When is a 4x4 not a 4x4?

[Darwins Selection]

I am not a car buff, but I am sure many of the better informed regulars can comment.

I had to drive around a bit today in up to a foot of snow on untreated roads. Needless to say, the Range Rover made light work of it, just take it steady and no problems.

I know we all have opinions on poor driving, but I saw two quite new "4x4"s that were well and truly stuck and I can't put it all down to bad driving.

One was an Audi Q7, which was stuck at an angle with just the front wheels spinning madly and the rear quite still. The other was a BMW X1 which was equally stuck with only the rear wheels turning.

Are these things four wheel drive or not?

The BMW was driven by a frightened looking woman, so being chivalrous I dragged it up the slope onto the flat. 

[Just One More]

I'm no expert on these either Darwin, but I spent a lot of last night observing CCTV images at M40 J/tion 9. The first thing that hit me was just how many 4 x 4 type vehicles there are on the road these days, but more alarming was how many clearly didn't have a clue how to drive them. I could see clouds of steam/vapour billowing from many a tyre/exhaust as they clearly thought that revving the bollocks off it was the best way to progress, whereas "old Bert" in his Mondeo or Astra was in 2nd gear with low revs and progressing very nicely

[Barman]

They don't really have the ground clearance/tyres/transmissions of a true 4 x 4... they are just for posing...

My Pajero (like your RR) would me most suited to those conditions. Big tyres, selectable low and high ration 4W drive and loads of clearance... 

[Darwins Selection]

They don't really have the ground clearance/tyres/transmissions of a true 4 x 4... they are just for posing...

My Pajero (like your RR) would me most suited to those conditions. Big tyres, selectable low and high ration 4W drive and loads of clearance... 

I am sure they are better suited, but why were only 2 of the 4 wheels turning on the BMW and Audi?
Can you switch 4 wheel drive off (or in their case, forget to switch it on?)

[Barman]

They don't really have the ground clearance/tyres/transmissions of a true 4 x 4... they are just for posing...

My Pajero (like your RR) would me most suited to those conditions. Big tyres, selectable low and high ration 4W drive and loads of clearance... 

I am sure they are better suited, but why were only 2 of the 4 wheels turning on the BMW and Audi?
Can you switch 4 wheel drive off (or in their case, forget to switch it on?)

They either forgot to switch it on or the 'puter got confused by the lack of speed bumps and lollipop ladies! 

[Darwins Selection]

They don't really have the ground clearance/tyres/transmissions of a true 4 x 4... they are just for posing...

My Pajero (like your RR) would me most suited to those conditions. Big tyres, selectable low and high ration 4W drive and loads of clearance... 

I am sure they are better suited, but why were only 2 of the 4 wheels turning on the BMW and Audi?
Can you switch 4 wheel drive off (or in their case, forget to switch it on?)

They either forgot to switch it on or the 'puter got confused by the lack of speed bumps and lollipop ladies!