Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To irrationally resent SUVs ?

408 replies

SavoirFlair · 30/01/2023 09:09

For those who have impossibly avoided the term, I’m talking about “fake 4x4s.”

A car that would have been a hatchback a dozen years ago, but is now wider, higher up, with fake 4x4 styling (flared wheel arches, roof rails, big plastic moulding).

I can’t stand them.

As someone who has owned two generations of Range Rovers when we lived off a track a mile or so from the main road, I realise people are free to lob back at me. but those cars had a purpose. We wanted to be comfortable; but we absolutely needed the traction and clearance that vehicle gave us.

Does anyone need what a Grandland X offers? A Mokka? (Jesus save me from that awful car. Worst on sale today - just buy a Corsa and stop being previous). Who needs a Sportage or a Qashqai? (the hallmarks of the aspiring, when years ago a Focus or a Golf would have done just fine).

The worst offenders for me are actually the so called luxury ones. BMW X5 is an abomination - can’t do anything off road, is massively wide on road, and two mums at our school park terribly with them and block the road for the other direction.

And that’s the thing - a large segment of folk who own them, can’t drive them properly. I go to the hospital car park twice weekly with my DD. If someone is careless (often are) and parks close to or on the white line… renders the next space completely useless. Which when hunting for the one or two spaces available for my vulnerable DD, can be infuriating.

We don’t need these things, but I get people love them for

• being “high up” (still doesn’t make the drivers any better at driving)

• Being “high up” to load DCs and allow elderly parents to get in and out without bending back

• some of them have a big boot

Ok, but my answer to all these three is..

an MPV. Cars like the Ford Galaxy, S Max, Touran, Alhambra - all high up seating, easy to get in and out of, massive boots.

But no.. the truth is fashion. Why buy a Corsa when you have a jacked up version. Why buy a 5 series when you can have an X5 and dominate the school run.

Meanwhile the greater fuel consumption, the materials cost to make the thing …

AIBU to irrationally hate these stupid wide massive things?

OP posts:
4thonthe4th · 30/01/2023 12:30

whatatanker · 30/01/2023 12:25

Breaking the mould here. 3DC, two large dogs, private school, and I turn up in a small hatchback.

Secretly, I’m actually quite smug about it when I see how much money other parents are wasting by buying such expensive pieces of metal.

How do you fit 3 children and 2 large dogs in a hatchback? I’m assuming one child has to either sit in the front seat with the airbag off or goes without a car seat?

Sarahcoggles · 30/01/2023 12:31

@4thonthe4th I don't like anyone's them, but the men tend to be more pushy

FuckabethFuckor · 30/01/2023 12:32

@SavoirFlair I know you're getting some stick for the phrase but it just struck me that Hallmarks of the Aspiring would make a great album title for a satirical/spoof The 1975 record!

GasPanic · 30/01/2023 12:33

Another thing about SUVs I don't like is people who claim they are "good in the snow". Normally when it chucks it down with snow there are a load of idiots on forums going on about how they are going to get a big SUV, as if a freak weather event every 5 years justifies spending 50K on a giant heap of metal.

If you actually want a car that's good in the snow, get a normal car and just put winter tyres on it. It will be a lot cheaper than an SUV and perform better than an SUV 4WD on normal tyres.

Sarahcoggles · 30/01/2023 12:33

I also wonder how all these people with 3 kids, a dog and a love of camping survived before every other car was a tank. How on earth did previous generations cope?!

Honestly it's pathetic.

Heli1copter · 30/01/2023 12:35

Our Skoda SUV saved someone a lot of bother when it was really snowy a couple years ago.

Mr BMW 5 series (estate not 4x4) had taken his kids out sledging up in the back of beyond near where we stay. He'd skidded sideways on the snowy road into a massive ditch blocking half the road. We happened to be driving back home, had our winter tyres on, and we always have a tow rope in the boot just in case as we live in a tiny wee village at the foot of the Campsie hills. We pulled the guy out the ditch, he and his family were eternally grateful, and they drove home very cautiously. He'd been told it would be a 5 hour wait for the police to get him out.

Slowingdownagain · 30/01/2023 12:35

Sarahcoggles · 30/01/2023 12:33

I also wonder how all these people with 3 kids, a dog and a love of camping survived before every other car was a tank. How on earth did previous generations cope?!

