SUVs - Whats the point?
Discussion
I sold my Jag X350 for a Range Rover, mainly for the load space. It's HUGE inside, tons of legroom for 5 adults, pretty quiet and comfortable. With LPG I'm not ever really losing out on fuel costs either.
Show me a luxury estate with all that for 5K. I did look at Merc E classes, but at the age I'm looking at rust is a killer.
Show me a luxury estate with all that for 5K. I did look at Merc E classes, but at the age I'm looking at rust is a killer.
sonnenschein3000 said:
Nanook said:
I don't have one right now, but when I did, it was because no-one makes a saloon/estate car that can tow 3500kg.
But surely this is more to do with the engine than the vehicle type? Unless its a V8 diesel you're referring to.... ?sonnenschein3000 said:
Shotaro said:
I have a 2002 CRV, why? Well...
1. Had a crash and needed something quickly and cheaply - it cost me £2300
2. Wife wanted something tall where our German Shepherd and Border Collie could sit up in when we're out and about
3. Swing door makes it easier to put said dogs in with while being able to push them back if needed so they don't get hit with a lowering tailgate - yes they can be quite dumb/escape artists sometimes, swing door gives me more control than having to crouch to push them back in
4. When on a jaunt around the countryside we can see over the hedges and get a better view of the road around corners so are more able to pull in to let people by on single track lanes - some quite tall hedges around
5. When we go out to fields to walk the dogs if it's slippy/muddy the 4wd kicks in to give us a hand
6. I have hip and back problems so getting in/out of lower cars can be a pain
7. I can pretend (in my head) to be in the A-Team/secret service
Ah yes but you seem to be out in the country a lot and can see the advantages of a 4x4 first hand. My original post was more for urban dwellers.1. Had a crash and needed something quickly and cheaply - it cost me £2300
2. Wife wanted something tall where our German Shepherd and Border Collie could sit up in when we're out and about
3. Swing door makes it easier to put said dogs in with while being able to push them back if needed so they don't get hit with a lowering tailgate - yes they can be quite dumb/escape artists sometimes, swing door gives me more control than having to crouch to push them back in
4. When on a jaunt around the countryside we can see over the hedges and get a better view of the road around corners so are more able to pull in to let people by on single track lanes - some quite tall hedges around
5. When we go out to fields to walk the dogs if it's slippy/muddy the 4wd kicks in to give us a hand
6. I have hip and back problems so getting in/out of lower cars can be a pain
7. I can pretend (in my head) to be in the A-Team/secret service
However, I take (6) on board as something that can apply to anyone with back problems.
I've got hip, back and leg problems but I still have upper body strength so getting out of my FK2 Type R is pretty easy. I refuse to be forced into a crap car simply because I've got a disability.
mp3manager said:
I've got hip, back and leg problems but I still have upper body strength so getting out of my FK2 Type R is pretty easy. I refuse to be forced into a crap car simply because I've got a disability.
Congratulations, when my back seized and hurt so much I couldn't actually push myself up and had to crawl out of my Scooby I was obviously being a big girlie, but hey if you're man enough to use your upper strength to get out of your CTR then please, go buy yourself a medal and pat yourself on the back you big hulk of a manA big, comfortable SUV is ideal for towing your competition/trackday car.
I find I am too tempted to use all of the performance and handling in a normal, sporty car - in a luxury SUV I'm happy to cruise along. With more and more speed cameras around, I prefer to do my fast driving in rallies....
I find I am too tempted to use all of the performance and handling in a normal, sporty car - in a luxury SUV I'm happy to cruise along. With more and more speed cameras around, I prefer to do my fast driving in rallies....
Wild Rumpus said:
A big, comfortable SUV is ideal for towing your competition/trackday car.
I find I am too tempted to use all of the performance and handling in a normal, sporty car - in a luxury SUV I'm happy to cruise along. With more and more speed cameras around, I prefer to do my fast driving in rallies....
Coming from a 350bhp 535d to a 3.0d X5 I get this completely. Lovely how wafty and slow I drove in comparison.I find I am too tempted to use all of the performance and handling in a normal, sporty car - in a luxury SUV I'm happy to cruise along. With more and more speed cameras around, I prefer to do my fast driving in rallies....
Lots of people have them because they want them.
Like me. I wanted a Discovery, so I got one.
It's great.
It's got 7 adult seats which is handy.
