Has anyone got a 4x4?

[momof2]

We have just decided to get rid of our faithful Hippo (Nissan Micra) and branch out into the uncertain world of much larger family cars.
I have been looking at a discovery or freelander - please note all old ones not new.
Has anyone any experience of how good/bad they are please? Or any 4x4's they would recommend or MPV's
Many thanks

HMC, dp had a landrover defender with bullbars, when we were first together. in a city. and he went greenlaning for fun.

now he's rather embarrassed by it and certainly doesn't mention it in his pro-cycling groups nor at his bio-diesel cooperative.

fennel - skeleton in the closet eh?

Bet he keeps stum!

Crikey, is this still going?? I bailed out yesterday, due to the rather extreme horse rider bashing. Debate will most likely still be rolling when HMC takes delivery of sparkling V90

Blu, a friend of ours was very ill in hospital for months a few years ago with severe meningitis. For weeks he was under sedation and he also frantically tried to pull all his tubes out whenever they lightened the dose, but he did come out of it, and was himself again eventually. Hope your friend will be the same and that she does keep her leg.

Thanks, Jan. I think, in the long run, she will be ok. They are not saying she is critical again, anyway.

I bowed out yesterday, cant believe this thread is still going on. As an ex 4x4 driver what really irritated me was that some people used such broad statements about so called 4x4 drivers which simply arent true. I also found it interesting to read the reports on passenger safety, interesting to see the stats that say if you have certain small cars they are just as unsafe as 4x4.

Mind you several of the smaller cars quoted are pre-2000 models; all (I think!) of the big 4x4s are 2002 onwards, and the manufacturers have been pushed towards pedestrian safety for a few years. (Not nearly hard enough, some might say.)

Many people can only afford small old cars though..

Actually, feck that. I am not lazy and slapdash thanks. Just because I think 4x4s are generally more dangerous than other cars. There are others who think so and statistics to back it up.

here
here
here

As you can see.

I can also say that generally women are just as smart as men. That is not always the case of course, but generally.

Excellent post weesaidie.

This debate(?) seems to evoke even more feeling than last years foxhunting posts.

As an experienced driver of 4x4s (20yrs) I think the main issues have been lost;

Any car travelling over 40 miles an hour is very likley to Kill if it hits someone.

If this speed is reduced to below 30 mph they are unlikley to kill.

Thats it. Take away the speed and the danger is removed.

Of course there are loads of other concerns re 4x4s in citys, school car parks, polution, status symbols etc but for me speed is the killer, not the car.

I quite often have ot park in Parent and child spaces due to the lack of width in regular spaces

I thought that the bullbars you often see on the front of 4x4's meant that in a collision with a pedestrian, they were 3 or 4 times more likely to be killed than without them (ie the bullbars)

I'm not sure about the speed being entirely the case..I think a heavy vehicle especially one of unfavourable shape can cause fatal injuries at quite slow speeds

lol, are u looking for scrap skinnycow?

seriously tho, some pedestrians seem to want to cause accidents. A girl walked straight out without looking in front of me. She was with a five year old. From first view (her back) I thought it was the mother, but when she did turn round it was an older girl in school uniform. If the five year old had followed her I would have had to brake. Luckily, she looked and I was only doing 20mph neway. That is the sort of thing that causes accidents but had I hit her - I would have been vilified as a 4x4 driver.

I agree Kelly. Luckily for her, you obviously are a careful driver.

You may or may not have been villified but it is likely you would have caused injury which might have been fatal, but that is also the case in a variety of vehicles including 4x4s and VW Polos, Fiat doblos, vans etc

Dh is a Transport Planner - in general you are more likely (by 70%) to be killed by a 4X4 - the statistics are hard to quantify due to age of pedestrian, speed of 4x4 on impact, but an average of 70% more likely to cause a fatality if you hit someone in one - due to the height which runs you over rather than you being thrown onto the bonnet. As for Kelly1978, yes they may have stepped out in front of you, but as a driver you are more dangerous to them than a normal car therefore you are more of a risk to them than some other vehicles

I can believe this is still going as Cars are such an emotive subject!

I drive a 4x4. I live abroad and the way they drive here you need a big car as it makes you feel safer when driving on the highways.They drive like maniacs here and have no respect for other drivers. It also has lots of space in the back for the kids bikes and for when we travel to the north of the country to visit relatives (for luggage and toys and travel cots etc). A car is a personal choice and not many people really choose their vehicle for show but more for convenience. Plenty of other things to be worried about other than a persons choice of vehicle.

Am loving the phrase "Satan's little runaround" .

kelly are you honestly saying you think a child (albeit an older one) wanted to cause an accident?

on the good side (sort of) although there are more cars on the road (and by definition more 4x4s) road casualties are falling

and you may wish to take special care around buses and coaches because 30 times more people are killed by those than other vehicles

that's on a kilometre travelled comparison

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