While we usually focus on sports cars and racing spectacles, today we thought we’d take a look at another area of motoring. The desire to follow in the footsteps (or tyre tracks) of our racing heroes may be strong but few of us are likely to ever see this become reality.
Instead, we must settle for ordinary vehicles, at more affordable prices – but that doesn’t have to be a depressing thought. A number of new vehicles are proving they’re more than capable of performing on numerous terrains and road surfaces, which means there is hope yet for us petrol heads looking for thrills.
4×4 Thoughts
When you thought of four-wheel-drive cars in the past, you probably thought of rough riding on rocky roads that did nothing for the chassis.
Now, 4×4 cars grace city streets and can turn anyone’s head, rivalling the most elegant sports cars in style. But underneath their sleek exterior, they’re still tough and amongst the safest vehicles to drive on the road.
Power and Beauty
A vehicle is defined as a 4×4 when all four of its wheels receive torque from the engine simultaneously, improving its stability and traction on difficult road surfaces or steep hills.
While these vehicles are suited to country coasting, they are also fine-tuned for the city where the streets are congested and you have to feed into traffic flows often on bends; the new Honda Cr-V 4×4 cars is a perfect example of this multi-purpose vehicle with exceptional performance on any road surface or terrain.
Extra safety designs on these urban vehicles make town driving even more efficient and manageable. The Honda even features a Vehicle Stability Assist System which helps to keep the vehicle stable if it turns more or less than intended when cornering. This is a nerve-wracking experience if you are hemmed in by traffic so is a key feature of this urban dominator.
The system also helps maintain traction during acceleration on icy or wet road surfaces through a refined braking system.
The Fast Lane
A state-of-the-art 4 x4 has the safety features you would expect for a vehicle equally comfortable off-road as it is in the city.
Adaptive cruise control automatically adapts the car’s speed so that you maintain the correct distance between you and the car in front. How useful is this when driving along in heavy traffic? The answer is very. Rear-ending is one of the most common traffic incidents and this feature can prevent such an accident ever taking place.
The car might not be the sprightliest when going round the racetrack – but then it’s not designed to be. Honda have specialised models to cover that market with famous names such as Michel Fabrizio moving to their racing team.
Models such as their new 4×4 are designed to turn heads while giving everyday drivers the chance to feel excitement behind the wheel, even when driving on public roads with strict speed restrictions.
