to not understand the obsession with 4x4s

[Midlandsmum42]

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!!!

There are at least 5 on our residential suburban street. I've managed without a car at all so it's definitely not for managing the local area.

OP are you actually objecting to SUVs rather than 4x4 capable vehicles?

I have one of each, a SUV that people often refer to as a 4x4 but isn't, and a Pickup that can be driven in 4 wheel drive when required.

Really the SUV should be a 4x4 too as I live somewhere that you can't leave in winter unless you are in 4 wheel drive, but the 4x4 version is hideously expensive when I already had a 4 wheel drive I could use if I needed.

I don't know many people who add 4x4 to their SUVs unless they actually need it.

Also, one of the best 4x4s I've ever had was a Suzuki Swift.....

@Pukkatea

My friend is an engineer for JLR and he says the vast majority of their models aren't fit to be driven off road or in poor conditions, they are built to be status symbols as that is now their key demographic.

What a load of crap.

I actually got a free half day off-road driving tuition experience at Peckforton Castle when purchasing my car, your friend is talking out of their arse.

I have a friend who has one. For her, it's nothing more than a status symbol. I liked her a little less when she got one.....

Well speaking for myself I had a Q7 and bought it for the proper 7 seats and proper 3x3 point seatbelts on all seats which is not the case with all 7 seaters. I didn’t buy it for the status symbol, nor did I buy it for its fuel economy (I have a second small economical car which is so economical it’s free to tax, which I use for small trips and the school run in good weather) I bought it because the 7 seats were needed, the height was needed and the boot space was needed. Most 7 seaters don’t have very much useful boot space when all 7 seats are in use but mine did and that was essential.

As it happens I got rid of it because it was no longer needed, but I has been replaced by a 4x4 truck which DH needs for work. The truck has been incredibly useful during all the snow. My little car won’t make it out of our estate in bad weather, that being said my little old economical car is brilliant and I will never get rid of it whilst it’s still going strong. I do over 90 percent of my journeys in this car, it’s cheap to run, free to tax, cheap to insure, it’s so small I can park it anywhere easily. The only thing I don’t do in the car is take it on the motorway, I hate driving any small car on the motorway and feel like a flying tin of baked beans. Fortunately I don’t need to do much motorway driving and when I do I just take the big car.

Most importantly I don’t judge who anyone chooses a particular vehicle for their use whether it be a 4x4 or a Lamborghini. It’s their money and their life, not only that but if they have bought that kind of vehicle they are certainly financially penalised for it as the car tax is much more expensive (it was over £500 a year to tax my Q7), it’s obviously much more expensive to run, and much more expensive to insure.

I also wouldn’t bother to take the hump over gas guzzler uneconomical cars, as the move over to electric cars is already underway. There will come a time when no Petrol/diesel cars are manufactured for general public use. I imagine there will some sort of scheme that will be brought into to encourage car owners to upgrade to electric vehicles, and those who continue to keep their petrol/diesel cars will no doubt pay a higher amount of tax and I’m sure there will be other penalties brought in to discourage their use.

@Midlandsmum42

Completely agree. Most people who have them don't need them. They're so dangerous too, as you can't see if any small children are standing behind it. Also, they are gas guzzlers and expensive to run and insure AND maintain. AND it's ridiculous to say that they are safer than a 'normal' car, because the kids are higher up in them!

Also, when we had really bad snow in our village (winter 2017 into 2018,) we couldn't get out of the village for 3 days. Hilariously, neither could the 4 X 4 cars. The snow had drifted with the 'beast from the east' and Storm Emma, and we had 5-7 foot deep snow drifts in the only 2 routes out of the village.

Also, most people who have one think they own the roads. And for some reason, they think they have the right to break the speed limit, and bully people into going faster (or letting them overtake.) I don't get bullied by them. In fact, I rather enjoy them being behind me, frustrated and angry that I am sticking to the speed limit.

Yes I am small-minded and petty. IDGAF.

They on the whole use more fuel than smaller cars, seems a shame to use up finite resources and pollute the air for this and future generations so you can be higher up when driving. Perhaps i have a different perspective on life.

We have had lots of examples of people with horse boxes and even boats they transport. I didn't know so many people have horses. The housing estates in the local town must a horse in each garden. You live and learn!!!

I have an old diesel 4x4 Subaru, but our main cars have been fully electric for the last 6 years.
We live rurally and the 4x4 was used to tow the horse and for mud and snow. Our village was snowed in this weekend for the majority but I was able to get to the horse etc. It’s vital to have it here really.
They have their place but most women are shit at driving them! They are ridiculous for town.
I do much prefer my electric SUV though, I don’t enjoy driving ICE these days. I did use the 4x4 today for the nursery run as the snow and ice was still bad here.

Love mine! Fits two dogs in comfortably along with horse feed/various horsey rubbish I fill it with and easier for getting babies into and out of car seats as they are higher up. Feel so safe driving it, it’s super comfortable. Yes it costs me a bit more to run but it’s worth it in my opinion

@Shetoshe

What's wrong with that though? Lots of things are status symbols. Such is the capitalist society we live in! I don't understand why you'd sneer at someone's car choice yet presumably you wouldn't do the same if someone bought a huge house when they didn't "need" the space.

