VW's 'R' branding just went down in my estimation!

[A1 VR6]

I'd buy one

And would be outperformed by a rechipped £20,000 Golf GTI..?

It wouldn't be outperformed in real world driving rather than the traffic light sprint. I would imagine the in gear increments are something special

[CazzaVR]

Usually can't stand SUVs, but this is quite I like it

[A1 VR6]

Usually can't stand SUVs, but this is quite I like it

Me too Cazza, if I had to have one this would be it

[yeti]

i like the thought of it slammed on some 20x12" rims... still probably look small in the arches! although if there was a way to lower the c of g enough to make it compete with a golf on the twisties it could embarrs some seriously expersive machinery with that much grunt!

[jslootweg]

what a load of cack. SUVs and there owners feck me off!

[vr6storm]

whats the problem with SUV's like??..........

my missus gets her new Freelander 2 next week..............I feel safer in the knowlege she's going to be driving one of them up and down to the stables where her horse is than her driving in her SportKa presently especially with the amount of times she's felt intimidated driving lately

[A1 VR6]

whats the problem with SUV's like??..........

Sometimes they're quicker than Corrado's Roddy - definitely in this case

[vr6storm]

aaaahhhhh..................sour grapes then Bill

[A1 VR6]

Not afraid to admit I've been left behind by a few especially mid range, that's not to say I wasn't pissed off at the time though

[Jim]

Heh.. well Top Gear magazine said this about the BMW X5 this month:

The X5 ranks a close second to the Porsche Cayenne as the car most likely to be driven by nasty urban social climbers with jobs in IT recruitment and lifetime memberships of sh!t new golf clubs. We need to get rid, fast, of the sort of car that only exists to belittle normal human beings with its jaw-dropping vulgarity and sheer arsey pointlessness.

I think for me personally the general attitude of the owner is pretty much what does it for me. Not implying this is anything like your good lady of course Rodders! But just think how often you end up with something like an X5 or one of those stupid Warriors or similar attached to your rear bumper. Think when the last time someone driving one of those exhibited good road manners.. like letting you out of a junction or even acknowledging you for giving way, etc. Unfortunately for me there just seems to be a lot of these types of car where I live, mostly driven by muppets so my judgement is probably a little clouded on the matter.. but i've just honestly never seen one feature or any element of anything in the SUV market that has ever made me want one over my slowly dying, 179,000 mile little rattly red Rado.

It often comes down to the 'safety' argument Rodders but where do you draw the line? You might have a super safe euro NCAP 5* hatchback, but nothing is going to stop a big SUV from ploughing over the roof of the car. Safe for the drivers of the SUV.. great.. shame about the hatchback eh? But then another SUV maker makes something bigger, thus rendering the now comparatively small SUV unsafe so everyone needs to upgrade again. Before we know it, we'll all be driving round in articulated trucks like Chris Eubank..

Yeah, its a rant and a moan and i'm super opinionated and generally stubborn on the subject. But you know. Its peoples own money.. let em spend it how they want. Good for them. Some people spend thousands of pounds on home hifi, or designer clothes. We all tick differently.

[double-6s]

Ahhhhh let them eat cake Jim..... R50 owners would get car jacked in minutes if they're in London, which lets face it, is where most SUVs end up!

I'd love to buy one and leave it permanently caked in mud, which should send shivers down the spine of any Chelsea soft roader owners.... ask them what 4 wheel drive is. I bet they haven't a clue.

Kev, London isn't JoBerg ya know mate! It's still perfectly possible to spend time in London without getting carjacked!!

[corozin]

whats the problem with SUV's like??..........

Sometimes they're quicker than Corrado's Roddy - definitely in this case

You ain't wrong Bill. About 18 month ago I was in a car with Wendy and she got proper dusted (seriously) by a V10 TDi Touaregs near Silverstone. She bloody well tried to catch is as well but it was unbelievable quick. It was embarrassing really...

I've kind of hated them ever since, but at least they're not driven by dickheads like the Cayenne's all seem to be.

John

[corozin]

Ahhhhh let them eat cake Jim..... R50 owners would get car jacked in minutes if they're in London, which lets face it, is where most SUVs end up!

I'd love to buy one and leave it permanently caked in mud, which should send shivers down the spine of any Chelsea soft roader owners.... ask them what 4 wheel drive is. I bet they haven't a clue.

Kev, London isn't JoBerg ya know mate! It's still perfectly possible to spend time in London without getting carjacked!!

I think that very much depends on which parts of London you're talking about... double dare you to park one in Brent, or Camden, or Islington...

[The_Dude]

Ahhhhh let them eat cake Jim..... R50 owners would get car jacked in minutes if they're in London, which lets face it, is where most SUVs end up!.

Does mean that they can get to 15MPH even quicker than before!

TBH there should be a size limit on cars here in London (like Tokyo) then we'd get loads of mental little 850/900cc Bi-turbo loons on the streets.. ah a happier place!

Its all lies! I got into third gear the other day, and then had to brake almost straight away for traffic lights.
However, very late at night, certain parts of London are like an amazing race track and there is lots of fun to be had.

[dr_mat]

Yeah, its a rant and a moan and i'm super opinionated and generally stubborn on the subject.

Cor, he's alive!

Have to agree, really. I mean, partly everyone's response to SUVs is jealousy - because of what it represents - i.e. "I can afford to spend £70,000 on a car". You have the same gut response to people poncing past in Ferraris and so on, though in those cases it is tempered by the fact that you respect the car (or not). But at the end of the day the SUV is a pointlessly "look how BIG my car is" car. There should be a ring of car parks around london with lonely SUVs in - owners would be forced to drop them there and pick up a courtesy Renault Twingo to complete their drive into London..

It's like BMWs. Everyone hates BMW drivers, but most people who are "into" cars grudgingly admit they'd love to own an M3/M5. So we really only hate other people driving BMWs because we don't. Yet. If you see what I mean?

A friend of mine is totally anti- german cars. She quite rightly points out that (particularly in the south), if there's someone driving like a nob, chances are it's an Audi or a BMW. I quite rightly point out, however, that something like 40% of the cars on the road round here are Audis or BMWs (and of those, most are company cars, not privately owned)... Lies, damned lies, and statistics?