Mondeo 4778 x 1886 Ford Galaxy 4820 x 1884 The Mercedes Viano (COMPACT Version) MPV is 4748 x 1906 [The larger versions easily exceed the RR and other "large" 4x4s]
So to keep harping on about 4x4s is pure prejudice
It isn't just footprint, but height as well. Almost any vehicle taller than a "normal" car can give other drivers visibility issues. Especially when they pull a bit further forward of you but alongside you as you both wait to turn out in different directions at a junction.
When we had the Renault Scenic I hated manouevring in the car park at the boys' nursery because the rear visibility was very poor for seeing toddler sized people. All drivers need to be aware of the full and partial blind spots of their own vehicles whatever they are.
In a dim and distant universe , jg enlightened us thusly: [Snippety snip]
Eh? I've got better visibility in the Disco than in the ordinary car (Mondeo). Certainly when driving round town I can see pedestrians a lot easier because I can see over the tops of parked cars, in case someone is stupid enough to walk into the road without looking.
When I'm in the car, most pedestrians are obscured by the parked cars because they're all the same height.
In a dim and distant universe , hugh enlightened us thusly:
It takes up more room than my Disco too. I've got a Mondeo hatchback as well as a Disco, and the Disco is far easier to reverse into small spaces in town.
On or around Tue, 8 Jan 2008 11:45:09 +0000, Ian Rawlings enlightened us thusly:
OK, sit in the driver's seat of more or less any 4x4 and tell me you can see a 5 year old kid standing behind it.
Mind, the increasing trend for car-styling that has the back swept up at the back and has a ticthy rear window, this is also true of some modern hatchbacks.
All cars have a blindspot behind them, but tall 4x4s have a bigger blind spot. Unless of course you have one of those fresnel lens things that look round corners.
There seems to be. Otherwise why the plethora in city centres of 'Chelsea Tractors' - large vehicles designed for off road use or towing, etc, which are never used for that purpose? I've not seen large vans being popular for private use - despite the fact that they would be pretty practical for many.
A drop off zone would be very welcome. I don't think that bus spaces are a priority as this is an urban school (at least 8 other primary schools in the town) and the majority of pupils live within 15 mins walk. In fact I would be very surprised if any live far enough away to get council provided transport.
All cars have their blind spots and one like that is far less of an issue when driving past something like a school than not being able to see past the parked cars.
Great, best thing to do then is avoid reversing at speed past schools ;-) Far safer to do that in a saloon car.
Yeah, all these tree huggers are right. I need to use a li'l Smart car, or maybe a G Whiz, for taking the nippers to school in Chelsea. But then, hang on, I also need a Pious for visiting Mumsy who has a little place in the country, called Surrey I think. And beastly hubbie needs to take lots of boxes of that white powder he sells round to customers in the ghettos, so I'll pop out and buy him a Berlingo for that. Oh, and what about when we take Tarquin's pony to the gymkhana? I'll need one of these 4x4 thingies for that, wont I? Ooops, something's gone wrong. I've got four cars outside the house now, just so the lentil-scoffing tree-huggers campaigning outside the school gates dont get upset at my choice of transort. Silly Penelope next door has only got one car for all her jobs, how eco-unfriendly is she?!
Or, if you prefer the sarcasm filter turned off: Most of us cant afford the perfect vehicle for each individual part of our lives and instead have the best compromise that covers all eventualities. The crash test dummies in last nights programme tend to disappear when I ask them how I'm going to tow a horsebox with the Mini. They've also declined to factor in 'whole of life' calculations (mainly because it weakens their argument). My 110 CSW is already 19 years old, and despite the abuse I give it I reckon its still got another 20 in it. How many Toyota Prius' do I need to last me 40 years? Five? Eight? TEN? The Landy spends as much time off-tarmac as on, and when it gets too dirty I powerwash it. Ummm, *in*side as well as out. The grufty old lump runs just as happily on veggie oil as diesel - usually half what I put in came from Morrisons shelves rather than their pumps. Can their little supermini's do that?
Accompanied by the sound of a chisel on slate Dave Plowman (News), managed to produce the following words of wisdom
I use my Range Rover for off road use and for towing.
I also use it as a recovery vehicle, so it has tools and a recovery A frame in the boot.
Externally it has no giveaway signs that it works for a living.
I live in a city, and use the Range Rover in the city.
So, help me out here, is it a working vehicle or is it a so-called "Chelsea Tractor"? Judging by your observations above it would be classed as a CT because it looks too clean and tidy to be a working vehicle and it spends time in the city.
Recently bought '87 range rover 3.5 in really good nick although the brakes aren't what I'm used to. Visibility is excellent, except for little kids who don't come up to the door handles. Other drivers have difficulty seeing round a 4WD or van, if you don't realise that about your 4x4 you might be one of those giving us a bad name.
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