4 ms·

Same in the UK. SUVs and large off-road vehicles are taking over. The Range Rover seems to be the car of choice for every wealthy middle-aged mother on her morn

Same in the UK. SUVs and large off-road vehicles are taking over. The Range Rover seems to be the car of choice for every wealthy middle-aged mother on her morning school run. Just recently, one of them managed to careen hers into kids outside their school, killing a number of them [1]. Low emission zone are becoming more ubiquitous, which combats the issue to some regards, but I question why anyone but a farmer needs to own anything that large anywhere. This isn't the US, where pavements/sidewalks are a pipedream for anyone outside of New York. Nobody should be solo operating tanks just 5m away from someone walking their dog or on their way to school. [1] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/wimbledon-car-crash-victim-dead-b2370550.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/wimbledon-ca...

sw104 3y ago
Range Rovers are a disease in the UK. A brand which had it's origins in the military and farming, which has now been repurposed to drop kids off at a school. It's also the most frequent car I see which is sped around and overtakes with zero concern for other road users. The people driving them seem to not understand the size of their car and either pass over-cautiously or tunnel through everybody else whenever the road is partially obstructed (parked cars in towns and villages). The modern Range Rovers no longer even work for their original purpose. They're not sturdy enough to last on a farm, just fashion symbols. When I question if humanity will tame itself and step down from destroying our world in the pursuit of comfort and consumerism at all costs, the first thing I think of is a white Range Rover Discovery.
- cpursley 3y ago
  Land Rovers are a disease anywhere they go just based on their quality ratings alone. They are consistently rated as the most unreliable vehicles on the market.
  - NullPrefix 3y ago
    A status symbol. Like BMW. Breaks all the time, but you're showing off to other people that you can afford to fix it and keep it running
    - cpursley 3y ago
      BMW is a much more reliable brand than Land Rover and you can get them in non-tank size. But yeah, still an overpriced status symbol in my opinion.
DoingIsLearning 3y ago
The interesting thing to me is that all the 'rational' arguments given by SUV buyers (more storage, easy of entry, larger interior space) are without exception much better in any family MPV instead of SUVs that invariably are also pretty shit off-road vehicles. Literally just more weight and waste, zero function other than satisfying the buyers reptilian brain.
- Aromasin 3y ago
  Agreed. I've been a passenger in plenty of them; many of them don't seem any bigger on the inside than a hatchback, with very similar boot space. It's all pointless, superficial bodywork that makes the demand for them seem even more egregious to me.
  - GoToRO 3y ago
    Because the space is under the car, between the wheels. I was surprised too.
  - neuralRiot 3y ago
    Have you been on a BMW X6? I swear there’s less interior space in it than in a 3-series, the trunk is almost at armpit level and a mazda 3 can load bigger things. Same for the mercedes GLC. They’re the contemporary version of the hummer.
    - arethuza 3y ago
      Coupe style SUVs like the X6 must be one of the stupidest car design fashions ever. And I say that as a recovered X5 owner....
- arethuza 3y ago
  I recently had my car written off (a small SUV) and due to lack of availability of replacements I replaced it with a similar sized hatchback. Now I find myself thinking why on earth I had an SUV - I'm unlikely to purchase another one as the hatchback is cheaper, roomier inside and handles much better.
FridayoLeary 3y ago
Instead of punishing the middle class by slapping ulez on them, it would be far more effective and fair for the london mayor to offer free school buses like they do in some parts of America.
- kolektiv 3y ago
  I'm not sure the middle classes are likely to be hit by ULEZ anyway - it hits vehicles older than a certain age, primarily - not many of those Chelsea Tractors are likely to fall foul of it. While I agree with ULEZ, I will admit it's quite regressive - the people with old/polluting vehicles are, in many cases, those least able to afford anything better and/or the charge. Public transport should be much better, but that's way beyond the scope of something the mayor can quickly impact.
  - stuaxo 3y ago
    We need the need to follow Paris's lead and tax by weight - damage to roads follows a 4th power law, so very from a dumb immediate economic POV this makes sense.
  - porkbeer 3y ago
    Add to that the production of newer ones just negated the effeciency gain.
- adhesive_wombat 3y ago
  School children already have free bus travel in London.
- r_hoods_ghost 3y ago
  Ummmm under sixteens have had free bus and tram travel in London for years. Or do you not want them to interact with members of the public and live in a sanitised bubble consisting solely of you and your nanny?
- ranko 3y ago
  Children under 16 already get free travel on buses and trams in London, though they have to pay discounted fares on the tube and they'll need a photocard if they are 11 or over.
datavirtue 3y ago
In the US nearly everyone drives their truck like it's a car. This is very dangerous. Hence the pedestrian death numbers soaring. I have a 4x2 F-150 as my daily driver that is also my tow rig and work truck. I drive like a grandpa because I dont want people/pedestrians to be threatened by my vehicle. Nor do I want to hit anyone or anything. You would not believe how popular it is to make the truck even bigger. People are obsessively doing 3" lift kits with aggressive stance rims and 40" tires. It costs yet another fortune to do this and causes otherwise fuel efficient trucks to suck gas like a 1977 Dodge 3/4 ton. I'm in a truck and I have to dodge these fucks. Edit: Part of this is due to the tax code. People can form an LLC and write off the truck and any "expenses" (cough... lift kits and superchargers) and still use the thing as their daily driver.

