The 4x4 is a thorny issue with very strong opinions on both side of the fence.
I have to admit that where I live they are extremely popular and none of them ever drive off road. When you've spent all that money on a Range Rover or Porsche Cayenne for the school run the last thing you want to do is drive it through a muddy field. Many of these vehicles have painted the walls of their tyres to make them look nicer, you don't want mud on that.
I guess it annoys people that so many of these vehicles that they perceive to be not only an inappropriate vehicle for urban use is also, in the opinion of those who oppose them, a gas-guzzling polluting monster that is more dangerous to pedestrians and other road users than a conventional vehicle is so prevalent on our roads.
Because the 4x4 has become a luxury status symbol and there are so many of them driving around busy towns and outside schools they are an easy target for our disdain.
If they were only driven by people who actually needed them because of the work they do or for their outdoor pursuits then I reckon there wouldn't be much of an issue. I don't think most people are targeting the traditional "Landie" but the luxury 4x4s. I even heard from a Police Officer that the police Range Rover 4x4 he drives on the highways will never be driven off-road because it's too expensive.
There's also a problem of how do you really define what a 4x4 is. If the government and whoever want to target certain vehicles as being bad for the environment surely they should also target other luxury cars that have huge engines like Bentleys, Jaguars, etc.
I have to admit that where I live they are extremely popular and none of them ever drive off road. When you've spent all that money on a Range Rover or Porsche Cayenne for the school run the last thing you want to do is drive it through a muddy field. Many of these vehicles have painted the walls of their tyres to make them look nicer, you don't want mud on that.
I guess it annoys people that so many of these vehicles that they perceive to be not only an inappropriate vehicle for urban use is also, in the opinion of those who oppose them, a gas-guzzling polluting monster that is more dangerous to pedestrians and other road users than a conventional vehicle is so prevalent on our roads.
Because the 4x4 has become a luxury status symbol and there are so many of them driving around busy towns and outside schools they are an easy target for our disdain.
If they were only driven by people who actually needed them because of the work they do or for their outdoor pursuits then I reckon there wouldn't be much of an issue. I don't think most people are targeting the traditional "Landie" but the luxury 4x4s. I even heard from a Police Officer that the police Range Rover 4x4 he drives on the highways will never be driven off-road because it's too expensive.
There's also a problem of how do you really define what a 4x4 is. If the government and whoever want to target certain vehicles as being bad for the environment surely they should also target other luxury cars that have huge engines like Bentleys, Jaguars, etc.