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.

What difference does that make? Plenty of people profit from keeping £100k invested for 3 years and using a lease to save money on car ownership.

rangers are the car of the bell end

not all, but many are driven like complete lunatics

100%. Kids safety paramount.

I wouldn't buy anything less than a euro ncap rating of 5. Cannot believe they are allowed to make cars that are a zero and just crumple and crush you to death!

Ah interesting, thanks for letting me know. I didn't know that. I was told by the person who repaired my car that it was an extreme level of damage for what had actually happened. The person ahead braked suddenly as was missing their turn. Bumped into the back of them and my bonnet came off, door came off its hinges, whole front right side of the car crumpled and pushed back on itself. It just wasn't what I expected for something minor.

Well they chose not to buy them for whatever reason (didn't have the readies?) whereas I paid for my car in cash. I was brought up to believe that, apart from a mortgage, never borrow to buy something because nobody can predict their future circumstances. I do accept that that's an old-fashioned view though.

Best tardis car out there.

I think part of the issue is years ago you’d have the big car and little car in a household. And you’d use whichever was suitable.
now it’s two massive cars per household.

I live in a city so drive a small car when I don't use public transport or walk. The vast majority of people who own cars round here are the same because you'd drive yourself mad trying to park an SUV and probably end up several streets away.

It makes it much easier to park when the enormocars do it badly leaving a small space which other enormocars can't fit into but I can nip into easily.

One of our local supermarkets has a rooftop carpark built in the 80s so a lot of the spaces are completely inaccessible to modern large cars. I can always find empty spaces there.

I rent a van or a bigger car on the odd occasion I need one.

Probably trying to turn the heaters up or down on a touchscreen

what’s wrong with a button or dial

I do not live in a rural area, yet most people here reckon they need one.
The same people who are amazed that I work 17 miles away (gosh, that's a long way to go for work) and would never go off reading in a million years, because they're not big fans of the countryside.

I drive a car similar in size to a polo. It does motorway, lanes, snow, small floods, teenagers and suitcases. What more do I actually need?

It’s nothing to do with being able to afford to buy a new one outright. Most new car leases require cash deposits which are well in excess of the cost of a cheap second hand car.

it’s about what people want- what they want to do with their cash and what they get enjoyment out of.

the last lease I was quoted was 10% off the purchase price (a discount not available to cash customers) a interest rate which was the same as any bank loan, and enough extras which meant I may as well have kept the cash in the bank earning 4% for 3 years rather than spent it on a car.

Massive cars make city streets less safe for other road users. And it’s a myth that you have to drive a massive vehicle to be safe. Like a lot of things, the factors that confer safety for the driver and passengers are complex, and not just about size.

@jamesmaysarse Wells?

I think I read a while ago that some of these big cars like suv's were categorised as small lorries and you should ensure that your driving licence allows you to drive them.

The height of SUV isn't an issue, I assume, when travelling down country lanes its the width. Therefore, does that mean you're a idiot if you own a Polestar 4 for example, as they are as wide as some SUVs

And why do they feel the need to drive down the middle of the road ?? If you've got one stick to your side of the road or learn to drive properly as us with normal size cars don't want to have to keep mounting the kerb cause you can't drive them.

I use a wheelchair and so does my DD.

Two wheelchairs go in the back of my Volvo xc90 quite easily.

I would actually like to buy a smaller car but I don't think there are many that take two wheelchairs in the boot.

If anyone has any suggestions I'd be grateful.

(I do have motability funding)

No one cares it's just that lots of you can drive them 😂 have what you like.

Can't that should definitely say.

@ItsFineReally Right county, Reepham!

Watching idiots try and park the car they've chosen but can't control is one of life's free pleasures! A couple of years agi I actually heard someone yelling at another driver, asking her/him to move because she needed more room to reverse, even though the other driver was parked perfectly properly in their bay.

Nine small children can stand behind an SUV and still not be visible to the driver.
Selfish, dangerous and polluting.

You could be the best parker in the world but if the roads and parking spaces are too narrow (which they are in many places), you'll still end up being somewhat antisocial.

When I retrieve my 2015 Polo it's quite often vanished into a canyon of metal!

Not a range rover, a Japanese brand cross-over (not a premium brand, so not bought for prestige/fashion). DH is 6ft 3 and likes the height. We also go camping twice a year on holiday with the kids and the car is packed full.

This said, I hate it. I want a very small, turn on a sixpence, park it on a postage stamp car. We have a 20 year old second car which is nearing the scrap heap and I want to replace that with a little local runaround.

I’ve got three kids so I need a big boot for the buggy. Also have a dog.

I’ve gone for a xc90 as shock horror, I ‘want to feel safe’. Can you explain what’s so wrong with that? I’m transporting the three most important things to me and I want to ensure they are safe in a collision, and that I’m driving something reliable. I can afford it so what’s the issue?