A rash of 4x4s!

[zeb]

We are curious. My neighbours asked if everyone in Britain owns a 4x4.

Why? Because for some reason our tiny country lanes have been taken over by Pajermos, Terranos, Suzukis, Landrovers, Rangerovers, Landcruisers , Shoguns and they all seem to be L reg!! Is this a new craze? "We are off to France so must have an old, preferably purple, red or maroon 4x4 as it's rural and we might get banged by a French driver!"????

I got stopped by one this morning and the driver, wearing a sleeveless T-shirt, thrust an envelope with an address on in my face "Where... is.....this....house?" he asked (in pidgeon English(!), was quite tempted to give him gallic shrug and point towards the Dordogne but I'm too soft.

Has anyone else noticed this or maybe it's just a Charente thing?

[letrangere]

Utterly absurd in, say, Wandsworth but you don't think having a 4 wheel drive is a good idea in the country?  M

[Alcazar]

No. of people I know in the UK: countless.

No. of people with 4x4's: 1

No. of people I know in France: about 60

No. of people in France with 4x4s: 5 (and 1 that wants one)

And the ones WITH are all French!

Alcazar

[SaligoBay]

Yes, these beasts are multiplying at an alarming rate in France, owned by French people, and with never a square centimetre of mud allowed on their tyres.

 

[SaligoBay]

I don't deny it, my ONLY problem with 4x4s is envy, pure and simple! 

[steve@sarah]

Well I love my land Rover- and yes it does get muddy! As a strong servicable work horse I can fill the back with muddy dogs, tool, wood any thing you like and not have to worry.

And whats more the OH loves his Range Rover too! 2 Jags Prescot can't tell me what to drive.

[Miki]

So can anybody explain to me, why only 4% who own them, actually use them for what they were actually built to do ? A friend of ours last week when asked how he went in to 4 wheel drive mode said he hadn't a clue and had never done so...................after 5 years he said he was still learning about the car. Yeh of course

As far as I care, people can have 10 wheel drives but I am simply bemused as to why one would buy one and just stay on the roads with us Jaguar and Mercedes owners, who are not lucky enough to be able to go on the all the lovley muddy fields and go up Mont Blanc in first.

So now we have 4 wheel drives, gucci handbags, a place in France (or Spain), what will be the next must have ??  A ticket to the registry office to see Wingnut & Gammy tie the knot perhaps ?

Who is deux Jags ?  Do they live in Paris, Cannes or ?  

[Alcazar]

I already HAVE a 4x4, although it's badged "AWD".

It COULD go off road, but only on dirt tracks.

It'll do 160+ mph (where allowed) and 0-60mph in about 4.5 seconds, seeing off lesser Porsches etc on the way.

And no, Two Jags can't tell ME what to drive either!

Alcazar

[Coco]

[quote]Hello Is this the latest ban word. After handguns, semi auto rifles, pump action shotguns, more than 2 dogs chasing a tree hugger sorry that was a mistake I meant foxy type of thingy. So you don.t li...[/quote]

If you'd ever had to commute into London on a daily basis via Hampstead, you would soon learn to HATE 4x4's.  Especially sparkling clean ones that have never seen a splash of mud and are inhabited by one bottle blonde mother and her little darling, being dropped off (usually while mummy is double or triple parked and having a chat with the other culprits) at private school, when they clearly only live a few hundred yards away, and you are stuck behind them because they have blocked the main artery into central London.  YOu then get into work and have to try to explain to a boss (who incidentally LIVES in central London but still has a spanking clean 4x4, just in case he has to drive out into the wilds of Twickenham or Enfield) why you are late!!!!!

Personally, living on the side of a steep hill in snow covered Normandy, I'd love one

[IAN_S]

I don't give a damn who owns a 4x4 in London or any other large city as I never go there anyway. If there were no such vehicle there would be others being used wouldn't there?

 I do give a damn about having one here in France in the mountains where it has not stopped snowing since the end of January! If I did not have one we would be snowbound most days and unable to shop.

Also we have horses here that need TLC in the fields so all in all I rate them quite highly!