Honestly it's pathetic.

well, by not wearing seatnbelts and throwing the kids in the boot! I joke, but it's a little bit like the old "in my day we had no heating and we survived just fine" arguement.. I don't see anyone arguing that it's ESSENTIAL, but rather that the chose a car based on need and convenience. If people have the budget why would they not choose something that makes their lives easier/ safer/ nicer.

balloontrip · 30/01/2023 12:36

@SleeplessInEngland

Oh no, all the totally calm range rover owners are descending... 😂

I don't own a Range Rover. Not sure why you are laughing? You look even stupider now.

roarfeckingroarr · 30/01/2023 12:37

The big boot though... and being high up. I'm a midget with two small children who have heap loads of stuff needed for days out. DP has just traded in for an SUV and I love it.

DanseAvecLesLoup · 30/01/2023 12:37

xogossipgirlxo · 30/01/2023 12:23

I think it's mostly men though. Women seem to be more considerate. At least I am! Whoever has the right of way, goes first, can't see the problem here. But I don't have ego in my pants. I just drive the car my husband chose (we share it, so he had more say in terms of his needs).

Show quote history

I hate to say it but from my experience it is mostly women who literally cant reverse these large cars despite all the sensors and cameras. It is not arrogance or bullying on their part, just incompetence. I have in the past climbed out of my car and politely asked the driver why they can't back into the passing spot 20m behind them rather then expect several cars to reverse back the entire length of the street and I get the slightly embarrassed 'I'm not very good at reversing' response.

4thonthe4th · 30/01/2023 12:37

Sarahcoggles · 30/01/2023 12:33

I also wonder how all these people with 3 kids, a dog and a love of camping survived before every other car was a tank. How on earth did previous generations cope?!

Honestly it's pathetic.

My parents had a large 4x4 when I was a child in the 90s …..

FuckabethFuckor · 30/01/2023 12:38

Sarahcoggles · 30/01/2023 12:33

I also wonder how all these people with 3 kids, a dog and a love of camping survived before every other car was a tank. How on earth did previous generations cope?!

Honestly it's pathetic.

People still had big cars. (I'm one of six.) There were a few 4x4s around (old-style Range Rovers, Land Rover Defenders, the odd Mitsubishi Shogun) but most people with Kids and Stuff had either large estates (big Volvos, Vauxhall Carltons, Ford Granadas) or converted vans. Bedford Midis, VW Transporters, Transits, that kind of thing.

Oakbeam · 30/01/2023 12:39

We have a Range Rover. An old one. According to its registration document, it’s a “Light 4x4 utility”. Not an SUV.

SleeplessInEngland · 30/01/2023 12:41

balloontrip · 30/01/2023 12:36

@SleeplessInEngland

Oh no, all the totally calm range rover owners are descending... 😂

I don't own a Range Rover. Not sure why you are laughing? You look even stupider now.

"If you're tired of laughing at range rover owners, you're tired of life." - Samuel Johnson

FuckabethFuckor · 30/01/2023 12:42

The other thing to bear in mind is that all cars are bigger now. The latest VW Polo is bigger than a 1980s Golf (which is from the class above) and the Up is roughly the same size as an 80s Polo. The need to include more impact protection and occupant safety has driven the size inflation of all cars.

Sarahcoggles · 30/01/2023 12:43

It's basically selfishness, an "I'm already Jack" attitude. Never mind fuel consumption, never mind making it harder for others to park, never mind making motorways more dangerous for smaller cars, never mind being more risky to pedestrians, never mind taking up more space on the road - all they care about is being bigger, higher, stronger, more powerful.
But I guess the desire to shove others aside and be the top dog is human nature. Survival of the fittest and all that.
I still judge though, and I will never let an SUV out in front of me, ever!

Slowingdownagain · 30/01/2023 12:43

Heli1copter · 30/01/2023 12:35

Our Skoda SUV saved someone a lot of bother when it was really snowy a couple years ago.

Mr BMW 5 series (estate not 4x4) had taken his kids out sledging up in the back of beyond near where we stay. He'd skidded sideways on the snowy road into a massive ditch blocking half the road. We happened to be driving back home, had our winter tyres on, and we always have a tow rope in the boot just in case as we live in a tiny wee village at the foot of the Campsie hills. We pulled the guy out the ditch, he and his family were eternally grateful, and they drove home very cautiously. He'd been told it would be a 5 hour wait for the police to get him out.

BMWs are notoriously bad in the snow due to rear wheel drive. I was worried about my X3 in the recent snow, but it did really well. A combination of being heavy and having big tyres really helped vs (dare I mention it) a clio I had years back which has basically bicycle tyres and weighted nothing so was all over the place.

But also British people aren't trained to drive in snow. In scandinavia part of your drivers licence is being let loose in what is essentially a giant car park filled with soapy water.. There you get to skid around untill you learn to handle a car on slippery surfaces.

