Rise of the UK 'SUV'
Discussion
santona1937 said:
there is nothing remotely PH about any form of SUV. Seeing SUV's of any sort being discussed on here in a positive light is like the day I heard Jimi Hendrix and Led Zep being played as muzac in a US supermarket. I decided then that civilization as we knew it was dead.
Mumsnet has a great discussion board about SUV's.
Pish. Your comment is just ignorance to other forms of either competition or driving enjoyment.Mumsnet has a great discussion board about SUV's.
There is as much skill being able to pick your lines and navigate across rough terrain without bogging down, or damaging the car as there is from kissing that apex right on a track or finding a open road that is empty of traffic and camera's.
A TRUE petrolhead can see beyond a stereotype and see that not everyone likes the same driving Nirvana.
Anyway. I'm 26, i have a 2.7 ton diesel auto Disco as a car, i've wanted one for years.
It has the high up driving position that is nice for forward planning on the motorway. The interior is massive and can seat 7 adults when needed, the boot is large enough for the Labrador to be comfortable in.
There is plenty of toys and it has a superb comfy seat and the sound system is excellent.
It has a removable tow bar for use when it needs to tow trailers and it is capable in all weather conditions.
A proper jack of all trades car.
It can go from daily driver to off road mud plugger by flicking 2 levers and turning a dial...
The roads in my area are terrible, in my brother's E46, your constantly looking out for potholes etc to avoid and serve around. I have no worries about that.
Plus i have a kitcar to use for when i want to go fast. Best of both worlds.
Greg66 said:
santona1937 said:
there is nothing remotely PH about any form of SUV. Seeing SUV's of any sort being discussed on here in a positive light is like the day I heard Jimi Hendrix and Led Zep being played as muzac in a US supermarket. I decided then that civilization as we knew it was dead.
Mumsnet has a great discussion board about SUV's.
Says the man who used to have an Isuzu Trooper! Mumsnet has a great discussion board about SUV's.
fangio said:
SUV?
Stupid, useless vehicle?
Says the man who drives a diesel A3! Stupid, useless vehicle?
sunnydude959 said:
I don't personally like 4x4s, and I cannot see how I ever will. They're not sporty things...
Says the man who runs a 4x4 Navara Avemtura! FFS, has this thread attracted people with severe memory loss?
Edited by Greg66 on Sunday 10th November 23:08
I can see the point in dicovery's, Troopers, etc, but not in the SUV that has no real 4 wheel drive. Most of these soft roaders just use a viscous coupling when needed.
There is no eveidence to suggest that a soft roader is any better in the snow than a well driven car with proper tyres, unless its very very deep snow and ground clearance is needed, in which case a proper 4x4 is much better.
santona1937 said:
Greg66 said:
santona1937 said:
there is nothing remotely PH about any form of SUV. Seeing SUV's of any sort being discussed on here in a positive light is like the day I heard Jimi Hendrix and Led Zep being played as muzac in a US supermarket. I decided then that civilization as we knew it was dead.
Mumsnet has a great discussion board about SUV's.
Says the man who used to have an Isuzu Trooper! Mumsnet has a great discussion board about SUV's.
fangio said:
SUV?
Stupid, useless vehicle?
Says the man who drives a diesel A3! Stupid, useless vehicle?
sunnydude959 said:
I don't personally like 4x4s, and I cannot see how I ever will. They're not sporty things...
Says the man who runs a 4x4 Navara Avemtura! FFS, has this thread attracted people with severe memory loss?
Edited by Greg66 on Sunday 10th November 23:08
I can see the point in dicovery's, Troopers, etc, but not in the SUV that has no real 4 wheel drive. Most of these soft
roaders just use a viscous coupling when needed.
There is no eveidence to suggest that a soft roader is any better in the snow than a well driven car with proper tyres, unless its very very deep snow and ground clearance is needed, in which case a proper 4x4 is much better.
A.J.M said:
santona1937 said:
there is nothing remotely PH about any form of SUV. Seeing SUV's of any sort being discussed on here in a positive light is like the day I heard Jimi Hendrix and Led Zep being played as muzac in a US supermarket. I decided then that civilization as we knew it was dead.
