to think that 4x4 drivers are the most selfish w@*&(*&s ever???

[redrobin]

It makes my blood boil! They drive their big childcrushers whilst on the phone, they tailgate other smaller cars, they use enormous amounts of petrol, they block up roads, they look threatening...how can people choose to drive something like that? Do they have ha a selfish gene, do they think they are just better than other people so rules don't apply to them, or are they just thick?

(NOTE this is only about town drivers, i appreciate that they are useful in the countryside).

Sometimes, I think Jeremy Clarkson is winning.

wow. and so the problem gets worse. bigger and bigger cars for Britain, hoorah.

My Series III Landrover can do 60mph. Full throttle, down a very steep hill and wind assisted. But it would be shaken to bits before reaching the Honda Civic.

If we did muppetgirls experiment using it, the Honda Civic would drive straight through the middle leaving me with two rusty ends of green tin. It would take loads of baling twine to tie all the bits back together.

Sorry, but show that video to any mother and they will surely want to be in the car that comes off the best. Why would you even think otherwise?

My brother lost his fingers on his left hand saving his girlfriends life as his 2cv rolled from the slow lane to the fast lane after strong winds caught it. He grabbed her head and the bar that supports the canvas roof cut his fingers off. Since then he has had many cars but his first consideration is safety for himself and now its the same for his family.

Not getting into an argument about it as those against 4 x 4's have their stance and those that aren't have theirs too.

I don't think anyone has ever had a go at rusty old landrovers in rural areas

you can usually tell if a 4x4 is genuinely needed, by the condition it is in & the brand chosen

My lanrover (5 years old) is worth less than £1000. It's not really about the money this argument.

sorry, that should say landrover.

I can see you're upset by this argument Kerrysmum. I take it you've had personal experience of someone crashing into you with a 4 x 4?

Agree that 4x4's are (GENERALLY) unnecessary and where I live in Yorkshire a complete pain when they come in the opposite direction on windy country lanes. That said, I drive a micra and somehow manage to take up 2 parking spaces at once....

"Lemme see if I got that: If you intend to break the law and act like an utter gobshite by being drunk while driving, it is more acceptable to do so while driving a little car???????"

yup it is

because if you hit a pedestrian while driving a 4x4 they are more likely to die or have disabilities for life than if you hit them when driving a ford ka, say.

It is better not to be a gobshite in the first place, but 4x4 drivers do more damage when they are, because their cars are bigger, being built to withstand offroad conditions in the sahara and all

Yes muppetgirl, hence my point, those who can afford to buy a huge car and keep themselves nice and safe whilst unwittingly putting the rest of us in more danger.

So if your 4x4 crashes into me, for whatever reason, my fault or yours, me and my kids would be crushed to death. Whereas the video plainly said that a normal car would not have sliced into it so severely.

But yeah, 4x4 drivers can feel nice and smug and safe in their lovely huge cars whilst looking down on the rest of us in our Peugeots and so on. It's a dog eat dog world.

Oh and I think you're picking on Kerrymum. She didn't say that drink driving was acceptable at all. She merely stated that in that particular accident the victims came off worse because of the type of car the drunk idiot was driving.

You know the point she is trying to make, but still you twist her words trying to back her into a corner. Stop being so idiotic yourselves.

I'm sure I've seen this thread before ...

I own (at the moment) 2 of these monstrosities. My landrover has been a fantstic 'value' car. It is 5 years old, done 75 thousand miles and the only think I have bought for it was a new windscreen after the old one got a chip in it. I haven't even needed to replace the tyres. I have had many cars in my time, most from scrapyards that cost around £250-£300 (recycling at its best!) and I have also riden a motobike for a year so I feel very confident in the choices I have now made. They are valid for me as your as equally valid for you. I like to buy a car and wear it out, get my money's worth as it were. I had an excellent Golf that had done 252,000 miles by the time I sold it but it was literally falling apart! 4 x 4's last and last....

Thank you for that video, it has just confirmed my thoughts once again.

upwind - you can't always tell a hardworking 4x4, I have a Series III that is purely for the fields and looks it, but also a Range Rover which does kids, shopping, holidays, towing, fodder and off-road work. It's even had goats & sheep in the back. When it's been washed (admittedly not often) it does look yummy-ish. Though probably still smells of goat. On the other hand, I don't live in town, so this thread has pardoned me.

I've been looking at the NCAP link, in terms of pedestrian safety and I'm really surprised that so many small cars/supermini's have the same rating as the large 4x4s. My Range Rover has the same appalling score as a VW Polo, Renault Clio and a Vauxhall Corsa.

I have to say that £1000 is not a lot for a car. Price have tumbled in the last few years for second hand cars.

My first car was a Nissan Micra that cost me £1000, 15 years ago.

My Peugeot has also been fantastic value. However I do feel safe knowing that if I should hit a child (which you can never say wouldn't happen), that child is more likely to survive. If you hit a child in a 4x4 you will behead it.

I'm surprised that anyone can watch that video and think "oh goody, the people in the car were obliterated! I'll get one of those 4x4s so that if we're in a crash we'll be alright Jack!"

Utterly selfish.

That ncap is very interesting. It says my ML 4 x 4 has a 1 star rating for pedestrian saftey whereas the mini I am buying has a 2 star rating. Out of 4 stars possible you would have thought the mini would have scored far more...

Rhubarb - Always two sides to the coin though, you can't possibleky look at the vidoe and think 'Oh good, I have been obliterated but at least my conscience is clear in that I didn't by the nasty tank'

As a vertically-challenged person, I have to say that I felt pedestrians were much safer when I was driving DH's 4x4 because I could see them. Now he has some fancy "executive" car, I find I'm quite low down and would have less chance of seeing a small child.

Mind you, I'm not known for my great driving skills and tend to avoid it. I cycle 24 miles to work and back every day to avoid either driving or getting stuck on a tube or train.