Why have 4x4s?

[crispy]

the vast majority of people (even those in rural areas) think they need a 4x4 vehicle when actually if they had the will and the courage to accept they could get by with a smaller, much more efficient vehicle they would quickly realise they never needed one in the first place.

half the 4x4's i see on the roads dont even have a tow hitch or a spec of mud and even go as far as having low profile tires! this is just unnecessary.

if you live on a farm (like i have for most of my life) then a small land rover or equivelent is perfect for doing all the off-road/towing work you need, there are much better vehicles and other methods of transport we can all use for the food/gym/kids to school runs.

*just to note, ive lived in a 17ft caravan for a number of years now and towed it with a 1.8 dt in places were ive seen 4x4 drivers get stuck and even destroy theyre caravan in the process so i dont even see the 'but i need to tow my caravan' as an excuss anymore.

people need to wake up on this issue, be realistic and stop deluding themselves into thinking they need these huge vehicles which in many cases is nothing more than a status symbol.

[crispy]

i did not know whether to laugh or cry when i saw the new nissan navarra D.I.E H.A.R.D. 4.0 OMG!

just to make this huuge vehicle even more rediculous it had a huge set of metal bull testicles hanging down near the tow hitch

[Rich_]

Originally Posted by Xanadu2

Yes, I know what you mean.

What bothers me much more is the carbon footprint from central heating. I thought I had it turned down so low that I'd score well on that too. No! It is actually ten times that of my footprint for travel!

So why don't we hear more about this and less about travel? I am very much happier putting on an extra sweater than missing an interesting journey!

I have often wondered about this too. We have never had central heating & I was never used to it a s a child either. We got by OK years ago when the Winters were colder & it's not as cold now, yet when people find out you have no central heating they think you're odd. and must be cold & we are not. It's just peoples tolerance of cold seems to have fallen through being used to having the same high temperature through out the house all the time.

We have always had one of those instant hot water heaters too that only comes on when the hot taps are running.

[crispy]

Originally Posted by crispy

the vast majority of people (even those in rural areas) think they need a 4x4 vehicle when actually if they had the will and the courage to accept they could get by with a smaller, much more efficient vehicle they would quickly realise they never needed one in the first place.

this was meant to say :- the vast majority of people who own a 4x4 vehicle (even those in rural areas) think they need a 4x4 when actually if they had the will and the courage to accept they could get by with a smaller, much more efficient vehicle they would quickly realise they never needed one in the first place.

[Xanadu2]

Originally Posted by crispy

this was meant to say :- the vast majority of people who own a 4x4 vehicle (even those in rural areas) think they need a 4x4 when actually if they had the will and the courage to accept they could get by with a smaller, much more efficient vehicle they would quickly realise they never needed one in the first place.

Indeed!

In the last month I have acquired an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny little automatic car, so small she does up to 90 to the gallon, and I can legally drive her on my motorbike licence.

There are wonderful hills all round me, and places where my friends in their 4x4s can go, but are definitely too hairy for me to attempt on two wheels. First I found I could go through tractor mud on the road that would have made me nervous on my motorbike. Then I found I could get onto the verge of a single track lane when something was coming the other way.

I've started getting bolder. Remember I'm an ex-hillwalker whose legs are no longer what they used to be. There are some places on the hills where I would love to be, and last Saturday, with my friends somewhere around, I drove very carefully up an incredibly rough stony track to enjoy one of these wonderful places independently for the first time in years.

Yes, the little car has an engine that is about 400cc (unless I've got it wrong) and I am just delighted not to be left behind every time we go somewhere unsuitable for a little m/bike with road tyres.

So I wonder how few places there are where she really shouldn't go, but don't intend to get stuck finding out! And the little m/bike, now 19 years old, still has a home with me so long as he can pass his MOT.

[stripee]

I think there are getting to be more and more 4x4s. In other countries I've visited recently I have seen loads of them. Some people even have huge garages cum kitchens/living rooms and park them in there so they can be near to them They are definitely a status symbol, and lots of people really really like them and think they need one and they are safer inside them.
It isn't so good for the rest of us who drive small cars, cycle or walk because if you are hit by one the chances are usually a worse outcome. So even more people will buy them because they are worried about safety.
One day maybe the fashion will wear off. But not while fuel is so cheap in the EU, if not in the UK, and the manufacturers have to see a demand from a market that wants small or tiny cars(like Xanadu's) but not for a while, I don't think. And whatever road tax etc is put on them will make little or no difference if people feel a need to own one.

[Xanadu2]

Originally Posted by stripee

I think there are getting to be more and more 4x4s. In other countries I've visited recently I have seen loads of them. Some people even have huge garages cum kitchens/living rooms and park them in there so they can be near to them

One day maybe the fashion will wear off. But not while fuel is so cheap in the EU, if not in the UK, and the manufacturers have to see a demand from a market that wants small or tiny cars(like Xanadu's) but not for a while, I don't think. And whatever road tax etc is put on them will make little or no difference if people feel a need to own one.

Where I lived before, the only safe place for the motorbike was in the living room! I don't know how you put up with a 4x4 so close, because even little motorbikes have BO at such close quarters!

Re the little car. The information on such a car wasn't readily available, then I had to go over 40 miles to find her. That is past the nearest large town and quite some way beyond. One day perhaps they'll be everywhere. (But I feel safe! One evening I locked her up on the drive as usual and discovered the next morning I'd forgotten to shut one of her windows! Still there, safe and sound!)

But it's nice to be in a forum where I don't get told off! There is another one where I would be treated like the Antichrist for having a car of any size!

[nightshade]

Parking to be paid for in relation to a vehicles length in places where parking permits have to be purchased,this will move $x$'s and Mondeo's,Bmw etc.out
of towns and cities.They will park outside your house and commute instead

[epops]

Mine 4x4 is old reliable still passes mots and is economical my son had a little 1.4 escort and the old 2.0ltr frontera was more economical than that i bought the car originally for towing but got rid of the boat now i cant bare to part with me car

[astraman]

unless your towing a caravan or something i dont think there needed in the city if your a farmer then yea you obviously need one to get over your land