The boots massive, which means I can get my 36kg Labrador in it. Or 2 wheelchairs without folding them and taking them to bits. Which is handy for work.
It can tow 3500kg and does so brilliantly due to its size and weight.
It's a top spec HSE so has superb seats, a 13 speaker sound system and lots of other toys.
It's got true go anywhere ability and does get used off road.
It also copes with town driving thanks to being up high, square edged and doesn't get bothered with potholed and speed bumps like other cars.
It's safe. I've yet to have someone crash into it, but they will lose out.
Big diesel with remap and an autobox makes it a decent daily driver.
If I want fast and good handling, I'll use the caterfield style kitcar.
If I want proper off roaring, I'll use my series 1 trail car.
The Disco is a great car and I wouldn't be without it or another landy for a daily now.
Like me. I wanted a Discovery, so I got one.
It's great.
It's got 7 adult seats which is handy.
The boots massive, which means I can get my 36kg Labrador in it. Or 2 wheelchairs without folding them and taking them to bits. Which is handy for work.
It can tow 3500kg and does so brilliantly due to its size and weight.
It's a top spec HSE so has superb seats, a 13 speaker sound system and lots of other toys.
It's got true go anywhere ability and does get used off road.
It also copes with town driving thanks to being up high, square edged and doesn't get bothered with potholed and speed bumps like other cars.
It's safe. I've yet to have someone crash into it, but they will lose out.
Big diesel with remap and an autobox makes it a decent daily driver.
If I want fast and good handling, I'll use the caterfield style kitcar.
If I want proper off roaring, I'll use my series 1 trail car.
The Disco is a great car and I wouldn't be without it or another landy for a daily now.
TartanPaint said:
I use to have a similarly negative view of soft-roaders/SUVs.
Then I had kids. I'd give anything not to have to bend down to put them in their car seats. I'd put up with crap handling, worse MPG, worse performance, a less useful load space, etc etc etc just for getting them in and out more easily.
Sadly, bought an estate and I'm stuck with it.
SUVs do have a place in the world. I see that now.
Although my experience is that from about the age of 2 they can climb into their seats more easily in a low slung car, whereas with a SUV there is still lifting involved.Then I had kids. I'd give anything not to have to bend down to put them in their car seats. I'd put up with crap handling, worse MPG, worse performance, a less useful load space, etc etc etc just for getting them in and out more easily.
Sadly, bought an estate and I'm stuck with it.
SUVs do have a place in the world. I see that now.
swerni said:
RammyMP said:
Earthdweller said:
RammyMP said:
I love these threads! Why do people buy convertibles, it rains all the fooking time in this country! Err, cos they want to.
I have a convertible and a 4x4 looks like I'm fooked 
For me, I went to an SUV after the roads locally turned into a rutted off-road course, not quite that bad but enough to annoy the crap out of me in a sporty saloon/ sports car, the ease of getting into and out of one is very nice, spacious inside and practical for shifting things, you can see further down the road with the commanding driving position, as most are well equipped not intended to off road they are usually very well equipped and comfortable, with the right tyres you would be surprised at the ability of this sort of vehicle, 4X4 ones obviously, not the soft roaders with two wheel drive.
Strangely I ended up with a sporty one with harsh suspension so it didn’t really fulfil the original need, still loved it and depending on what happens over the next few years I may go back to one for the next car.
As for the never going off road argument, that doesn’t really work, they aren’t 4X4s like a defender, they are 4X4s like an all road Audi, I have a sports car but I don’t go to track days or race to 60 in 5 seconds.
Strangely I ended up with a sporty one with harsh suspension so it didn’t really fulfil the original need, still loved it and depending on what happens over the next few years I may go back to one for the next car.
As for the never going off road argument, that doesn’t really work, they aren’t 4X4s like a defender, they are 4X4s like an all road Audi, I have a sports car but I don’t go to track days or race to 60 in 5 seconds.
Edited by Timbergiant on Monday 12th June 18:12
My favourite subject.
I was brought up on a dairy farm., so dad had a herd of cows and we lived down an unclassified road. We didn't have a 4 wheel drive anything.
I've worked on farms all of my life and you couldn't give me an SUV. When I worked in the US we were sometimes 35 miles away from a tarmac road and the company pickups were all 2wd. 4wd was too expensive to run and if it was so wet we needed 4wd, it was too wet to work. We 2 feet of snow over night on 2 occasions while I worked there and you would have been insane to take to the roads during that. We saw a bloke in a 4wd F150 try to tackle the snow drifts. He dug himself out eventually.
