Sometimes people want (or need) to reach places faster and easier, while hauling more stuff. And, yes, there are other options – bikes, motorbikes, horses, etc – that could also reach places faster and haul more stuff … but in many cases, the off-road car can still get there faster than those and/or haul more stuff.
I do agree that most of the time, off-road cars are dumb. But in the rare niche situation that you actually need one, it’s really great at what it does. (And while it’s ridiculous that so many people who don’t need them buy them anyway and thus get less efficient, less practical cars than they really need … it’s still good that the off-road cars exist for the few who actually do need them.)
There’s also a disability aspect to consider. Yes, your legs can reach all sorts of places … but there are other people whose legs are, unfortunately, not so capable. For those people, an off-road car can give them access to more places where they’d otherwise never be able to go.
And then there’s snow. For people living in places with lots of snow, but also too rural to have reliable snow plowing, a vehicle with some decent off-road capability might be the only transportation they can feasibly use for significant portions of the year.
places with lots of snow; no reliable snow plowing
People have dag tunnels under snow whenever tall enough. And then they just walk. People usually use Kamchatka, Russia as an example of that, but it happens in other areas as well. Well, that’s the extreme; normally once again people just walk on top. If you are careful enough, you can avoid getting snow in your shoes even when stepping on loose snow. Most of the time you don’t even have to deal with that because (at least where I live) people just silently all agree to shovel out snow on sidewalks they own. On city/company/nobody owned property, “desire paths” of sorts appear rather quickly. Personally saw lots of cyclists on snow, and actually much less cars for obvious reasons.
Well, all of that assuming you are not in north america lul
You mean, the wheelchair kind? People all around will just go “neuron activation” and help. Where do you live where that’s not the norm? Except maybe at night but it’s on them if they decide it’s a good idea.
my legs can reach all sorts of places lol, no need to bring a giant piece of metal with me
Sometimes people want (or need) to reach places faster and easier, while hauling more stuff. And, yes, there are other options – bikes, motorbikes, horses, etc – that could also reach places faster and haul more stuff … but in many cases, the off-road car can still get there faster than those and/or haul more stuff.
I do agree that most of the time, off-road cars are dumb. But in the rare niche situation that you actually need one, it’s really great at what it does. (And while it’s ridiculous that so many people who don’t need them buy them anyway and thus get less efficient, less practical cars than they really need … it’s still good that the off-road cars exist for the few who actually do need them.)
There’s also a disability aspect to consider. Yes, your legs can reach all sorts of places … but there are other people whose legs are, unfortunately, not so capable. For those people, an off-road car can give them access to more places where they’d otherwise never be able to go.
And then there’s snow. For people living in places with lots of snow, but also too rural to have reliable snow plowing, a vehicle with some decent off-road capability might be the only transportation they can feasibly use for significant portions of the year.
True… except maybe
People have dag tunnels under snow whenever tall enough. And then they just walk. People usually use Kamchatka, Russia as an example of that, but it happens in other areas as well. Well, that’s the extreme; normally once again people just walk on top. If you are careful enough, you can avoid getting snow in your shoes even when stepping on loose snow. Most of the time you don’t even have to deal with that because (at least where I live) people just silently all agree to shovel out snow on sidewalks they own. On city/company/nobody owned property, “desire paths” of sorts appear rather quickly. Personally saw lots of cyclists on snow, and actually much less cars for obvious reasons.
Well, all of that assuming you are not in north america lul
And what do the disabled people do when the only way to get anywhere is to trudge through the snow?
You mean, the wheelchair kind? People all around will just go “neuron activation” and help. Where do you live where that’s not the norm? Except maybe at night but it’s on them if they decide it’s a good idea.
OR upgrade to a scooter.