Page 7 | to not understand the obsession with 4x4s

Midlandsmum42 · 2021-01-26T12:46:43+00:00

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!!!

PattyPan · 26/01/2021 14:37

@DicklessWonder thanks. That’s a real indictment of dogs!

FanSpamTastic · 26/01/2021 14:38

For us as a family of 5 - it was one of the few cars that gave every person a proper seat and not the "hump" middle seat. Also the boot space to fit 5 suitcases in when we used to be able to go on holiday.

I don't really care about the height above other road users or the type of fuel. Make an electric car with 5 proper seats (no stupid hump seat) and a big boot and I'll be buying that next time round when this one is done. Although by then I'm hoping all of the kids will have flown the nest and I can get a mid-life crisis soft top convertible!! Which - no doubt - are also completely unnecessary and some one will be along to complain about those too.

DynamoKev · 26/01/2021 14:39

@DicklessWonder

Hope you don't mind me asking, but what car do you have? I'm looking at getting a PHEV SUV.

Mitsubishi Outlander is the only PHEV SUV isn’t it?

Not any more. There's a BMW 5 Series Plug-in now, Mercedes GLE, Volvo XC90. The BMW is one of the heaviest cars you can buy - it's 300KG heavier than the equivalent diesel, due to the batteries and electric motor.

Original poster

Midlandsmum42 · 26/01/2021 14:39

@WTAFIhavelosttheferret

It lets me sneer down on the low and poor people (is that they type of reply you wanted?)

no because most of them are bought on PCP or HP deals so not really rich sneering down on the poor!!!

The issue is the safety of other road users and the environmental damage. Saying i can see better as I'm higher up is laughable. If everyone had the same logic we will all be driving HGV's or monster trucks before too long as everyone will be trying to get higher and higher up!!

OP posts:

DynamoKev · 26/01/2021 14:41

Oh, and Peugeot 3008 is available as a PHEV

CakeRequired · 26/01/2021 14:41

It's not about struggling to see. I also drive an old, low Saab 900 and can see fine in that, but the higher seating position of my 4x4 means that I can see even more. Is that a hard concept to grasp, or are you just being deliberately obtuse?

Surely if you're driving along a road with say high hedges and you're low down, you just drive slower?

You might think 'I'm higher up, I can see everything', but there could be a kid around the corner on a pony that you can't see, as they are too small. So you would still miss them.

Perhaps this is why so many horses now die on the roads. People thinking they can see everywhere, but can't.

RowanAlong · 26/01/2021 14:41

We love very rurally and really need to be high up - driving on farm tracks, bumpy, pitted and potholed lanes x 4 for school run..car always dirty inside and out. I agree there are lots in the towns too (shiny and clean) which does seem strange!

2manytattoos · 26/01/2021 14:45

I absolutely hate them, seems as soon as anyone has a baby they seem to need a massive car. I've got a Honda civic & due my 3rd baby & will be keeping my civic. Massive boot & plenty of room inside for car seats etc. 4x4 are far too big, I hate coming back to my car in a car park & there is 1 each side, you can't see round them to drive/ reverse out the space. Also where I live the roads can be narrow in places, normal cars you can pass fine but 4x4 just barge their way through & you have to stop or end up half in the hedge as they take up most of the road.

Pineapples3 · 26/01/2021 14:45

2 young kids, another on the way, double buggy in the boot, scooters. Fit all the car seats in... & I think they look nicer than people carriers.

NellyJames · 26/01/2021 14:46

We need a third row of seats with 3 big children and a dog. I struggled to find any non 4x4 that had a third set of seats plus boot space at the back of that. Only a few that had an occasional 3rd row and when up there was no boot. But I’m open to being educated if pointed in the right direction.

tellthem · 26/01/2021 14:47

are u actually seeing 4x4s or large modern SUVs with better emissions than most older small cars?

Stellaris22 · 26/01/2021 14:49

We needed a lot of space as we do a hobby that involves transporting large canvas tents and other things. We looked at lots of cars and don't understand why people say they got a SUV or 4x4 for space. We chose an estate as the boot space on most larger cars was tiny in comparison.

We live on a terraced street and the SUVs taking over is ridiculous.

NellyJames · 26/01/2021 14:52

@Stellaris22, we did get ours for space though. If your estate car has a third row of seats with a great boot behind that then I’d be interested. I looked and couldn’t find anything. Those of us with 3/4/5 children and a dog need that space.