Mumsnet has a great discussion board about SUV's.
Pish. Your comment is just ignorance to other forms of either competition or driving enjoyment.Mumsnet has a great discussion board about SUV's.
There is as much skill being able to pick your lines and navigate across rough terrain without bogging down, or damaging the car as there is from kissing that apex right on a track or finding a open road that is empty of traffic and camera's.
A TRUE petrolhead can see beyond a stereotype and see that not everyone likes the same driving Nirvana.
Anyway. I'm 26, i have a 2.7 ton diesel auto Disco as a car, i've wanted one for years.
It has the high up driving position that is nice for forward planning on the motorway. The interior is massive and can seat 7 adults when needed, the boot is large enough for the Labrador to be comfortable in.
There is plenty of toys and it has a superb comfy seat and the sound system is excellent.
It has a removable tow bar for use when it needs to tow trailers and it is capable in all weather conditions.
A proper jack of all trades car.
It can go from daily driver to off road mud plugger by flicking 2 levers and turning a dial...
The roads in my area are terrible, in my brother's E46, your constantly looking out for potholes etc to avoid and serve around. I have no worries about that.
Plus i have a kitcar to use for when i want to go fast. Best of both worlds.
/quote]
I agree 100%, but the Disco is Not an SUV, its a proper 4x4.... an SUV is a Honda CR-V, Xsara Picasso,Daihatsu Terios, etc etc something that looks like a 4x4 but sits on a car chassis.
[quote=A.J.
There is as much skill being able to pick your lines and navigate across rough terrain without bogging down, or damaging the car as there is from kissing that apex right on a track or finding a open road that is empty of traffic
[/quote]
I don't think anyone would disagree with this, I drove 4x4 s for work off road and respect the skills. Issue is that 99.9% of the time these vehicles, SUV or proper 4x4's have never seen any mud. What they do seem to do is give misplaced confidence to the drivers in poor driving conditions. These vehicles do not stop more quickly than cars in heavy rain and would be less stable if control is lost ( "knock knock"; "whose there" ; PHYSICS!.). When I'm slowing down for heavy rain the cars that continue to go steaming past me are SUV's and 4x4's. This puts me and other road users at increased risk and I really don't like that.
There is as much skill being able to pick your lines and navigate across rough terrain without bogging down, or damaging the car as there is from kissing that apex right on a track or finding a open road that is empty of traffic
[/quote]
I don't think anyone would disagree with this, I drove 4x4 s for work off road and respect the skills. Issue is that 99.9% of the time these vehicles, SUV or proper 4x4's have never seen any mud. What they do seem to do is give misplaced confidence to the drivers in poor driving conditions. These vehicles do not stop more quickly than cars in heavy rain and would be less stable if control is lost ( "knock knock"; "whose there" ; PHYSICS!.). When I'm slowing down for heavy rain the cars that continue to go steaming past me are SUV's and 4x4's. This puts me and other road users at increased risk and I really don't like that.
HertsBiker said:
We started it of course, before anyone else made it popular.
Our roads were, and still are mostly rubbish outside of the motorway network.
No wonder the SUV or soft roader is on the increase. Forget tidy handling, hello forgiving ride and a degree of comfort & practicality. In todays environment, especially in the vastly over crowded south east, why wouldn't you have a SUV? There are many haters, but apart from when I am on my bike I am never happier on the road unless in a jacked up estate car. I like the ride, I like the space and comfort, and of course the illusion of a little off road ability. This includes being able to cross a flooded road without hydraulic-ing the engine. And of course, the ease of climbing in and out for us old gits has no small part in all this.
Anyone else 'get' it ?
SUV's meh. 4x4's yes.Our roads were, and still are mostly rubbish outside of the motorway network.