Frabbits · 30/01/2023 12:45

Sarahcoggles · 30/01/2023 12:33

I also wonder how all these people with 3 kids, a dog and a love of camping survived before every other car was a tank. How on earth did previous generations cope?!

Honestly it's pathetic.

We also all used to have outside toilets and have to clean our clothes with a mangle. Things progress and get better. That's, surely, a good thing.

The amount of shite being spewed in this thread is off the scale.

Sarahcoggles · 30/01/2023 12:45

FuckabethFuckor · 30/01/2023 12:42

The other thing to bear in mind is that all cars are bigger now. The latest VW Polo is bigger than a 1980s Golf (which is from the class above) and the Up is roughly the same size as an 80s Polo. The need to include more impact protection and occupant safety has driven the size inflation of all cars.

Ironically as cars get bigger to make them safer, the roads will become more congested and more dangerous.

Oakbeam · 30/01/2023 12:45

Rear wheel drive isn’t necessarily a problem in the snow. Lack of weight over the driving wheels is.

xogossipgirlxo · 30/01/2023 12:45

DanseAvecLesLoup · 30/01/2023 12:37

I hate to say it but from my experience it is mostly women who literally cant reverse these large cars despite all the sensors and cameras. It is not arrogance or bullying on their part, just incompetence. I have in the past climbed out of my car and politely asked the driver why they can't back into the passing spot 20m behind them rather then expect several cars to reverse back the entire length of the street and I get the slightly embarrassed 'I'm not very good at reversing' response.

Show quote history

Nooo😂How did it end? Did she reverse or everyone in the queue had to?

I think it's just shit driving, but yeah, I don't understand why opting out for bigger car then. Bike/bus/train would be sufficient enough😝Not even Corsa, because you have to reverse and park them too.

Flossyhair · 30/01/2023 12:46

DoorstoManual · 30/01/2023 09:44

I spent a year in bed my muscles wasted they have never been the same again, when I was finally well again I struggled to get in and out of standard cars, I now have a CRV, my next car will be a Volvo XC60.

Here are some pearls to clutch, whilst you judge people you know nothing about.😡

Yep, I have arthritis in my hip and spinal stenosis. I was struggling to get in and out of my Ford Focus and traded up to an SUV. It's made the world of difference to me.

I didn't realise just how hard it had become to get in and out of my old car. You get used to the pain and brace yourself for it.

Then a CT scan showed the extent of the damage and I realised that I wasn't helping myself by not making some changes.

I can park it, drive it properly and I certainly don't lane hog. Mind you, I live in Australia so there is more space anyway.

iloveruby · 30/01/2023 12:47

My current car is a tiny 1.2 corsa but also drive a 7.5t horsebox so am used to driving bigger vehicles.

The problem I have is that when driving my Corsa my visibility is massively limited by these large cars. When trying to pull out a junctions I often can't see round the huge parked cards and when driving it is harder to see what is happening ahead. I also get regularly blinded by the headlights!!

I feel that I'm at a real disadvantage driving such a small car and do believe it makes me less safe as it becomes harder to anticipate what is happening ahead etc.

I probably will get a bigger car when I next buy but am also aware that this simply contributes to the problem!

Picklypickles · 30/01/2023 12:49

Slowingdownagain · 30/01/2023 12:17

But your post again just reiterates it's the drive not the car? So maybe (and only maybe as your experience is anecdotal - in my experience people in more expensive cars (of all sizes) tend to be more arrogant, but the worst agression I have personally experienced has been in people in non-expensive cars and vans, and mainly vans) aggressive people lean towards bigger cars. But that doesn't mean that big cars are bad per se.

Show quote history

Yes, I suppose you're right. It's not the car itself, it's the horrible people driving them. It sure does feel like an awful lot of horrible people get these types of car though, or that once they get behind the wheels of their big cars they feel invincible and entitled to run roughshod over the rest of us.

I do find myself getting annoyed with all the bad drivers in big cars, so many more people have them now and they are a menace in small villages and down narrow roads, particularly when driven by people with a sense of entitlement, no driving skills and no consideration for others. I do appreciate that not all drivers of these cars are the same, but so many of them are that they end up giving the rest of you a bad name!

Sarahcoggles · 30/01/2023 12:49

All those who are saying "yes but why should we still live like we did in the past, when it can be easier now" - yes I get that. But it's the way drivers of SUVs justify it by saying "I have to have a big car because I have 3 kids and a dog", as if that makes it a necessity. It's not a necessity. Be honest, say you like the power and the big feeling, don't pretend it's a basic need!