I went skiing to France a few years ago and the only SUVs in the car parks had UK plates on them. As it happens I've just come back from Austria riding around mountain passes and closed ski resorts and didn't see many SUV's at all, everyone had hatchbacks with winter tyres. A bigger heavier car is worse in snow an ice than a lighter car.
I've just driven back to HQ through the village on my tractors. As tractors go, it's not that big, but still a big 'ole lump and my feet are about the same height as a Range Rover drivers shoulder. I can see a bit further down the road, but the sheer size of the vehicle negates it all because the vegetation makes the road narrower. In a crash it would be ok as long as what ever I hit was smaller, otherwise, I'd rather crash my car.
I drove a current model Cayenne for a few ours late last year. It's a comfy cruiser, but I cannot see the appeal at all. My Jazz is a little car, but has an incredibly packaged interior so it has an unfeasible amount of interior space. The Cayenne on the other hand is a very big car with and unfeasibly small amount of interior space relative to its size. As for the handling
. Jesus Christ 
. Yes it's got way more poke than mine, but ask it to change direction and it's height and weight make themselves abundantly clear and there's no amount of German electricery that can hide it.
The loading thing always makes me chuckle too. I have never found lifting up something higher to be easier than lifting up something lower. We have an LWB Transit dropside pickup. Chuffin' brilliant it is, but she's a big (not very) old bus and pain in the sack to park even in industrial estates and loading it by hand means lifting what ever yo want in it to chest height.Chucking things in the back of a Connect would be much easier. I cannot for one minute imagine that loading kids in a parking space into an XC90 would be easier than into my Jazz parked in the same space. Bosses daughter had a D4 now a D5 and a too well bred dog. Said dog can't get in to the Disco's without being lifted up, A) because the dog is useless and B) because the car is too high. My Jack Russell never had an issue getting into my MKII Golf.
They are currently the cars to have, but way to many compromises have to be made for me.
I was brought up on a dairy farm., so dad had a herd of cows and we lived down an unclassified road. We didn't have a 4 wheel drive anything.
I've worked on farms all of my life and you couldn't give me an SUV. When I worked in the US we were sometimes 35 miles away from a tarmac road and the company pickups were all 2wd. 4wd was too expensive to run and if it was so wet we needed 4wd, it was too wet to work. We 2 feet of snow over night on 2 occasions while I worked there and you would have been insane to take to the roads during that. We saw a bloke in a 4wd F150 try to tackle the snow drifts. He dug himself out eventually.
I went skiing to France a few years ago and the only SUVs in the car parks had UK plates on them. As it happens I've just come back from Austria riding around mountain passes and closed ski resorts and didn't see many SUV's at all, everyone had hatchbacks with winter tyres. A bigger heavier car is worse in snow an ice than a lighter car.
I've just driven back to HQ through the village on my tractors. As tractors go, it's not that big, but still a big 'ole lump and my feet are about the same height as a Range Rover drivers shoulder. I can see a bit further down the road, but the sheer size of the vehicle negates it all because the vegetation makes the road narrower. In a crash it would be ok as long as what ever I hit was smaller, otherwise, I'd rather crash my car.
I drove a current model Cayenne for a few ours late last year. It's a comfy cruiser, but I cannot see the appeal at all. My Jazz is a little car, but has an incredibly packaged interior so it has an unfeasible amount of interior space. The Cayenne on the other hand is a very big car with and unfeasibly small amount of interior space relative to its size. As for the handling
. Jesus Christ . Yes it's got way more poke than mine, but ask it to change direction and it's height and weight make themselves abundantly clear and there's no amount of German electricery that can hide it. The loading thing always makes me chuckle too. I have never found lifting up something higher to be easier than lifting up something lower. We have an LWB Transit dropside pickup. Chuffin' brilliant it is, but she's a big (not very) old bus and pain in the sack to park even in industrial estates and loading it by hand means lifting what ever yo want in it to chest height.Chucking things in the back of a Connect would be much easier. I cannot for one minute imagine that loading kids in a parking space into an XC90 would be easier than into my Jazz parked in the same space. Bosses daughter had a D4 now a D5 and a too well bred dog. Said dog can't get in to the Disco's without being lifted up, A) because the dog is useless and B) because the car is too high. My Jack Russell never had an issue getting into my MKII Golf.
They are currently the cars to have, but way to many compromises have to be made for me.
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