No wonder the SUV or soft roader is on the increase. Forget tidy handling, hello forgiving ride and a degree of comfort & practicality. In todays environment, especially in the vastly over crowded south east, why wouldn't you have a SUV? There are many haters, but apart from when I am on my bike I am never happier on the road unless in a jacked up estate car. I like the ride, I like the space and comfort, and of course the illusion of a little off road ability. This includes being able to cross a flooded road without hydraulic-ing the engine. And of course, the ease of climbing in and out for us old gits has no small part in all this.
Anyone else 'get' it ?
Oh and BTW the Yanks beat us by at least a decade....
HertsBiker said:
We started it of course, before anyone else made it popular.
Our roads were, and still are mostly rubbish outside of the motorway network.
No wonder the SUV or soft roader is on the increase. Forget tidy handling, hello forgiving ride and a degree of comfort & practicality. In todays environment, especially in the vastly over crowded south east, why wouldn't you have a SUV? There are many haters, but apart from when I am on my bike I am never happier on the road unless in a jacked up estate car. I like the ride, I like the space and comfort, and of course the illusion of a little off road ability. This includes being able to cross a flooded road without hydraulic-ing the engine. And of course, the ease of climbing in and out for us old gits has no small part in all this.
Anyone else 'get' it ?
Eh? No, I don't get it. I can't follow the logic that says larger and heavier wheels than needed, plus larger and heavier drive train, equals more space and comfort. Surely the complete opposite is the case? The suspension on these vehicles is having to control the weight of axles and drive shafts that just don't need to be there. I worked on an X5 once and the weight of the wheels for what essentially is a car, was shocking. Our roads were, and still are mostly rubbish outside of the motorway network.
No wonder the SUV or soft roader is on the increase. Forget tidy handling, hello forgiving ride and a degree of comfort & practicality. In todays environment, especially in the vastly over crowded south east, why wouldn't you have a SUV? There are many haters, but apart from when I am on my bike I am never happier on the road unless in a jacked up estate car. I like the ride, I like the space and comfort, and of course the illusion of a little off road ability. This includes being able to cross a flooded road without hydraulic-ing the engine. And of course, the ease of climbing in and out for us old gits has no small part in all this.
Anyone else 'get' it ?
I accept that the ride height allows vision over other vehicles until I remember that almost every other vehicle in the UK is a suv so that facility is lost...
After that a Suv is bigger, heavier and thirstier than need be and can be a bugger to find sufficient space to park.
Why on earth would I want one?
I do regret the rise of the SUV in Britain. I have discovered that in oh-so-stylish Rome almost every other car is a smart car. In style-free Britain, the grim, fattest-country-in Europe with one of the worst education systems, a land where nothing other than road safety seems to work well, we have the SUV. Rome has the smart car, Birmingham has the Nissan Juke.
I totally get that.
I dont let 4x4s/SUVs out at junctions*. I realise its a hopeless form of protest but its pretty much the only thing open to me. I wish there was a way of saying "yes, you - im deliberately not letting you out because you purchased that behemoth. Watch as i let someone in a Clio out half a mile down the road".
Maybe i need to get some stickers made up.
The rise of the SUV seems to make less incentive for councils to fix potholes, and it also riles me that speed humps (which i have to crawl over at 5mph to avoid my sump being battered) dont even make SUV's decrease from 40mph (in the 20mph section outside my home).
I also hate the argument "itz 4 da protekshun of mi kidz!" when hitting another child at 30mph in that vehicle gives a much higher chance of death than hitting them in a conventional car.
Maybe i need to get some stickers made up.
The rise of the SUV seems to make less incentive for councils to fix potholes, and it also riles me that speed humps (which i have to crawl over at 5mph to avoid my sump being battered) dont even make SUV's decrease from 40mph (in the 20mph section outside my home).
I also hate the argument "itz 4 da protekshun of mi kidz!" when hitting another child at 30mph in that vehicle gives a much higher chance of death than hitting them in a conventional car.
