Why does everyone need a massive car these days?

[Britishsummertime22]

Tesco this morning. Full of people who don't know how to drive or park their fuck off range rovers.

Probably because car seats have become massive.

That’s very true, people aren’t nice to people in big cars. My friend had a Porsche Cayenne and other road users were always so mean to her. Wouldn’t let her out, beeped their horn at her, complained if she parked outside their house etc. She ended up being so embarrassed about driving such a twatty car and swapped it for a Mini Countryman and since then she has been treated with kindness again. Much as she was when she had a Golf.

It's cos people have convinced themselves they need them. They generally absolutely don't need them of course but they can justify it with most of the nonsense you hear on these threads. There will be a tiny few who genuinely off-road etc but the majority are people who spout needing safety while driving terribly and putting everyone else's safety out the window. I drive a Mini and an E class Merc estate- both low down, great visibility for me, very comfortable and I'm also disabled. I can fit a ton of stuff in the estate easily so the argument of needing an SUV for space is nonsense. I can park them both very easily with space to spare at the side. Both very safe and sturdy vehicles. SUV drivers just like to insist they need them but that will not change. I just laugh at the excuses and feel content in knowing my cars are both a million miles nicer than any SUV out there. German built low down cars for the win lol.

If people can’t park it doesn’t really matter what size the car is because it’s the driving ability .

Some of the owners I know have proudly told me they are just being leased

I expect most are bought on credit.

Madness - definitely not envy.

Because the UK is pathetically obsessed with social class and most of the sheep are absolutely desperate for other people to think they're rich and successful. It's embarrassing

And I totally understand if you have loads of kids and live rurally but it's unbelievable how so many people in my area of suburban London with one child are driving tanks

Don't drive a range rover size car but a small SUV. Previously drove a small car and got into a minor bump.. the thing literally crumbled. With roads getting more dangerous by the day, a bigger more robust car has made me feel safer.

This x 10

I think if you’re going to drive one you should have to pass your driving test in one. People witter in about keeping themselves safe without a thought to how safe other road users, pedestrians, cyclists are around those who drive badly in them.

I think this is the problem. I also drive a small car (Hyundai i10 with two car seats in the back.) It’s not the big card that are the problem- it’s the people that drive them. The people who really need these cars, who are in them every day tend to be great drivers and can park them easily. The ones who don’t seem to be women who only drive the school run on a weekday (husband drives on weekend) so they aren’t in them enough to get any good at manouvering them.

Also- don’t get me started on the over 70’s driving great bloody SUV’s who peer over the steering wheel like they can’t see more than 10 metres and just shoot out, trusting everyone will move out of their way. They can’t park either- just look at all the dings on them.

the street we live on is not much bigger than this at all, people can only park one side and have to have 2 wheels on kerb big or small car
It really should only be a one way but its not, a few stand offs happen lol

most new build areas are like it too

In outer suburbs you get wider streets

This isn’t really true. There are shopping centres near me and the narrow parking spaces aren’t made for lines of wide SUVs. They can’t park beside each other as they are not able to open their doors and exit.

Recentjy I drove down a two lane narrow road and passed a SUV driver in the line beside me. Between the narrow road, her wide car and her road positioning being just a little off centre, I clipped her side mirror driving past. She got out and was gesturing at her mirror. I drove on because some of these cars simply aren’t suited for narrow roads.

Roads are safer than ever

Except for cyclists and pedestrians who are more easily killed by the bigger cars

Of course if everyone has a bigger car you would need and even bigger one to be safer than they are .. nasty cycle

I've just looked it up, excellent news. I hope they bring back a small hatchback too.

I had a huge Peugeot recently as a courtesy car. Ridiculous for city driving.

It's the people who can't drive them that get me- can't park or drive them like milk floats despite them having so much power. I include all the stupidly big SUVs.

We have 3 large dogs that come on holidays with us, I go to various gundog events and country shows etc. often driving across muddy tracks and fields. We sometimes tow our caravan on holiday. We live rurally and the village is regularly cut off due to flooding unless you have a car with good ground clearance. I'm sorry if I sometimes have to go towns for shopping or appointments and park my big ugly car, but I'm afraid a tiny little low slung car isn't going to suit the other 95% of my life.

Personally I think they look hideous. If I had lots of money I'd get a sports car.

I don’t understand why people say this- and can only assume they don’t understand what a car lease is?

a car lease is the default way of buying a new car- paying cash is not only unusual but often more expensive.

why do people look down their nose as if it’s a poor persons choice -who can’t really afford it?

Someone leasing a new range will easily be paying £800 a month. They’re not “all fur coat and new knickers” by any standards. And at the end of their lease they need to buy the car, or carry on paying £800 a month for another one.

absolute nonsense

Yep I live in leafy part of London and see lots of shiny four wheel drive cars that will never venture further than the airport. Mind you sometimes the pot holes will splash the mud around a bit for a touch of off road authenticity.
I think people feel safe in them as they are higher off the ground.

It would be funny if car leasing and finance deals were no longer available at all....we'd see what people can really afford then. Cars are no longer a barometer of wealth due to credit...

Some people do need them, many don’t. I’ve recently downsized from a Volvo xc40 to a VW golf. Most of my time is spent driving around town, school runs, work etc. VW is much cheaper to run and more practical. I haven’t yet come up with a downside l, so for me it’s a good swap.

Actually, it's an unintended consequence of US tax rules and environmental intent. A while ago, taxes were to be raised on polluting cars (since happened here in Europe to some extent too), but not on trucks. So the car manufacturers lobbied, finagled, etc., etc., and managed to get Sports Utility Vehicles classed as trucks.

Hence US manufacturers moved to making more SUVs so as to avoid tax. And, selling to the rest of the world, they advertised most strongly what they were manufacturing more of.

[Of course I do understand that none of you people with your Chelsea Tractors has been at all influenced by such advertising. You are all autonomous thoughtful individuals with very good reasons for buying big cars ...]

Strange that an initially environmentally-based move - tax polluting cars - should result in more polluting cars on the road worldwide. But there you go.

[Moral of this? Left as an exercise.]

Because I am disabled and struggle with smaller cars on many levels. That said I can park my car perfectly well, thank you, and better than a great many drivers with smaller cars.

Not sure what you mean by crumbled but cars are supposed to crumple if you crash to absorb the impact energy. I crashed in a 2000 car which didn't crumple much at all, instead I absorbed the energy and ended up badly injured.