4x4s.. usually new and gleaming and driven by people who are too superior/incompetent/thick to so so..

As you say, thick and incompetent. But still insists a 4 x 4 is needed for the school run despite it being about a mile away from home.

Also lazy and contributing to congestion and the obesity epidemic. Should have their 4x4 confiscated for a month (or permanently).

As you say, thick and incompetent. But still insists a 4 x 4 is needed for the school run despite it being about a mile away from home.

I remember watching a TV program about children being driven to school. There was some ignoramous driving a large 4x4 who was complaining about a transit van being driven near the school and how dangerous it was for this huge transit to be near children walking on the pavement, when they questioned that his car was pretty much the same size he then went into more drivvel digging himself further into the hole he was already in by saying that was the reason he had to have this uber safe car for his children.

I think probably a large minority are driving cars too big for their competence, you only have to witness the parking at a typical supermarket or motorway service area to end up with involuntary head shaking syndrome, its pitiful to watch them.

Obviously cars with proper wheel drive are better all round, not only is there a decent turning circle but the owner had good taste and sense when buying, so is likely to be a good driver..:-))

t I've just spend £50k of my own money on a big 4x4 SUV

Owner's review then, RT?

VW Touareg SE - too soon for detail, still running it in and haven't been off-road yet - but very well put together, spacious, luxurious and very smooth ride with air suspension and dampers set to comfort - like most modern cars too many computers but that's me being old-fashioned.

Compared to the Hyundai Santa Fe which preceded it, much better in all respects - which might be expected given the price difference but internet brokers can supply the base Touareg under £32k which is less than the top Santa Fe price.

I can enjoy luxury getting to off-road places that no "normal" car could.

Yeah Ive seen a lot like that. Usually parked inches in front of the shop/bank/whatever entrance, but thats only because they couldnt actually drive through into the shop, presumably the door was too small.

...or a few yards into the school playing field for a car boot sale - that's as far as most 4x4s ever go, and to be honest, with the sort of bling-bling tyres many come with as standard, can go. To many big 4x4 vehicle drivers, the pavement also becomes part of the road when parking.

Its funny how this attitude changes once snow drops and you are wanting a tow out of a ditch etc.

I doubt a Porsche Cayenne (or any other Chelsea tractor) would be that good in real snow and ice with their low profile performance road tyres.

Stereotyping can be applied to anything good or bad, what's wrong with free choice.

I don't understand why anyone buys a car capable of more than 70 mph or with more than one seat as most cars are driven solo - I guess that's other people exercising their choice

I'm not stereotyping, I'm just pointing out that a 4x4 with sports type road tyres is not going to be as capable in the snow as a 4x4 fitted with offroad type tyres.

There is nothing wrong with free choice but, there is something wrong when a person is driving a vehicle that is too big for her and forcing myself and others to mount the pavement because she can't drive with her nearside wheels being less than 1.5 metres from the kerb.

This is an odd thread.

So 35 years driving covering hundreds of thousands of miles. Suddenly when I buy an suv I apparently lose all the accumulated knowledge and experience?

Then I swap to our other car it all comes back again. Until I get back into the suv when oops there it all goes again.

That about what your saying?

Because I'm calling major BS on your thread. Does it sound like your thread peed me off? It did.

My main point was that so many people who buy large psuedo 4x4s never have any intention of going off-road, hence the fashion/posing statement.

I have no problem in people buying luxury or sports vehicles, MPVs if they have large families or to fit in large amounts of work stuff on trips, estates are also very good at swallowing people and luggage/work things, but often large psuedo 4x4s are actually no larger inside than many MPVs/estates, plus so many of the 'poser' variety (e.g. the BMW X5 - commonly known as the 'drug-dealer's car of choice, second only in poser value [IMO] to the Range Rover Sport/Porsche Cayenne) have features that aren't suited to actual off-roading (so what's the point other than for the poser value?):

• 19in rims and ultra low-profile summer tyres capable of doing 200mph;
• Not full-on off-road gearbox features;
• Luxury leather/suede interiors [where do you put your muddy boots?] and;
• Engines that can only do less than a fifth of its top speed (limited to 155mph) off road, let alone on.

I've also noticed how many people driving these sort of cars (especially men) use them to 'bully' other road users out of the way, especially on dual carriageways/motorways.

4wd is irrelevant in snow if you have summer tyres... as many drivers near us discover..

And teh person behind teh wheel and their driving skills can compensate for summer tyres and 2wd only, whilst some drivers with 4wd and all weather tyres can get stuck on a flat snowy road if they use too many revs at starting off..

Lots of 4wd drivers end up in ditches round here..

I don't think it helps that too many 4x4 drivers (sorry, most of them I see in this sub-category driver Audis and Porsche Cayennes) think they can use 100% of their car's performance in bad, weather, and especially snow and ice, 'just because' their car has 4WD.

True, but a well made 4WD does help.....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAORFjO3cGI

........enjoy

Makers of large RWD cars now realise they have lost many sales in areas such as north USA and alpine regions where the climate and road conditions are not as benign as ours.

BMW and Merc sell bucket loads of cars in Alpine regions and the drivers have no issues simply because the fit the correct tyres.

Not noticed sales of Mercs and BMW's plumetting worldwide.

Summer tyres on a heavy 4x4 are a recipe for supper in a ditch.

The problem with X5's Q7's RR's and the like is that they are often bought by road bullies, who use the size of the vehicle to force their way through without care or indication or any form of correct lane use, the ignorant in other words.

They are not alone in this, but as with lorry drivers who behave in this way they stand out like a sore thumb, gaining the name for themselves they wouldn't like (though care less) and unfortunately tarring those who don't behave like this but drive similar vehicles with the same brush.

It's part of the reason i'm sure why many drivers smile when they see such vehicles in difficult straits.