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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:
EmmaStone · 26/01/2021 13:04

Live rurally in an area that regularly floods. My children attend school in a nearby city, in which I also work. In order to get myself and the children to work on flood days, the 4x4 car sails through the water easily.

Prior to having the 4x4 we would be stuck to the house - not acceptable for my employer or for the kids' education.

Shmithecat2 · 26/01/2021 13:04

I do agree though about the attitude of SOME 4x4 drivers and snow etc. Yes, the 4x4 function is helpful to plough through it (and the snow function on the FL3 and D3 can control acceleration and gear change etc), but it's just a 2 tonne sleigh if it hits ice.

tttigress · 26/01/2021 13:04

@Starlight86

Higher up, safer, more space. simple
Safer: not if someone is hit by one, it is actually less safe, also a higher chance if rolling.

Higher up: we seem to be in a battle where everyone one has to be higher up, that means most end up at the same level, but with much less environmentally friendly vehicles

bananaboats · 26/01/2021 13:04

Agree they are a status symbol, we don't live rurally so no practical reason for the amount in our town!

Nopreservatives · 26/01/2021 13:05

I think a lot of what you're calling 4x4 aren't really, they're just large cars, which you do need now more than when we were young and you could pile people on top of each other in the back of a car or put extra kids in the estate car boot.

As it happens I do have a 4x4. I don't need or want four wheel drive but I do need 6 seats and some luggage space, which is really hard to get another way.

thedevilinablackdress · 26/01/2021 13:05

I live in a large city and it seems like a fashion thing - often see 2 matching 4x4s outside houses.
I get that they feel safer in some ways.

Iheartmysmart · 26/01/2021 13:05

I drive a tiny car and always get really cross at normal sized cars holding me up by not being able to squeeze through the little gaps I could fit through. Having said that one of my favourite vehicles was my camper van. I’m confused.

Ariela · 26/01/2021 13:06

We live rurally, have horses and tow other stuff as well as horses. Hence the 4x4 of industrial proportions. But everyone in our road bar two have one, it's necessary by the fact you live in countryside.

DinnaeFashSassenach · 26/01/2021 13:06

@NiceTwin

The worse thing is people think because they have a 4x4, they can drive in snow as they normally do. Like they won't skid or anything. Idiots!!

They bear down on mere car drivers on the country lanes like we have to move out their way.
Nah, they've got the big wheels, they can manage the mud and snow drifts with them.

You're not wrong here. I grew up on a farm driving Landrovers and did a lot of off-road it events so know how to drive them properly but when we have only had cars and met 4x4's on tight country roads, very few 4x4's would drive onto the grass (the people I suspect are the reason for this thread) and we would be expected to move aside in our little Fiesta and get stuck.
romany4 · 26/01/2021 13:07

We have one. We live in a small village in Yorkshire.
Absolute godsend in the recent snow. We were helping people who were stuck.
Also DH has mobility problems and can't bend and get into a normal car

Peanutbutterblood · 26/01/2021 13:10

Farmer here, DHs main vehicle is a 4x4 as we do need one, mine is a little hatchback which I prefer a million times over.

I remember when buying my car a few years ago friends asking why I wasnt buying a 4x4, (they have them and believe me dont need them) it was definitely a status thing for them. One friend said she NEEDED hers yet lives in a small village, if the snow was that heavy she couldnt drive she could walk the kids to school, to work and the coop. She could manage just fine on foot for the few days the snow would be bad enough to not drive.

lobsteroll · 26/01/2021 13:10

If you live rurally, have lots of children in car seats, dogs, prams to cart around then they really are very practical.

If you're usually doing long journeys then they are also a lot more comfortable, both for drivers and passengers

I agree there probably are people who don't fall into the above categories that do have them, but for the most part I think they probably get their use.

ShirleyPhallus · 26/01/2021 13:12

The best thing about ours is that I don’t have to bend down to put baby DD in and out of the car

Did it in a friend’s car and nearly broke my back honestly

BigPaperBag · 26/01/2021 13:13

We’ve got a Tucson and I love it 💕 It’s got a good amount of headroom which is great for DH as he’s tall. He’s the only driver and I’m short so that side of thing didn’t really affect me!!

Nopreservatives · 26/01/2021 13:13

I also think most people only have one car. So no, I don't need a big car for my daily commute, but it's the same car I drive team mates to cross country fixtures in, occasionally move a piece of furniture with, include my parents on a day out with DC and take on the annual holiday. (In our dreams this year)

ruby2019missyou · 26/01/2021 13:14

Perceived status

ichundich · 26/01/2021 13:16

It's a way for the MC / wealthy to show off their money.

AiryFairyMum · 26/01/2021 13:16

For pulling a trailer when needed.

Springersrock · 26/01/2021 13:17

We have a 4x4 truck

We needed a vehicle suitable for several roles in our lives

DH runs his own business and needs a vehicle suitable for delivery of large, heavy items

We have horses and tow a horse box, we need room for large bales of hay/straw and multiple bags of feed. We need to be able to get to them twice a day, whether it’s snowing, icy or flooded

We have a caravan so need something suitable for towing that

We also need a family car (2 adults, 2 kids and dog) - we live in the sticks, down an unmade, pot-holey lane

The pick-up covers all bases in one vehicle, rather than having a separate van for work, etc.

BeautifulBirds · 26/01/2021 13:17

Because some people like big dirty diesels. To pull the caravan, trailer, or take off road through some muddy field somewhere. 😉

Nopreservatives · 26/01/2021 13:17

@ichundich

It's a way for the MC / wealthy to show off their money.
Not for me, in fact I'm slightly embarrassed to be driving such a flash vehicle. I actively looked for something "ordinary" that could accommodate the people and luggage I needed it to and it doesn't exist.
mygenericusername · 26/01/2021 13:17

So that when ignorant people run into the back of my Land Rover because they’re playing on their phones, it writes off their vehicle on my tow hook without scratching my vehicle.

Information relating to them being gas guzzles is misleading. My new discovery sport will be better for the environment than a lot of the old sheds I see on the road.

And mainly because I like the space.

DinnaeFashSassenach · 26/01/2021 13:18

Does anyone on here who dislikes 4x4 own a sports car? Just curious.

Yewrobin · 26/01/2021 13:19

I have a fairly elderly 4x4 - originally bought as we are rural and husband had a long commute . I love it , feel safe , high up , I can see when I’m manoeuvring - unlike a lot of newer cars and it’s awesome in the snow and ice

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