Environmentalists may rail against them, some politicians denounce them and bossy protestors accost their drivers, but we Britons, it seems, will not be put off our 4x4s.
Sales of 4x4 — SUV — vehicles may no longer be climbing as steeply as the north face of the Eiger, but while UK sales of luxury cars collapse and the overall car market has slumped, sales of ‘dual purpose’ 4x4s have experienced a more modest dip. That’s partly because car buyers continue to like the high driving position, versatility and perceived safety of 4x4s, and it’s partly due to the flood of new 4x4 offerings — in all shapes and sizes — tempting drivers.
Most significant has been the Ford Kuga, the first time that UK market leader Ford has got serious about 4x4s. The Kuga is a new breed, designed for the road rather than the rough, almost as sharp handling as a low-slung hatch, and yet with the tall looks and carry-anything practicality of a typical shed-like 4x4. It’s good to drive and also pleasingly economical — 46.3 mpg average in its big selling 2.0-litre diesel guise. That’s about the same as an everyday diesel Mondeo.
New entrants join the market (Citroën, Peugeot and Renault have all now belatedly jumped on the 4x4 bandwagon) while existing players diversify. Take BMW, Europe’s biggest seller of premium SUVs. Not content with two different cuts of a similarly themed 4x4 — the big X5 and medium-sized X3 — it now has the baby X1. There’s also the big-bling big-speed X6, part-sports car, part-SUV.
Audi is going the same way: the giant Q7 has been joined by a medium-sized Q5. A baby- bear Q3 is imminent. For those who like the idea of mixing high- speed motorway thrills with tough-boy 4x4 looks, there’s now a V12 155mph fiend-of-the-earth variant of the monster Q7.
Meanwhile Lexus has a new version of its mother earth RX hybrid, 4x4 meets 44mpg. As with the BMWs, Audis and the Kuga, this SUV is designed to be green but not to tackle greenery.
Of course, there will be those who query the point of a 4x4 unlikely to venture further off-road than an urban kerb. But in some parts of the world proper tough-guy 4x4s aren’t so much desirable as essential. The Toyota Land Cruiser is the modern day ship-of-the-desert, more ubiquitous than any hatchback in the Australian bush, the African savannah or Middle Eastern oases. A new Land Cruiser was recently previewed at the Frankfurt Auto Show: still big, still mechanically crude but with better on- and off-road ability. It is undoubtedly the Iron Man of motoring.
Nor has Land Rover deserted its off-road roots: all modern Landies can wade rivers and traverse peat bogs as well as ply the M1 or Mayfair in comfort. My favourite is the Discovery, possibly the most versatile vehicle in the world. The new Discovery 4 ups the luxury — posher interior — and also boasts more performance and better fuel economy.
New 4x4s continue to proliferate. Frankfurt previewed newcomers from Hyundai, Lexus, Mini, BMW and Toyota. Next year we’ll see a new smaller Range Rover, based on the comely LRX concept car first shown last year.
So 4x4s aren’t going away. They’re changing, they’re (mostly) getting greener and they’re increasingly engineered for versatility and go-anywhere leisure rather than for crossing the Sahara or climbing K2. Sales are likely to continue to grow — no matter what the detractors think.
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