4x4 love or hate?

[Barks]

I don't think the issue for most people is with the cars, more so with the people who drive them. They're (most of the time) either:

1) Extremely wealthy and have a ridiculously inefficient car for the sake of it. Most definitely the first choice 'snob' car, especially the top spec models.

2) Buy them because they feel they're "King of the road" and drive aggresively. It has to be said that from personal experience owners of the new shape Range Rover Sport drive like muppets. I also find it extremely amusing watching rich housewives desperately trying to park their 4X4s in car parks.

I do however think Porsche and Range Rover are taking it too far. No body needs a 4X4 that goes faster than a 911. It's designed to go off road not race around a track. As for those saying it's no different to a high powered coupe, salloon. I disagree, they are much heavier vehicles and need oversized engines to make up for the power/acceleration lost to weight. I'm not an environment freak, but the top of the range Range Rover Sport emits just short of 400g/km of CO2. That is quite frankly ridiculous.

 

[Muffin`]

I don't think the issue for most people is with the cars, more so with the people who drive them. They're (most of the time) either:

1) Extremely wealthy and have a ridiculously inefficient car for the sake of it. Most definitely the first choice 'snob' car, especially the top spec models.

2) Buy them because they feel they're "King of the road" and drive aggresively. It has to be said that from personal experience owners of the new shape Range Rover Sport drive like muppets. I also find it extremely amusing watching rich housewives desperately trying to park their 4X4s in car parks.

I do however think Porsche and Range Rover are taking it too far. No body needs a 4X4 that goes faster than a 911. It's designed to go off road not race around a track. As for those saying it's no different to a high powered coupe, salloon. I disagree, they are much heavier vehicles and need oversized engines to make up for the power/acceleration lost to weight. I'm not an environment freak, but the top of the range Range Rover Sport emits just short of 400g/km of CO2. That is quite frankly ridiculous.

Welcome to OcUK Motors, we dispise 'CO2', it's a fact that has been taken by the Goverment to push thier own agenda of Taxation because of thier incompetance.

That RR will emit 400 CO2 per mile, but do 10k miles per year.

A Mondeo will emit 200 CO2 per mile and do 20,000 miles a year going up and down the M1.

So obviously the Mondeo is the worse polluter, but the RR pays higher tax and uses the road less - it makes, no sense....

 

[Jez]

scott212 - You say they are worse, but are they really?

My runaround which unfortunately does massive mileage is rated at 294g/km and receives no hate whatsoever, everyone says what a nice car it is, even hippies.

My 4x4 purchase with a bigger engine than my everyday car is rated at 317g/km, not really much more?

Its moaning for the sake of moaning

 

[Dogbreath]

How much wider is an X5 compared to a 5 series?

X5 = 2190mm
5 Series = 1846mm

That's 34.4cm/13.5" wider, rather a lot in a narrow residential road.

Also, the view obstruction of view cant really be complained about. there are more than enough vans out there or cars with things blocking the view through the vehicle.

It can be complained about, I'm doing it right now Vans are a PITA as well but like HGVs they are pretty much essential to the running of the country.

I can only speak from my experiences, but vans don't seem to cause me the problems that 4x4's do. I tend to either come across vans either being driven by maniacs (mainly Tesco home delivery ones IME) which don't hold me up anyway, or ones that have no problem being overtaken (or if they have they can't do much about it). I've had rather more incidents were after following a slow 4x4 for miles and finally getting to a suitably wide and long overtaking point that the driver has taken exception to being overtaken and has put their foot down to try and stop me.

 

[Barks]

I couldn't agree more. The Government are taking the ****. I personally beleive tax on petrol is the only fair way of taxing motorists. Quite simply, the more you drive - the more you pay. The less efficient your car is - the more you pay. The road tax bands are a joke. As you rightly pointed out, someone could own a Lamborghini and drive it for 100 miles a year yet pay more tax than a daily-basis user of a 1.2 Polo.

The environmental factor with 4X4s wasn't really a concern in my post. I was mainly getting at the people who drive 4X4s. As I said, it's not the physical vehicles I personally have a problem with.

 

[Barks]

I've had rather more incidents were after following a slow 4x4 for miles and finally getting to a suitably wide and long overtaking point that the driver has taken exception to being overtaken and has put their foot down to try and stop me.

What I've noticed, especially with women drivers is they don't do that deliberately. They are simply too scared to put their foot down on bendy roads with poor corner visibility. The second a long stretch arrises, they then feel safe to accelerate. What's more annoying is when they deliberately drive in the middle of the road to prevent you from tyring to overtake them.

 

[Lashout_UK]

The only reason I overtly dislike the Pepper or similar ilk is they just seem gratiutious - They seem to serve no purpose and look to be owned entirely for the badge and size.

 

[The Judge]

Oh hell yes i love 4x4, but the proper Discovery, Range rover, Defender type. Last car was a Discovery and i loved driving it. Go anywhere in any weather without worry. Of course the fact that it pi55ed a lot of people off when they seen it coming helped a lot

Sorry i had to let it go tbh

 

[thecremeegg]

I'm not sure - people that drive the things are morons , but I do like some 4x4s, especially range rovers and jeeps

 

[zeppelin101]

I couldn't give a crap as long as you aren't blaitantly driving on my side of the road on your "cruise through the country" because your barge is too heavy to slow down and corner properly.

 

[Dandle]

I understand it better now

To be honest it sounds to me like there are two/three camps;

1) Plain jealousy in the way of the fact they can afford to have such a luxurious "wasteful" vehicle.