What is going to make me cross is if the French government tax them more highly just because of town use, it's city versus country dwellers just like the UK.

[Boghound]

[quote]I already HAVE a 4x4, although it's badged "AWD". It COULD go off road, but only on dirt tracks. It'll do 160+ mph (where allowed) and 0-60mph in about 4.5 seconds, seeing off lesser Porsches etc on...[/quote]

I'd be interested to know what particlar modal you drive. As, if it what I think it is. Even going up a "dirt track" could be hazardous to the under-carrage and controling the back-end on wet terrain could be "fun".

[Maddie]

I have a "pretend" 4x4 (ie not a land rover, land cruiser, shogun etc) - a Renault Scenic RX4.  It's always absolutely plastered in mud and a godsend now the weather has turned nasty and we live on very windy, hilly roads.  Having said that, I've seen a lot more here than in the UK and mine has been the only one smothered in mud!

[James]

Hello,

We lived in the Midlands and moved to a remote cottage near Aymestry Herefordshire that had a 1 mile off road track up to it. The cottage had no water, electricity or drainage when we bought it.

We had a bore hole for water and had the mains electricity installed for £7,000 pounds in 1990.

We had to get a four wheel drive and my Grandmother tried out a very old Land rover and also tested out a Jeep cherokee and found them too big and cumbersome.

In the end we saw a 4WD subaru pick up truck for about £250.00 and found it truly excellent. We also bought a mark 1 subaru 1600 estate and that was unstoppable in the mud also. I was at school at the time and the school children used to call our mark 1 subaru the mean machine as it was fudge coloured and had front rally foglights and the exhaust always used to growl as the exhaust scraped the track. It also had real rally tyres on it, and was always covered in mud. The track used to scrape the bottom of the car as the ruts were so deep. If you used to get stuck you couldnt open the door as the mud had formed a wall at the side so you had to climb out the window.

The holiday cottage next doors owners used to come up in an old land rover and one day we met them half way along the track and the gentleman he was, reversed to a part passing place and we thanked him and drove on. About 15 minutes later he turned up at our house as white as a sheet and shaking and said after we had gone he pulled away and his land rover had slid 25 feet down the common embankment and wedged it against a tree. It was lucky the tree was there as he would of gone 200 feet down a steep embankment. We used the mark one subaru to pull out the land rover. The subaru was spinning all four wheels but still pulled it out. We pulled it out diagonally to the track. No damage done. He thought he would need a crane to lift it out and was absolutely amazed that the subaru pulled his car out. He looked at our subaru in a different light and not long after sold up. The mark 2 subaru that we also had, had a hi and low ratio 4WD and I think is far superior than the AWD subaru as you can revert them to front wheel drive. Mud and snow tyres were essential.

While the builders were coming they either used our mark 1 subaru to come up or used a 4WD dumper truck to bring building materials up. We had a temporary generator for a year while the wayleaves were sorted on the mains electric. It took a year to sort out as it had to go over 2 fields through a wood and be buried underground through an orchard.

It was winter and we had to bring up a very heavy lister generator on a trailer and it took 3 four wheel drive vehicles to bring it up the 1 in 4 hill. The subaru pickup lead then it was chained to a toyota hilux? and then a land rover and then finally the trailer with generator. It took all day but it got up there. The toyota was wheelspinning as it had road tyres on it.

The bore hole man had a range rover voque and we said dont bring it up but he was determined and got a call to say he had wedged and scraped all the running boards and shredded 2 of his new BF goodridge tyres. He was about to sell it and he said he did about 2 grands worth of damage. The builder also broke his thumb with the steering wheel spinning in his hands when the car dropped into a rut.

We moved from the cottage after 3 years. We now have an old 1986 volvo 740 estate and will be taking that with us to Normandy and maybee re register it if possible, and also buy a left hand drive French car. I would highly reccomend a subaru, if you need a 4WD. James.

