Trend 4x4 Cars

Trend 4x4 Cars

How could American soldiers, shaking in their Willy jeeps to the rhythm of their laminated springs during the World War II, assume that a few years later, off-road cars would be one of the trendiest matters of automotive industry?

4WD cars were produced mainly for military use and after the World War II; they were increasingly used in civilian areas as well, for specific off-road purposes, mainly in the mountains as well as in developing countries where the road infrastructure had many damaged roads. Under these conditions, the Land Rover and the Toyota Land Cruiser developed their reputations due to their sturdiness of perhaps their impossibility to break.

Historically, Range Rover launched the wave of luxury 4x4 cars for leisure time. This trend was developed in the USA under the name SUV (sport utility vehicle) and in the nineteen-nineties, it boomed in Europe as well. Two streams developed: the compact off-road vehicles led by the RAV4 Toyota and luxury 4x4 cars. For the latter, design and impressiveness was important: witness the BMW X5, Mercedes ML and the unbeatable Range Rover or the huge Hummer.

The 4x4 is tradition of Mercedes, who offers the G-series model from the nineteen-eighties. The G, which is powerful and resistant, no longer meets the wishes of new clients who require more comfort and high gradient capability.

The German producer, which developed the ML in 1997, believed it to be the first development of the above-standard road 4x4. Success came instantly, despite the rather high sales price. The Mercedes ML, seriously rocked by the arrival of newer competitive models, received a facelift in 2005. Its final appearance and performance are worthy of the big road cars. Due to its progressive gearing system, the ML does not forget its fighting abilities.

After Mercedes, BMW is another producer of common cars that set out on the journey through the road 4x4 car segment and introduced its X5. The BMW X5, behaving like a sedan, attracts customers desiring to drive “differently”.

The public discovered the Hummer models; giant 4x4s used by US army, during the Gulf War. Their size and consumption have no equals but the interior is rather limited, as the center is occupied by a tunnel concealing the gear system, which is one meter (3,2 ft) wide!

The Hummer H2 is the first model designed under the auspices of General Motors, the new owner of Hummer. After the H1, which was reserved for the army, this was the first civilian model. The range now contains a giant car, 206 cm (6.8 ft) wide with an eight-cylinder 6L V-engine and which weights 3 tons!

After the H3 model, which was more or less standard, there is the H3T concept car that moved to a pick-up, which demonstrates the effort of the US producer to expand its range. The Hummer, criticized by environmentalists, can behave “green” as well, as demonstrated by hydrogen-converted model used by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Porsche was also coaxed into scanning new horizons and produced the Cayenne, the first 4x4 with the performance of a sports sedan. Success is now here and the SUV segment is the one most developing in Europe today. This phenomenon is explained by the desire to drive differently, to feel freedom and to conquer new spaces as introduced by off-road races such as Paris – Dakar; customers are buying impressive cars rather than super fast ones.

The Cayenne is the first SUV of the make and the very first four-door Porsche! With the Cayenne, you cannot fear driving off road; it was born for it. Of course, the Cayenne is a 4x4 car but is especially a product of Porsche as far as the production quality and performance are concerned. In the turbo version, the hood conceals 520 HP!