If 4X4's are designed to go off road why....?

Question

Talking to a mate who goes off-roading with his Defender. Told him how many blinkered people on here think 4X4's are designed to be used only by people who need them for going off road or farmers. His reply was that he didn't know any farmers or off roaders who used an Audi TT, a Jaguar X-type, a Superu Imprezza or one of several other 4X4's.

The question is, obviously, why do so many clowns on here insist 4X4's are only for farmers or for going off road. Pay attention!

Oh Alfie, little Alfie, are you just thick or a liar? Get your facts right before you sound off.

Answer 1

So-called "Off Road" vehicles are designed to appeal to people with more money than public spirit who feel it can help them not to look like (or be) nerds. They have to be well-off to afford the petrol guzzling involved, thick-skinned to ignore other people's interests, small people who can get to look big in a high-up seat and ignorant of their sad plight in the social scheme of things where their nuisance is detested more than pitied. Get them off the roads, into the fields and deserts.

Answer 2

This is a problem of terminology. When people say 4x4s they usually mean things like Landrovers and Jeeps, but then there are 4x4 cars. In both cases the advantage is the ability to put power down, just for different purposes, moving fast in 4x4 cars and moving at all in 4x4 off road vehicles.

Then there's the Subarus that don't fit firmly into either camp, fast road cars with good ground clearance.

Answer 3

Offroading is a sport indeed, and to that extent a 4X4 to also use on the road is logical. I have been off road in a Jeep, and a Dodge and they are lots of fun if one wants to spend the money.
Otherwise, I think people like me share the attitude that other than if living where there is snow and ice, Chelsea Tractors are a waste of space and fuel. I have a little Toyota that can handle a country lane as well as anything. Who has stumps to jump in a metropolitan area?
Otherwise, these Mastadons are ment to impress the impressionable with little other use, and to make a lot of money for car manufacturers and garages.
The drivers, not the vehicles I think may be the greatest rub "Sure, M'Lady (or M' Lord), if you wish to haul your two kids round in a bus, why not go all the way and purchase a transit bus, you can have a loo to go with the little tele!"
There is one apparent MAIN purpose some drivers like to demonstrate forcing others off the road, crawl up our bums, and to otherwise be noticed in the most obnoxious possible ways.
Perhaps it is a females substitute for a penis, in some cases, or in males, an attempt to make up for smallness of the *ahem* or an errectile dysfunction.
If these nits think others admire and worship them and their steel palaces, they might want to think twice. I certainly could identify with Alfie, but all have made good points thus far.

Answer 4

4x4 like audi and subaru are designed to keep the car driving fast in wet weather/bad conditions on the road. the 4x4s like the landrovers are desinged for going off road they have a higher ground clearance and a low ratio box (to get you up and down hills and out of thick mud)
farmers dont use audi 4x4s or subaru becouse a, they will get stuck when land rovers/ mitsubishi wont and b, if there used for work they get so dirty inside the car would be ruined in no time most land rovers insides a sparce and easy to clean.
as to 4x4s being dangerous as said by others answering this question there not! some ppl who drive them maybe but the cars aint, no differance to any other car on the road

Answer 5

Obviously, most who have responded here have never owned a 4x4 or for that matter have never needed one. In 25 yrs of driving I have owned five 4x4 vehicles. I grew up on a farm near the mountains so I required the flexibility and endurance of these vehicles. Now, I live in a suburban environment, but I work real estate and construction and find many situations where a 2 wheel drive vehicle is completely useless.
Most people who criticize, like everything else, do so because they are simply misinformed or inexperienced.

Answer 6

4x4's aren't designed just for off-road. A car like an Impretza has it to give it maximum grip at all times, an X-Type to allow it to be safer when being used on snow. When people refer to the 4x4's your concerned with, the high-clearance ones such as Volvo XC-90, Range Rover, Porsche Cayanne etc. Yes they should only be used off-road. These vehicles have no more place on a road than a train. They are incompetant, dangerous and they aren't even that comfy.

Answer 7

The car derived 4x4's are supposed to be more sporty as they require extra drive to get the power on the road more safely and controllable. Lamborghini even have a 4x4 sports car. But then again, you can get a 4x4 Fiat panda, so that's my theory buggered.

Answer 8

The manufacturers originally designed them for off-road use, but then they realised they could make a lot of money from the sad posers who think that they are a fashion accessory. So now their marketing thrust is aimed at people who have more money than sense, have little regard for the danger to others, care nothing for
the environment and love to have their vehicles adorned with bull bars, extra headlights, tinted windows, spray-on mud etc.

It makes good commercial sense to target the fashion slaves and posers, especially when you have a product which would normally have a very limited, practical use.

Answer 9

Ground clearance and tyres, all the cars you mention are low to the ground with wide tyres and smooth tread patterns, not good for going down a farm track.
SUV, sports utility vehicles, like the defender, have high ground clearance and can be fitted with knobbly tyres. Lots of features like ladder frame chassis, low ratio gearbox etc. are specifically designed to enable off-road driving, if you never go off-road then its a waste to buy a car equipped with this kit.

Answer 10

I can't make heads or tails out of this question. If I knew what you were asking I might be able to shed some light on this.