Why do people pick on 4X4's?

Question

Why are so many people anti 4X4? I'm not saying the points they make aren't valid, but any point against a 4X4 applies to 4X2's also. eg some 4X2's use much more fuel than some 4X4's, some are bigger, produce more pollution etc. It always comes over that it is a predujice in the same way as being anti coloured or sexist etc. If you are against pollution etc it shouldn't matter how many wheels are driven. A new thought, if I drive some thing like a Frontera or a Jeep with selectable 4 wheel drive am I only anti social when it is in 4 wheel drive?

Answer 1

Probably down to the fact they tend to be driven by overweight, middle aged women who can't drive and think they rule the road.

Answer 2

I can't believe some of these answers. READ THE QUESTION! Anti 4X4 people are anti simply because they are 4 wheel drive. 4X4's are driven by as wide a variety of people as any other car. They are no more aggresive than BMW, Volvo or Ford drivers. Volvo, Renault, Ford and Vauxhall have all made basically the same car in 2 and 4 wheel drive versions. Why are the 4X4 versions more anti social than the 4X2 ones? Only a small proportion of 4X4's have bars on the front. Many are not designed for 'severe terain'. You won't get far off road with an X-Trail, VolvoC90 or a BMW X5. Yes you can buy a 4X4 the day you pass your test and drive it. You can also buy a Ferrari, and drive it on a motorway with no extra training, and I know which is the most dangerous.
"You should only own a 4X4 if you need it to go off road or you're a farmer". Who decides if you need it or not? What if it was made law, and was extended to cover speed. "You can only own a car which can do more than 70mph if you need it". Oh dear, all cars are off the road. It is illegal to drive at more than 70mph on any public road at any time, so why make cars capable of doing this? If you need the extra speed to overtake safely (not acceleration) you are not overtaking safely. At the end of the day I can see the arguement against large petrol engined 4X4's, but not because they have 4 wheel drive. Any car which is large and has a large engine is included in the same group. Why include a Renault Kangoo 4X4 with a Porche Cayenne, but not a Mercedes S Class or Bently? Remember, as a Discovery driver I not only paid for my car, and pay to run it, but through extra tax subsidise other drivers. As for being safer, I don't know if they are, but I do like the higher driving position, and after driving a new Focus Zetec 1.6 for 1,000 miles this week I find the Discovery far more roomy, comfortable and easier to drive. The Focus did about 40mpg. The Discovery does 35mpg, both on a run. Hardly a vast difference.
Come on, live and let live. There are no negative points against 4X4's that don't apply to 4X2's. If you don't like 4X4's, don't buy one. They are no bigger, often smaller. No less economical on fuel, often more so. No more unnessesary, often more so.

Answer 3

Dear Ray
Perhaps,also,usually people with larger vehicles(lorries,coaches,buses etc) are professional drivers who have extra training and are very safe.
If I went out tomorrow and got a 4x4 I could take it away without having any extra training . I would feel safer-but the rest of you wouldn't be!
Sometimes there are moments on the road when there is a "near thing"
Well If you're facing the "Roo bars" on a 4x4 you get the idea that you in your family car are going to come off worse. So you feel a lot safer in your 4x4 because of this,
Perhaps the 4x4 drivers need to take a turn down at Bovington to realise what it's like to be on the roads with them?
Equally I expect the bikers would like to see all car drivers put on a bike for the day,( a lot of us have been -that's why we're back safe inside our crumple zones!)
It's a healthy debate, but answer this question?If you have a 4x4 (and you're not a farmer/harpist etc or someone who daily travels through country lanes) , is it because you feel safer in it? And why do you feel safer?( because we will go splat before you do!)
So please keep up the safe driving, and when we get stuck in a jam I will continue to wind my window down and ask you what's going on !
Happy driving
M

Answer 4

I'm completely anit 4x4s, sometimes without cause, if they need to use it cos they live in the sticks or pull a large trailor then fine. But any huge car which is very often carrying only one person (most I see are) is bound to be extravagant with gas. And when they have lots of metal pipework on the front or/ and back ( what is that about?) are very pushy as they know they are bigger than them (often the case in my experience), and can't actually drive/ park the thing ( again., in my experience), then they're even worse. If they have good reason for it then fine, but I think that's rare

Answer 5

Its primarily because a large car has the purpose of extreme comfort or extreme speed. A car designed for extreme comfort is often used for that purpose, a car with extreme speed often uses the subsidary products that come with that (exceptional brakes, safer overtaking etc). But a 4x4 is designed for extreme road conditions. They are rarely or never used for that purpose, therefore people hate them as to buy a car that is designed for specific conditions but never use them is by enlarge pointless. Also the extreme weight and size of them does mean they tend to use more fossil fuels than a car with a similar engine. Therefore they make no more sense than buying a small, relatively uncomfortable, slow and unsafe car that just so happens to drink loads of fuel. Its stupid.

Answer 6

People are anti 4x4's because the media tells them they should be , just as the media told people to be anti smoking with no definitive proof , 4x4's are no more polluting than your average saloon car , but if you really want to scare yourselves take look at the damage diesel exhaust fumes do to your body and your surroundings !!!!!!

Answer 7

why the hell do you want a 4x4 if your not a farmer or someone who absolutely needs one the only time you lot ever go off road is when you mount the kerb to take the kids to school they have got it right at last the government tax you lot up to the hills by the people who need them go in the lowest tax bracket i could go on and on by people reading this would get bored

Answer 8

Because idiots think their cars have to have massive engines. Why not do as the europeans do: People in Europe would rarely by a car with an engine bigger than 2 litres.

Answer 9

Most people are anti-4X4 because rednecks are so easy to make fun of. I think it has something to do with all those missing teeth and picking up dates at family gatherings.

Answer 10

Look at the globe, we in the UK are just a dot. Now look at China and Russia, [and USA] they all produce thousands times more pollution than us, yet the UK liberals are getting their way by putting prices up, but it will not change a thing.