- the exception is when i am out in the proper country, where people have them because they *need* them. You dont need a 2 tonne vehicle to drive down Ascot highstreet to get a Starbucks, or to pick up Tarquin from school.
mcmikey43 said:
I don't think anyone would disagree with this, I drove 4x4 s for work off road and respect the skills. Issue is that 99.9% of the time these vehicles, SUV or proper 4x4's have never seen any mud. What they do seem to do is give misplaced confidence to the drivers in poor driving conditions. These vehicles do not stop more quickly than cars in heavy rain and would be less stable if control is lost ( "knock knock"; "whose there" ; PHYSICS!.). When I'm slowing down for heavy rain the cars that continue to go steaming past me are SUV's and 4x4's. This puts me and other road users at increased risk and I really don't like that.
Then don't drive on the roads. It's your choice... that's the point. We live in a world/society that allows choice. A 4x4 or SUV is just as valid as choosing a 55 year old classic, a 2 tonne + luxury saloon car, a van or a lorry. Sometimes I wonder if you live on a different planet to the rest of us
And Isambard Kingdom Brunel always believed larger wheels on a train would make it more comfortable.
As for space, seriously, have you never seen how much interior height there is in something like a Disco 1? Can you name any 'car' that compares?
And BTW, with independent suspension you won't have the weight of the axles being suspended.
e.g. Google "Oxford A34 traffic" and you'll get this:
Quite typical of a busy A road in the UK. But SUV's are massively out numbered by normal cars. 10:1 maybe.
heebeegeetee said:
Eh? No, I don't get it. I can't follow the logic that says larger and heavier wheels than needed, plus larger and heavier drive train, equals more space and comfort.
Many SUV's do not have a larger or heavier drivetrain.And Isambard Kingdom Brunel always believed larger wheels on a train would make it more comfortable.
As for space, seriously, have you never seen how much interior height there is in something like a Disco 1? Can you name any 'car' that compares?
heebeegeetee said:
Surely the complete opposite is the case? The suspension on these vehicles is having to control the weight of axles and drive shafts that just don't need to be there.
Why don't they need to be there? How else can you make something AWD??And BTW, with independent suspension you won't have the weight of the axles being suspended.
heebeegeetee said:
I worked on an X5 once and the weight of the wheels for what essentially is a car, was shocking.
Nice, but have you ever weighed a similar sized big wide tyre and wheel off of a car? Are you seriously trying to say a Bentley has lighter wheels?heebeegeetee said:
I accept that the ride height allows vision over other vehicles until I remember that almost every other vehicle in the UK is a suv so that facility is lost...
I think you need to be more observant. e.g. Google "Oxford A34 traffic" and you'll get this:
Quite typical of a busy A road in the UK. But SUV's are massively out numbered by normal cars. 10:1 maybe.
heebeegeetee said:
After that a Suv is bigger, heavier and thirstier than need be and can be a bugger to find sufficient space to park.
I love how ignorant people get when talking about such things. You do realise that something like a Ford Mondeo is actually longer than a Discovery don't you?heebeegeetee said:
Why on earth would I want one?
I do regret the rise of the SUV in Britain. I have discovered that in oh-so-stylish Rome almost every other car is a smart car. In style-free Britain, the grim, fattest-country-in Europe with one of the worst education systems, a land where nothing other than road safety seems to work well, we have the SUV. Rome has the smart car, Birmingham has the Nissan Juke.
I totally get that.
I do regret the rise of the SUV in Britain. I have discovered that in oh-so-stylish Rome almost every other car is a smart car. In style-free Britain, the grim, fattest-country-in Europe with one of the worst education systems, a land where nothing other than road safety seems to work well, we have the SUV. Rome has the smart car, Birmingham has the Nissan Juke.
I totally get that.
daddy cool said:
I dont let 4x4s/SUVs out at junctions*. I realise its a hopeless form of protest but its pretty much the only thing open to me. I wish there was a way of saying "yes, you - im deliberately not letting you out because you purchased that behemoth.
You do realise this makes you a complete t- the exception is when i am out in the proper country, where people have them because they *need* them. You dont need a 2 tonne vehicle to drive down Ascot highstreet to get a Starbucks, or to pick up Tarquin from school.
t don't you? Not too mention you seem convinced you are somehow psychic and able to tell why a person owns said vehicle.
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