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-Do note that the question I was (poorly, as it were...) trying to address was 'what is the appeal of SUV/4x4 type vehicles?', not 'why is a 4x4 the only right choice, for anyone, under any circumstances?' That being said - yes, the narrower track and somewhat higher CoG does make the LC handle less well than the Passat at speed, however this disadvantage is largely negated by the local conditions - I live in a (very) rural area where the posted limit is mostly 20 or 30mph. Blind zones are definitely much smaller in the LC - side mirrors are almost three times larger and placed farther from the vehicle body; the rear window is more than 50% larger and, crucially, more than a foot closer to the rearview mirror than in the Passat, greatly improving the view. I agree tire quality and wheels driven affect handling very much (obviously!) - part of the (local) problem being that when it snows, it really snows, and with very few people living on this island, every snowfall is effectively a DoS attack on the roads. When there are 6-8" deep ruts while waiting for a plough to eventually arrive, 15" ground clearance beats 6" ground clearance every time. As for moose, luckily we don't have anything larger than deer, but if we did, I'd rather be in the Passat driving under the moose rather than in the LC getting it in the face, no doubt. Again - I did not intend to leave the impression a Humvee was the only choice which made any sense -rather that 4x4s have properties which make them sensible choices to some people in some locations. |