The urban 4x4 throws in the towel

The Land Rovers built to tackle the most extreme terrain on Earth but that never venture further from a road than a supermarket car park may have been the inspiration for a forthcoming 2WD version of the Range Rover.

Four-wheel-drive cars, or SUVs as they are sometimes called, soared in popularity for their elevated driving position, power, ostentation and a marketing promise of adventure, but most owners ended up with high fuel and road tax bills and a vehicle that is harder to park and more of a risk to pedestrians in the event of a collision than lighter vehicles. Sales of new and secondhand 4×4s have suffered over the last two years.

Land Rover appears to have recognised some of these concerns and plans to release the lightest Range Rover ever; a vehicle that produces less than 130g/km of CO2.

Land Rover is planning to have its first diesel hybrid in showrooms by 2013.

ETA comment: Should 4×4s be banned?

4×4 cars tend to be heavier, more of a risk to other road users in the event of a collision and more polluting than lighter cars, and in some quarters there have been calls for them to be banned.

“No 4×4s in towns” seems a reasonable rule. But what is a town? When does a farm become a hamlet, a hamlet a village and a village a town? What is a 4×4? 4×4 means all four wheels are powered (or can be).

There are many 4×4s that look like ordinary saloons – they do not have an off-road look at all. So do we mean “no off-road vehicles in towns”?

What about cars like the forthcoming 2WD Range Rover? It looks like an off-roader but it only has two-wheel drive (although there will be a more expensive four wheel drive version). So although it can go off road, as can most cars, it can also get stuck in the mud because it has not got four powered wheels. Okay 4×4s look daft in Chelsea, but 4×4s are good in snow. Doesn’t it snow in Chelsea?

Remember when the Americans banned alcohol in the twenties? Not only did liquor become very strong, but gang crime rapidly spread across the country.

It is more likely that, as is the case with all fashions, the popularity of heavy SUVs will wane and the 2WD Range Rover may be a sign of that.