Someone’s house is less likely to be contributing to toxic air pollution that the rest of us have to breathe. Unless they have a coal fire or log burner in which case I judge them just as much!

@Midlandsmum42

They on the whole use more fuel than smaller cars, seems a shame to use up finite resources and pollute the air for this and future generations so you can be higher up when driving. Perhaps i have a different perspective on life.

We have had lots of examples of people with horse boxes and even boats they transport. I didn't know so many people have horses. The housing estates in the local town must a horse in each garden. You live and learn!!!

They use MUCH more fuel! A woman I know has one and she puts £400 a MONTH in it - pre covid when we all had a normal life.

She does/did the same amount of miles a month that me and DH do in our car, and we pay £150 a month for fuel. (Vauxhall Astra.)

@Midlandsmum42

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!!!

Most cars you call a 4x4 aren’t 4x4. They’re 2WD SUVs.

The average dog has a bigger carbon footprint over their lifetime than a SUV.

If you saw my car you wouldn't think it was a status symbol.

If you could find it under the mud that is. I have an outlander and actually only turn my 4x4 on in the car when it is snowing, I am driving I the fields or if I am towing the horsebox.

It needs to hold 7 people. With the rearmost seats down I can transport hay bales, feed, a week's shop for 7 people, some chickens, a weeks worth of stuff for pony club camp etc etc.

Most people I know with 4x4s either are farm/horse people or have a lot of kids, nowadays if you want a decent sized 7 seater you need a 4x4

Ours is a SUV and a 4x4 - as others have said - not all SUV's are 4x4 - so are people objecting to the SUV's or the fact some are 4x4?!

We purchased ours secondhand when it was a couple of years old and it was the only one we could find which was the spec and model we wanted - the fact it was a 4x4 wasn't really important to us!

We chose our car because it's safe for our family - which was a top priority. It also has tons of space, a huge boot, it's got a higher driving position. We live rurally and it's brilliant on the roads in any condition.

I really don't get the issue with people choosing whatever car they want. Before this car, we had a sports car - I am sure people had issues with that as well!!

Some people enjoy driving, and want to drive something they love, and see their choice of vehicle as more than just a tool to get from A to B. Simple as that. Would a Fiesta other small hatchbacks are available do most of what I needed on a daily basis? Probably. But I don't like them. If I'm going to spend good money on a car, I at least want to like or even love it. I loved my D3. I love my ML350. It makes driving less of chore for me.

Also, to those who are saying that estates offer as much bootspace as 4x4s - maybe in some cases, but I needed a large boot space whilst still having the second row in use. No estate car boot had the capacity of my Disco 3.

I had to switch to a higher car when I had kids because scraping around on the floor with a car seat/leaning into a low hatchback was hurting my back. We didn't go 4x4 but it is a SUV.

I have one, I live in the countryside, need it to tow and go off road. It also gets driven in towns as its the only car I have.

Got to question why people need to be high up to drive? If you're struggling to see, maybe you just shouldn't be driving?

That's quite scary.

@PattyPan

Totally agree OP. Can’t believe people are talking about safety features for their kids whilst simultaneously destroying the environment their kids live in!

This! We have a big spacious and very safe (low centre of gravity) electric car, in the country. It is great and works well even in snow/ice.

And let’s not forget the massive impact the production and electricity production for electric cars has on the environment.

And those who change their cars every 3 years regardless.

They are much safer than people carriers if you have several small children.

I drove massive 4x4s for years when I towed horse trailers. Now have a small horse box and a teenytiny car. I loved the 4x4s as a tow vehicle and for carting stuff around, but HATED driving it. It guzzled diesel like it was going out of fashion, was a bugger to drive round tight supermarket car parks and just felt very top heavy on twisty roads. I also dreaded hitting black ice although it was fab in the snow.

I now love driving my teenytiny car, filling it up once a fortnight instead of every other day and slotting neatly into the tightest parking space! And if I need to do a tip run or move furniture - the horsebox does the job! I would never drive a big 4x4 for pleasure.

@lillygolightly your Q7 was also an all wheel drive rather than a 4 wheel drive.

Another misconception lots of people and again probably the OP make is to think that all wheel drive SUVs are 4x4s.

I cannot understand the gas guzzlers you see running idle at the school gates. Do they think once their children are safely entombed in the vehicle they are not breathing in the particles from all the other cars on the road as they drive? Also, from an environmental standpoint it's the equivalent of building a time machine to harm your grandchildren.

It's such an unnecessary purchase. If you can't afford an electric/hybrid SUV but still want your kids to have a future where they too can happily choose to have kids then buy a smaller vehicle

Tyres and driver ability are the key indicators of whether a car will cope in snow.

My dad taught me to drive in snow and ice in a RWD beemer. Anything else is a cinch!