2) Annoyance at the green credentials of these vehicles, and as such this should be directed at ANY inefficient vehicles, regardless of the size/shape/drive system.

3) Bandwagon jumpers, with no basis for their opinion.

It only falls into two camps IMO, love them or hate them. The days of large/large engined cars are numbered its not jelousy just praticality in this country, 4x4s are just the start of the propaganda and taxing them to the hilt is turning public opinion against them its as simple as that.

 

[Lopéz]

Whats OcUK's opinion on the matter? If you do hate them, why do you hate them, have you driven one, or do you simply not like big cars?

I generally lean towards dislike. I would not choose any 4x4 over it's "car" equivalent (5 series vs X-5 for example)

I've driven a Pajero LWB GDI
Nissan 4 door pickup think like they all drive in Cyprus
Land Rover Discovery
Land Rover County 110
Range Rover V8
Mercedes G-Wagon
Possibly a few others but nothing that springs to mind

I do like big cars, but I don't really like the tall high sided feel of 4x4's. They don't feel like a car should feel. Kate's mum goes on about the high driving position being amazing but I really couldn't care less about that, my Manta is very low slung and so was the 200SX and it's not an issue IMO.

I suppose they just aren't my thing.

 

[Ed]

I don't dislike them they're just not the right tool for the job I do. People make pointless purchases all the time, don't see how a car differs. Buying a 4x4 for school runs is more of a hindrance for the owner than anyone else surely, what with traffic, parking, poor low-level visibility etc.

 

[Jez]

I generally lean towards dislike. I would not choose any 4x4 over it's "car" equivalent (5 series vs X-5 for example)

I've driven a Pajero LWB GDI
Nissan 4 door pickup think like they all drive in Cyprus
Land Rover Discovery
Land Rover County 110
Range Rover V8
Mercedes G-Wagon
Possibly a few others but nothing that springs to mind

I do like big cars, but I don't really like the tall high sided feel of 4x4's. They don't feel like a car should feel. Kate's mum goes on about the high driving position being amazing but I really couldn't care less about that, my Manta is very low slung and so was the 200SX and it's not an issue IMO.

I suppose they just aren't my thing.

For me that is totally why i do like them (the driving position not feeling like a car should), i like the feeling of "piloting" a massive boat rather than the feeling of driving when it comes to luxury cars.

I love sports cars too and everything that comes with them, but for me the two types of "car" are not the same entity therefore i don't wish for my luxury cars to be at all sporty.

 

[AHarvey]

I have mixed views on them.

They should mainly be used for off road, on the road they are just a pain in the back side.

I don't care about how green they are, they are just overly big, difficult to see round/past and because of their size and driving position I would say about 80% of the 4x4 drivers I experience seem to think they are indestructable and that they own the road! I suppose it comes from the fact that they are actually looking down on people that gives them this attitude.

My old boss from way back still is really into his off roading. Has a custom built 4x4 for races/shows he attends. Road legal but has something silly like 600bhp and gets about 8mpg

I must admit though I would like either an old whillys jeep or old land rover

Whenever I see these lovely shiny X5s or the porsche 4x4 it does make me chuckle, really don't see the point.

 

[zeppelin101]

Whenever I see these lovely shiny X5s or the porsche 4x4 it does make me chuckle, really don't see the point.

The Cayenne is supposed to be excellent off road, unlike the X5 which is nigh on useless.

Of course if you're going to buy an off roader might as well buy a tricked out Defender or just go nuts and buy a Bowler.

 

[Mr Footlong]

Nowt wrong with big proper 4x4's at all. I love the driving position, feel strangely enough and the comfort. I feel very secure in them and feel like I can really cruise along quite happily. When I am back home I hoon around in my uncle's Isuzu Trooper or Shogun or Land Cruiser Amazon and absolutely love them to bits . Luckily the fuel is peanuts there but even then I don't find them alol that stupidly thirsty. A lot of offroad is done just getting to some people's houses so great fun is had there too.

Over the last 2 years if anything I have found over here that people seem to look at others driving big 4x4's and just think that they must be idiots. No real justification for thinking that, they just do. If you haven't tried it don't knock it I say . Strange that in those same 2 years I have seen pickup trucks taking off, or is that just me?

Enjoy and to hell with everyone else .

 

[zeppelin101]

I feel very secure in them

Don't do any sharp turns in them (ie avoidance) because you will most likely pitch the car onto it's roof and be in hospital for a very long time.

It pains me to say it but it was on an episode of 5th gear, normal car spun out, discovery was utterly trashed and on its roof.

 

[MrMatteh]

I understand it better now

To be honest it sounds to me like there are two/three camps;

I don't like them, mainly because they really obstruct your vision if you drive a fairly low car, and the fact that they do tend to cause obstructions more than normal cars when parked due to width. I also don't think they are as practical as an estate car for lugging a few people or loads around.

That said I fully defend peoples right to own and drive them, as long as they get the crappy things out of my way.

I'm with Dogbreath on this one - the only issue I have is that I can't see the traffic infront - ends up being a coldwar situation of having to get a big car just because someone else does.

Oh, and in winter, they tend to light up my cabin with their lovely xenons.

you get cocks in each type of car too - just the 4x4s are very noticable

 

[Dogbreath]

Strange that in those same 2 years I have seen pickup trucks taking off, or is that just me?

That's due to to them being classed as a commercial vehicle so people paid less tax if they had them as company cars. That may have changed, I'm sure someone on here will know anyway.