4x4 Environmentally Unfriendly?

JohnR ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Exactly. Would *you* use that on-road? In preference to something, anything else?

LOL - errr. No. It's huge, I think it's got extended length struts but I could be wrong about that. Funny thing is I don't actually dislike proper

I wouldn't buy a Swiss Army Knife when all I wanted was a decent screwdriver.

Road rage is the fault of the sufferers not being able to control themselves, or deal with the possibility that they might be late. It also seems to stem from some sort of persecution complex people take on the roads - no, they're not all out to get you, they're just fallible drivers, like yourself. If you make allowances for this, by starting earlier or whatever, you find that trivial incedents just pass you by. I find an unhurried driving style to be the best way of not turning into a heart-attack candidate; you can choose not to get annoyed, it's quite easy.

Nothing says "I'm a complete wanker and I don't mind demonstrating it to the world" like a road rage attack. Chill out

cheers,

Guess what? I do on a daily basis, which is why I have them primarily. They do not die and are superb. They are not quite a tractor though and they are certainly not competition machines. They are superb tools for those that drive offroad on a 'need to' basis, like civil engineers, farmers, vets, estate agents, builders, developers, land owners, rural salesmen, service engineers etc etc etc.

Your offroad conditions must be different to that experienced by most. Perhaps you play by driving in the worst conditions you can find for recreation while most people avoid the worse and take the easiest route that will get them where they need to go.

Like I thought. This is hardly a consideration for serious users like farmers. They just do not dunk their vehicles if they can avoid it. They still work day in and out in poor traction and rough conditions and generally tow on a regular basis. They get worked hard and abused at times but making a mess is avoided if at all possible. And yes, the SUV type 4x4 is not suitable to extemes of offroad as they are purposely biased towards a more multipurpose role with the emphasis towards greater road and allroad use. Driven sensibly they are very capable both on and off road.

Both are very capable. The latest is even more capable than either predecessor. I have had them all. I still have a varied collection and each has different strengths and indeed weaknesses. As long as the driver appreciates the limits of his drive then all are at least satisfactory. This holds true of all cars of all types of course.

Huw

Indeed. I once saw a tractor driver being violently sick while in his tractor waiting for a boat to be secured to a trailer some 20 metres out to sea on a shallow beach. I think he was technically sea sick in a tractor. He was not even moving so it was not likely to be his bad driving.

Huw

You would buy a nice big Snap-On toolbox full of quality tools including specialist ones rather that a hotch potch of lower quality offerings majoring on hammers and chisels though?

Huw

Yes indeed. The unhurried driving style that I think is promoted to the driver by most 4x4's is a positive step in preventing stress and rage in the driver. The 4x4 driver tends not to overtake madly and is content to drive along at a fair pace in a queue of vehicles. Also the height allows greater visibility over crests and hedges so the driver is better informed of the road ahead for more of the time.

Huw

These tend to be models that are not sold in great volume and do not pretend to be remotely practical everyday transport.

Rest of crude comparisons snipped.

Huw

Huw (hedydd[nospam]@tiscali.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

That's all stuff any 4x4 car will do easily. A lot of 2wd will, and regularly do.

True. But that's why a 4x4 car will do in 90%+ of off-road conditions in the UK. Probably better in many cases, as there's not all that excess lard.

Which is why a hell of a lot of farmers in the Peak District used to - and still do - use Subarus and the like. Hell, many used to use Marina pickups

- in muddy fields. In winter. On hillsides.

You want a Panda 4x4 really.

SteveH ( snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

No. I don't. Trust me on this.

Had one a few times as a courtesy car from L&M in High Wycombe (b'stard wouldn't let me have the Thema Turbo, that was reserved for customers with Maseratis and Ferraris) and loved it.

If I wanted a cheap city runabout that could do a bit of the rough stuff at the weekend, that's what I'd have.

Yes but the two wheel drive and lower ground clearance machines will not get you as far. Ordinary cars will get the passengers no further than a yard or gate in most cases. This is why these people buy higher 4x4's as opposed to many other owners who may have priorities arranged differently

Not around here for the most part. This is the reason that 4x4 cars that are not performance biased do not sell in huge numbers. Subaru used to be popular rural transport but since a greater variety of conventional 4x4's have become available they have died in sales terms.

At the time these were popular there was Land Rover, Daihatsu and Subaru. Now there is greater choice and few stick with those type of vehicles. They obviously suite some people. Everyone is different and has different needs, wants and priorities. Their choice. Not yours. Not mine.

Huw

The ones complained of - the 'Chelsea Tractor' - are fitted with tyres designed to reduce this to a minimum. And remove any possibility of decent off road performance.

Then you have tyres designed for off road use, which makes the vehicle near enough dangerous if driven like the average car on road.

"Adrian" wrote .

Hell, many used to use Marina pickups

Missed that little gem. And there you were just saying that modern 4x4's can't go offroad. Now a Morris Marina is good for those conditions you specify. Quite frankly it was always crap and just a sniff of mud or wet would stop it, even a muddy road if it wasn't level. I did once run Morris

Huw

Dave Plowman (News) ( snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Tyres don't lower the centre of gravity or stiffen suspension designed to be long-travel. The solutions to those further compromise the off-road performance.

No. The Land Rover has chunky tyres but the others have various tyres. I like the new Michelin Synchron 4x4 tyres which are road biased but provide good offroad performance even with low profiles. They perform well as long as they are not specified exceptionally wide for the vehicle. My X5 Sport was compromised in this way, though it was much better than most imagine. It was never used for really poor conditions as that was not its bias. People keep making statements that they seem to believe are hard facts, yet every vehicle and its use and its owners expectations are different. I have great experience of most off road conditions and a large number of

Huw