About a month ago, a propos the issue of possible bans on SUVs, I asked how SUV might be defined.
The only reply I got was from Espada III, who suggested that it would be 4x4 and at least 2.5litre engine, 1.5 tons, mpg below 25 (20 if petrol) and using tyres not suitable for regular cars.
Well, now, according to the Telegraph, the city of Florence has banned 4x4s. Their definition, apparently, is cars over 1800 kg in weight, with tyres over 70cm in diameter.
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In a similar vein:
Cars wanting to avoid punitive car tax in Oz can get around this my meeting the definition of an agricultural vehicle..defined by having a ground clearance of 200mm.
Back in 1999 the Subaru Outback and Forester sold in Oz had a ground clearance of 200mm compared to the 180mm of the versions sold in the UK.
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Well 4X4 means 4 wheels and 4 wheel drive such as the Subaru Impreza which would be banned, while a 6,700lb, 2 wheel drive Ford Excursion would be allowed. To suggest "4X4 ban" is very misleading I think.
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Ah well, that's newspaper headline writers for you.
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trouble with a rule like this is that the next generation of cars/4x4s/trucks is built to JUST get within the limits. We start getting 1,795Kg weight with 69.5cm diamter wheels and it is allowed even if physically the bodyshell is the same size.
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which is why I suspect that all efforts at legislation by the enemies of SUVs / 4x4s is doomed
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There is a lovely Bird & Bird sketch in which two aristocratic old blokes bemoan the modern decline in behaviour. They reach the conclusion that all crime is by the lower classes who do so because they are no longer tired. In past times, the men would return home from the pit too exhausted to burgle and the women would be so worn out from cleaning the house (etc) that there was no chance of them going on the razzle and being arrested for D&D.
Their solution was to ban vacuum cleaners. They make it too easy and thus the lower classes now have energy left to get up to naughty things. However, the middle and upper classes (such as the two of them) do of course benefit from these devices and are not naughty. Thus they ought to be allowed to continue and their ban was amended so that only the lower classes may not use vacuum cleaners.
The sketch ends with:
"And of course, the real advantage in doing so is that it is realtively easy to define a ... vacuum cleaner"
The moral? Two. First, everyone knows what "4x4", "SUV" or "lower class" means. Until, that is, they have to define it in a way that is qualitative rather than quantitative. Second, any attempt to outlaw "that which I do not do" is doomed.
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I have been running a Nissan xtrail 2.2 dci for the last two weeks, I find it to be a fabulous car, it runs mainly on the front wheels the rear cutting in when required (set on auto) I bought it because I needed the road clearance to access pot hole one way tracks down to fishing lakes I use, also its extra weight 1500-1600kg tows my caravan with in the 85% guide limit. My previous car was a permanent 4 wheeled drive a4 Quattro which only gave 32mpg on a run, the x gives 42mpg, which is the lest envioromently friendly?
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I agree that SUV type 4x4s are not necessarily any more environmentally unfriendly than big executive saloons or high performance sports cars. All three categories have in common the attribute of being over-specified for the use they're normally put to.
Also most modern SUV 4x4s are so ugly - Why aren't 4x4 versions of MPVs more popular, they generally look nicer than SUV's
Cheers, SS
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Also most modern SUV 4x4s are so ugly - Why aren't 4x4 versions of MPVs more popular, they generally look nicer than SUV's
Two 'words': Scenic RX4
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The old Scenic 4x4 was not pretty, with all its plastic mouldings and spare wheel hump. Is there a 4x4 version of the latest scenic?
The VW Sharan is, or has been available as 4x4. Soon the Mk 5 Golf TDI will get a 4x4 variant as covered in Diesel Car magazine.
I know other manufacturers have tried and failed with 4x4 versions of ordinary cars, like the Peugeout 405 or Vauxhall Cavalier, but perhaps their time has come now.
Cheers, SS
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