WatchWatch · 26/01/2021 14:52

I really don't get the "I live rurally and need a 4x4" thing. I grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere- half mile un-tarmacked driveway leading on to a potholed, muddy country lane. We had a 4x4 which pretty much only went in the field. We had a standard estate car the rest of the time and my first car was a suzuki alto, a tiny noddy car little thing. Was absolutely fine on country lanes and dirt tracks, in snow and ice.

BountyFul · 26/01/2021 14:54

I quite like being higher up. I wouldn’t buy one as a status symbol because they are very 2018.

Tesla’s are all the rage now.

Updatemate · 26/01/2021 14:54

@NellyJames

We need a third row of seats with 3 big children and a dog. I struggled to find any non 4x4 that had a third set of seats plus boot space at the back of that. Only a few that had an occasional 3rd row and when up there was no boot. But I’m open to being educated if pointed in the right direction.

So what car did you get out of interest? I don't know any 7 seaters with boot space.

PattyPan · 26/01/2021 14:55

I guess environmental concerns are always going to fall on deaf ears when it comes to people who have 3+ kids anyway, ironically

Changi · 26/01/2021 14:59

I had a hatchback but managed to get stuck in it on more than one occasion. I also damaged the underside so badly that bits started to fall off because of the the low ground clearance. I swapped it for a crossover SUV which was better but I still managed to get stuck.

I now drive a proper 4x4. Problem solved. It has been excellent on the snow covered roads too. The downsides are the higher running costs and poorer handling on road. Sitting higher up is nice, but not a reason I bought it.

If anybody made an affordable BEV with the same capability and a decent range when towing, I'd buy it. As it is, I'm looking at keeping it and getting a small BEV for commuting and general running about.

curlymom · 26/01/2021 15:02

I don’t get it either. Someone told me it’s a way of showing everyone how well off they are. Stupid

museumum · 26/01/2021 15:02

We used to have one for our outdoor hobby when we could only afford one vehicle.
Now we have a small and eco car for most of our journeys plus a campervan for our sport that doesn't get driven in town. This is FAR better for us but ten years ago we could never have afforded to have both.

Updatemate · 26/01/2021 15:07

@PattyPan

I guess environmental concerns are always going to fall on deaf ears when it comes to people who have 3+ kids anyway, ironically

Not all of us have 3+ kids through design and we do care very much about the environment, but I have to get them to school somehow (I don't own a 4x4 and won't, but school is not in walking distance or a on a bus route).

garlictwist · 26/01/2021 15:10

I have always had a polo and never driven anything else. But when all the other cars are so big as they increasingly are it does make driving harder as you can't see round them.

Shmithecat2 · 26/01/2021 15:13

@CakeRequired

It's not about struggling to see. I also drive an old, low Saab 900 and can see fine in that, but the higher seating position of my 4x4 means that I can see even more. Is that a hard concept to grasp, or are you just being deliberately obtuse?

Surely if you're driving along a road with say high hedges and you're low down, you just drive slower?

You might think 'I'm higher up, I can see everything', but there could be a kid around the corner on a pony that you can't see, as they are too small. So you would still miss them.

Perhaps this is why so many horses now die on the roads. People thinking they can see everywhere, but can't.

Where did I state a higher position = driving faster?

I drive with the same care and attention regardless of which car I'm in. I can just see more in some situations in my 'big' car, ie pulling out of junctions where there are cars parked along the road I want to pull out on to. In my Saab, I may have to edge out to see the road past the parked cars. In my Merc, I can see over the parked cars without having to edge out - so in that situation, it's actually safer in the Merc.

Chloemol · 26/01/2021 15:17

@Midlandsmum4

I live Rurally, rough local roads, subject to flooding, they are also better for kids and the stuff they carry, people use them for hobbies, to carry stuff etc required as they are bigger than normal cares

But actually I don’t care who has them, or who doesn’t. It’s a personal choice we can all make 8n a free country and has bugger all to do with you

PinkSpring · 26/01/2021 15:19

@Midlandsmum42 ours was paid for outright, no finance - if that helps your weird assumption that people who have SUV/4x4 must have got them on finance?!

As I said before our top priority was that it was safe for OUR family - I cannot be buying a car based on how safe it is for others - in that case you could argue all cars are unsafe as any car that hits you at speed is going to do some damage.