Why do people drive big cars they can’t manage?

[HulinSings]

I’ve lost count of the number of (usually women in hubby’s RR) driving big cars that they simply cannot park or simply manoeuvre.

Is this just an issue by me or does anyone else encounter this on a daily basis?

Surely the need to be seen in a ‘brand’ isn’t worth the hassle driving one of these cars must bring..Insta has a lot to answer for

This. I have a big SUV, it’s the easiest car I’ve ever driven/parked. Mirrors all round, sensors, it’s easier than ever.

Personally, I find it’s drivers in Fiat 500’s who are the worst.

I agree. I have a boring life so have to get my thrills somewhere 🙃 😕

I’d bloody love an XC90. We go camping a lot and really struggle even though I’ve got a large SUV (which I can reverse park perfectly without cameras and sensors, likewise the LWB T6 we used to have).

I LOVE watching SUV’s have to reverse back down narrow streets in Bristol because they can’t fit through 😂 highlight of my day. You know your car is too big when you can’t drive it where you need to go 😂

Its not offensive...because it's extremely true!!

I’ve been ran off the road by three people who couldn’t control their giant cars and went in my lane. Two were men and one was a woman. Not sure it’s about sex.
I live very rurally. We have two Honda crvs which are know wider than the Mazda 3 I owned but longer and taller. Easier to park and I’m not precious about them so happy to throw them in a ditch. Wouldn’t ever drive a Range Rover.

I had a new xtrail courtesy car when my car was being fixed (after some guy in a Range Rover forced me into a wall so he didn’t have to put his car in a puddle) and found it very Range Rover like compared to the old style. It has al the size of an suv but was supposed to feel more luxurious. In reality it felt like it wasn’t fit for purpose. Not big enough in the cabin or boot for lots of kids and dogs etc and too low underneath to deal with our 1/4 mile farm track with grass in the middle.
What is the point of a Range Rover?

Have to say I notice more often people driving small cars they can't manage.

The number of times I've been waiting for a Toyota Yaris or that ilk to do a 25 point turn in a massive space, or painfully squeeze past me on a country lane when you could get a bus through the gap, or be super hesitant at a roundabout, or take five moves to get out of a parking space, or drive at 15mph in a 30mph limit, or barely make it up a hill far outweighs any crap driving by drivers of larger vehicle generally, with the except of men driving vans who are the shittest and most dangerous, angry and reckless drivers out there, and Audi drivers.

Fair enough, same here, I don’t drive when fatigue is bad enough to affect my reactions. I don’t think the thread is aimed at those of us who make that judgement call before we get in the car though.

They are expensive to maintain though. It’s tough to get parts when things go wrong ( and they do with dulling regularity) I’d imagine lots of people get rid once warranty is finished.

I do think they are gorgeous, we had a velar at work and it’d give you a great massage. I had a dodgy lower back and an hour in there with heated seats and shiatsu massage function selected and I’d feel like a new woman.

I wouldn’t own one but enjoyed driving someone else’s.

usually women in hubby’s RR

Also, this is as sexist as saying "Ooh, spending your husband's money?"

I am surprised by the number of much older people with these massive vehicles parked in their driveways. I appreciate they may need a bigger vehicle due to it being more difficult to get in and out as you get older but not as big as this. I visit elderly people to fill out benefit forms and am amazed how they can afford them.

Amazing how internal misogyny is acceptable when it's to sneer at big cars and parking.

Nope. I have a new SUV. It’s mine, I bought it with my own cash, not my husband’s, not on finance and yes I can park it fine. It has a million cameras and sensors.

My fairly big but dwarfed by a RR car also parks itself and unparks itself if you want it to.

I have a Volvo XC60 which is a midsize SUV and does fit in parking spaces with no issues. I was given a BMW X5 as a courtesy car once and I found that a nightmare to park because it was as wide as the parking spaces so you couldn't really park it next to anything else, I would imagine its similar to a range rover in size. A car that bit would drive me mad.

Agreed. Have you checked the ownership documents? Ffs.

This with bells on.

I'm very jealous. I looked at that style of volvo but it's way out of my price range. I'm looking to upgrade from my Duster but I've got the right balance with it housing two dogs and it's an all round decent SUV. I'm going to trade it in for a relatively new model.

YANBU in relation to people driving big cars that they can't handle, YABU in ascribing the problem mainly to women, and YABVVVU in referring to their hubbies. IME men in big penis extensions can be just as bad. It really bugs me in towns when there's one person driving a ridiculously large car that they don't need and are obviously struggling with.

When I'm dictator, there will be a law that you cannot drive big cars in towns with any less than four passengers, unless you can show that you've just dropped off your four passengers, and that everyone with a big car must also have a small car which should be their default vehicle.

I have an extremely old and battered XC90 which I love to bits. It has no bells and whistles or sensors and that suits me just fine as I’m perfectly capable of parking it. I do a reasonable amount of rural driving (and spend a lot of time on building sites) and it isn’t the owners of cars like this that have issues driving them, it does tend to be the shiny new luxury SUV types who have problems both with parking and manoeuvring them. However I do think that’s a unisex issue.

My “full fat” with gadgets Toyota (not an SUV) has self parking. It’s shite, you need a taxi to get to the kerb it’s so far away from it.

The mode that does car parks is even more shite.

👏 👏

The last time we bought a car, not only did the car salesperson spend all his time speaking to DH, they put the car in his name when the paperwork was done.

DH doesn’t have a driving license.

I switched from a Golf to a Volvo XC40, which isn't huge, but feels pretty big. I don't really understand how people park even bigger cars in standard parking spaces and manage to open the doors. Cars have outgrown the infrastructure in the UK.

I live rurally. I have encountered many a Gavin Banks.