Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Suffolk Cars

+1 for the XC60 but think that 'middle' should be changed to 'old' in the second sentence!

The SUV "thing" always makes me smile, I will confess to not being a fan unless they are used for the designed purpose (never quite sure what that is) i.e stuffed to the gunwhales with bodies or kit.

I think the Bugatti Veyron is possibly the ugliest large car around and fairly expensive but I understand some people covet it as I do my Traditional Plus 8 and for that reason I really don't see the point in anyone rubbishing a particular shape or classification of vehicle as thankfully we are all different.

Thank goodness for the plethora of choice, bring on the hydrogen Morgan I say

We discuss about SUV and drive such unreasonable cars as our Morgans ?

Of course, we are all still students remember - all theory with zero responsibility and just enjoying life

I think that the SUV debate in the UK is caused by the width of most of our minor and unclassified roads, which are frequently used as alternative roads to avoid congestion on main roads.
We have an unclassified road that runs from our village on the A36 south of Salisbury to Downton, a small town the other side of the Avon valley, most of the road is just about wide enough for two vehicles to pass, but some is not. .
The A36 from Southampton to Salisbury and beyond is a primary "Trunk" road and the A338 from Poole to the A420 near Oxford is a secondary main road. In Salisbury the A338 intersects the A354 to Blandford and Weymouth.
Crossing Salisbury on the A36 to join the A354 can take 25 minutes on a busy afternoon to drive just 5 miles. So drivers cut across to the A338, avoiding the Salisbury ring road.

I have been told by a retired traffic engineer that the vast majority of these unclassified roads remain unaltered from the post WW1 period of the 1900s, when cars were few and far between and much narrower.
My first car, a Ford 100e from the 1950s, and a length of 151.75 in (3,854 mm) and a width of 60.5 in (1,537 mm). Cars from the 1930s were narrower still, the Austin 7 was 1.25m wide.
So a road which would comfortably allow two cars of less than 1.5m wide to pass is more challenging when two cars of 2m width want to pass. Add to this the presence of potholes on the side of the road where the paved surface has broken down so drivers of expensive SUVs with 21 or 22 inch wheels and low profile tyres are reluctant to pull over and risk damaging their wheels and tyres. Drivers of Land Rovers and similar vehicles don't worry, nor do drivers of delivery vans. They pull over and help oncoming traffic pass.

My experience of driving in Europe is that the minor roads are wider and in far better state of repair, or have so little traffic that the chances of meeting another vehicle is minute.

So, the issue is not really SUVs, but the volume of traffic and the appalling quality of England's unclassified roads.

BTW, I still don't like driving them, I hate the high up sitting position. Many feel otherwise and I'm happy for them to drive what they enjoy.

Ok...

I also drive a reasonable car! My buisiness car is a Skoda Kodiaq...

Of course we all have to have something sensible to drive, I borrow my wifes Polo GTI which has more power than my Plus 8 but handles better and does twice the mpg
It's more interesting than my Fiesta Titanium diesel which is very accomplished at going from A to B end of story .....

p.s. My neighbour has the 1.0ltr Kodiaq and he loves it.

Everyone needs an escape! For different people it's a different escape route.

I know what mine is then

Seriously though, I agree with Peter, the road system has not kept up with the pace of change in the motor industry. Driving education has also neglected to inform students that they might end up driving a road that has no white line in the middle, many of our roads in this area are like this and many of the drivers I meet (and not just in SUVs) don't know how to drive on them.

I thin


I think a little Polo is much more acceptable than any SUV


My excuse for my "huge" 150 HP SUV is that I need it to save fuel ...... when I use it to transport my 4/4 on my trailer to vacation destinations