OK, so everyone is agreed that 4x4s are just silly in urban settings...and dangerous.
In fact I think that they can be a pain in rural settings, too. I don't mean driven responsibly by people who need them for a job of work, but because in the wrong hands they encourage people who have never before taken an interest in the countryside to tear all over paths. My Mum lives in a very remote rural area. Most of the locals seem to drive clapped out chevettes or Renault 5's (how those things LAST!), but every weekend, the place is abuzz by people who churn up bridleways, drive as far (and fast) as they can across marshland rather than walk, and then park nose to tail down the village high street so that no-one can see out of their windows, they are so high, two cars cannot pass, and pedestrains have to squash themselves against the wall because on the pavementless streets these people believe that the road is primarily for them.
I know this is those particular drivers, but if it wasn't for the existence of these things, and the agressive advertising that shows people having a whale of a time speeding through puddles off-road, then these folk would be safely back home or paintballing or something! AND of course, they have the room to stock up from Sainsbury's before they leave the M25, so don't add to the local ecomomy, either.
I shudder when I hear that people use their 4x4' off road for fun. It's another footpath ruined for people who like to walk, like me.
And the bald truth is, my friend still hasn't regained consciousness, and it would have been a much lesser accident if it hadn't been a 4x4.