sw104 3y ago

Range Rovers are a disease in the UK. A brand which had it's origins in the military and farming, which has now been repurposed to drop kids off at a school. It's also the most frequent car I see which is sped around and overtakes with zero concern for other road users. The people driving them seem to not understand the size of their car and either pass over-cautiously or tunnel through everybody else whenever the road is partially obstructed (parked cars in towns and villages). The modern Range Rovers no longer even work for their original purpose. They're not sturdy enough to last on a farm, just fashion symbols. When I question if humanity will tame itself and step down from destroying our world in the pursuit of comfort and consumerism at all costs, the first thing I think of is a white Range Rover Discovery.

cpursley 3y ago
Land Rovers are a disease anywhere they go just based on their quality ratings alone. They are consistently rated as the most unreliable vehicles on the market.
- NullPrefix 3y ago
  A status symbol. Like BMW. Breaks all the time, but you're showing off to other people that you can afford to fix it and keep it running
  - cpursley 3y ago
    BMW is a much more reliable brand than Land Rover and you can get them in non-tank size. But yeah, still an overpriced status symbol in my opinion.

DoingIsLearning 3y ago

The interesting thing to me is that all the 'rational' arguments given by SUV buyers (more storage, easy of entry, larger interior space) are without exception much better in any family MPV instead of SUVs that invariably are also pretty shit off-road vehicles. Literally just more weight and waste, zero function other than satisfying the buyers reptilian brain.

Aromasin 3y ago
Agreed. I've been a passenger in plenty of them; many of them don't seem any bigger on the inside than a hatchback, with very similar boot space. It's all pointless, superficial bodywork that makes the demand for them seem even more egregious to me.
- GoToRO 3y ago
  Because the space is under the car, between the wheels. I was surprised too.
- neuralRiot 3y ago
  Have you been on a BMW X6? I swear there’s less interior space in it than in a 3-series, the trunk is almost at armpit level and a mazda 3 can load bigger things. Same for the mercedes GLC. They’re the contemporary version of the hummer.
  - arethuza 3y ago
    Coupe style SUVs like the X6 must be one of the stupidest car design fashions ever. And I say that as a recovered X5 owner....
arethuza 3y ago
I recently had my car written off (a small SUV) and due to lack of availability of replacements I replaced it with a similar sized hatchback. Now I find myself thinking why on earth I had an SUV - I'm unlikely to purchase another one as the hatchback is cheaper, roomier inside and handles much better.

FridayoLeary 3y ago

Instead of punishing the middle class by slapping ulez on them, it would be far more effective and fair for the london mayor to offer free school buses like they do in some parts of America.

kolektiv 3y ago
I'm not sure the middle classes are likely to be hit by ULEZ anyway - it hits vehicles older than a certain age, primarily - not many of those Chelsea Tractors are likely to fall foul of it. While I agree with ULEZ, I will admit it's quite regressive - the people with old/polluting vehicles are, in many cases, those least able to afford anything better and/or the charge. Public transport should be much better, but that's way beyond the scope of something the mayor can quickly impact.
- stuaxo 3y ago
  We need the need to follow Paris's lead and tax by weight - damage to roads follows a 4th power law, so very from a dumb immediate economic POV this makes sense.
- porkbeer 3y ago
  Add to that the production of newer ones just negated the effeciency gain.
adhesive_wombat 3y ago
School children already have free bus travel in London.
r_hoods_ghost 3y ago
Ummmm under sixteens have had free bus and tram travel in London for years. Or do you not want them to interact with members of the public and live in a sanitised bubble consisting solely of you and your nanny?
ranko 3y ago
Children under 16 already get free travel on buses and trams in London, though they have to pay discounted fares on the tube and they'll need a photocard if they are 11 or over.

datavirtue 3y ago

In the US nearly everyone drives their truck like it's a car. This is very dangerous. Hence the pedestrian death numbers soaring. I have a 4x2 F-150 as my daily driver that is also my tow rig and work truck. I drive like a grandpa because I dont want people/pedestrians to be threatened by my vehicle. Nor do I want to hit anyone or anything. You would not believe how popular it is to make the truck even bigger. People are obsessively doing 3" lift kits with aggressive stance rims and 40" tires. It costs yet another fortune to do this and causes otherwise fuel efficient trucks to suck gas like a 1977 Dodge 3/4 ton. I'm in a truck and I have to dodge these fucks. Edit: Part of this is due to the tax code. People can form an LLC and write off the truck and any "expenses" (cough... lift kits and superchargers) and still use the thing as their daily driver.