[letrangere]

James, you rightly praise your Subaru, I know someone who loves her Suzuki Vitara.  Although totally lacking in snob appeal, it's surprisingly good off the road as it's so light.  And although I'd rather drive a LR County any day, I must concede that the Vitara does blend in better on the days you venture into the city.  M

[James]

Hello,

What I do like about the subaru is looking at it it just looks like an ordinary small estate car in the city etc, the only give away is the 4WD badge on the tailgate. I also prefer the optional 4WD rather than the permanent 4WD as on newer models as the HI-low ratio on the older models is far superior to the AWD ones.

I would certainly have one in Normandy but I would be very surprised if there was any subaru dealers.

To the person with the AWD car that can go 160 miles an hour is it a volvo V70 XC XC = CROSS COUNTRY? James.

[Dave&Olive]

I have got one

                    Hate the blo0dy thing after having sporty cars all my life had to buy a 4x4 for my needs in France or buy 3 vehicles , so as needs must !!!!!

                  Dave

[Boghound]

[quote]Hello, What I do like about the subaru is looking at it it just looks like an ordinary small estate car in the city etc, the only give away is the 4WD badge on the tailgate. I also prefer the optiona...[/quote]

I'd love to see a Volvo V70 4x4 even reach a speed of 160 mph or perhaps it should be 160kph!

[Alcazar]

[quote]I'd be interested to know what particlar modal you drive. As, if it what I think it is. Even going up a "dirt track" could be hazardous to the under-carrage and controling the back-end on wet terrain ...[/quote]

Impreza '98, turbo, LINK ecu, and other minor mods to allow it to be remapped to 320bhp, and over 300Nm.

Sumpguard and fully "skidded" underneath, so rally ready

It goes to France in the summer, the other journeys are undertaken in the Xantia HDi workhorse The Scoob is my baby

Alcazar

[Boghound]

[quote]Impreza '98, turbo, LINK ecu, and other minor mods to allow it to be remapped to 320bhp, and over 300Nm. Sumpguard and fully "skidded" underneath, so rally ready It goes to France in the summer, th...[/quote]

Thanks for letting me know. You were cheating really. As you say. It's a rally car really. More at home on the Daker. Still I think my 328 would give it a run for it's money on the track.

[Alcazar]

 <<Still I think my 328 would give it a run for it's money on the track>>

Muahahahahahaha!

Scoob: 4wd, 0-60: 4.5s, 0-100:<12s, top speed: >160mph, power to weight ratio:>213bhp/tonne.

Beemer: rwd, 0-60: 6.4s, 0-100: 15s, top speed:143mph, power to weight ratio:~129bhp/tonne. 

No contest

Alcazar

[Boghound]

[quote]<< Still I think my 328 would give it a run for it's money on the track>> Muahahahahahaha! Err. It's not a mundane BMW. It's a Ferrari!

[Georgina]

 

"""Hello

Is this the latest ban word. After handguns, semi auto rifles, pump action shotguns, more than 2 dogs chasing a tree hugger sorry that was a mistake I meant foxy type of thingy. So you don.t like 4x4 vehicles. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"""

 

They 're all owned by the same type of people aren't they? 4X4s and guns?  ie fox hunting.  More of the run over and kill everything in their path. And what about the gas guzzling they do. Did I read that the french were going to tax these cars more???

 

Georgina

[Boghound]

[quote]"""Hello Is this the latest ban word. After handguns, semi auto rifles, pump action shotguns, more than 2 dogs chasing a tree hugger sorry that was a mistake I meant foxy type of thingy. So you don.t...[/quote]

Yep. Good in'it? And just look what us owners of 4x4's get up to in places like Iraq.

[Nick Trollope]

[quote]Yep. Good in'it? And just look what us owners of 4x4's get up to in places like Iraq.[/quote]

Not that I would ever agree with anything Boggie has to say, as a matter of principal, but; I hope you tree-huggers never meet me on the wrong side of a French road when I am driving my Isuzu. You wouldn't stand a chance. Mark you, neither would Boggies Fartrarri.

 

[0BRIAN WOODHEADI,m here in franceddMMyyyy0Falseen-USI,m here in franceTrue]

Outcast 41 ton of pure beef.