hill in and out). We've also just bought a VW T Roc as a runaround as DH gets cranky having 2 muddy spaniels in the RR. I don't give a shit what other people drive, so I'm not sure why there is so much righteous indignation on this thread.