Sales of so-called 4x4 sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are up 35 per cent in Ireland this year, with one third of the sales registered in Dublin, new figures reveal.
Concerns about higher than average fuel consumption and environmental damage and questions over pedestrian safety have not dented SUV sales. Most owners say the height and weight of their car makes them feel safer. Opponents say they are expensive fashion accessories - and dangerous to boot.
The popularity of SUVs with urban motorists has more to do with status than off-road ability.
Of the estimated 7,305 SUVs sold in the first six months of this year, 2,541 were registered in Dublin. First-half figures show that several luxury car firms sell more SUVs in Dublin than in the rest of the State.
For example, nearly 70 per cent of Porsche Cayenne off-roaders are sold in Dublin, while 54 per cent of Jeep Cherokees and BMW X5s, 50 per cent of Range Rovers and 52 per cent of Mercedes ML-Class off-roaders are registered in the capital.
The figures are less dramatic for vehicles more commonly associated with working country life. Only 18 per cent of Land Rover Defenders were sold in Dublin this year.
A glut of new SUVs has been introduced to the Irish market in recent years, as traditional premium luxury brands try to feed the seemingly insatiable demand for large four-wheel-drive off-roaders from urban and suburban customers, who rarely if ever veer off the public roads.
For several brands, SUVs are among their best selling models. The Santa Fe is Hyundai's best seller, while BMW's X5 4x4 is now its third best-selling model in Ireland with 256 sold to June this year. While demand has slightly subsided given the greater choice on offer now, at one stage there was a two-year waiting list for the X5 in Ireland.
The SUV boom can be traced to the US, where they account for a third of all car sales. According to Keith Bradsher, former motoring editor of the New York Times, the SUV has offered the romance of outdoor adventure to deskbound "baby boomers". Their size gives an illusion of safety.
However in his book, From High and Mighty - SUVs: The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way, Bradsher criticises SUVs for, among other things, being dangerous to pedestrians.
"When SUVs hit pedestrians, they strike them high on the body, inflicting worse injuries than cars, which have low bumpers that flip pedestrians onto the relatively soft bonnet.
"SUVs are terrible not just for traffic safety but for the environment. Because of their poor mileage, they emit a lot of carbon dioxide, a gas linked to global warming. A mid-size SUV puts out roughly 50 per cent more carbon dioxide per mile than the typical car, while a full-size SUV may emit twice as much."
The Mercedes ML 270 CDi SUV, for example, has an average fuel consumption figure of 30.1 m.p.g. while the equivalent saloon model, the Mercedes E270 CDi manages 43.5 m.p.g.
In Paris, the city council recently passed a resolution which could see 4x4s banned from the city during peak pollution periods and their owners denied residents' parking permits. Off-roaders could also be barred from protected areas in the French capital, such as the Bois de Boulogne and the banks of the River Seine.
"Off-road vehicles are just not suited to towns and you have to wonder why people drive them," said Mr Denis Baupin, a senior Green Party councillor who tabled the resolution. "They're polluters, they're space-occupiers, they're dangerous for pedestrians and other road users. They're a caricature of a car."
The plan, which would require the approval of the city's police chief and is certain to meet stiff opposition from the motoring lobby, follows similar remarks by the mayor of London, Mr Ken Livingstone, who last month described 4x4s as "bad for London - completely unnecessary" and called their owners "complete idiots".
In London, where the SUV has become known as the "Chelsea tractor", Liberal Democrat councillors have called for a double congestion charge levy on SUVs entering the city. They say the vehicles are a danger to pedestrians and other cars, pollute more and take up more space.
Some relief may be at hand for those who want to drive off-roaders with a clearer conscience.
The Japanese firm, Lexus, will next year introduce a hybrid petrol/electric version of its RX range of SUV. In the US, Ford has already introduced a hybrid of its Escape SUV - sold in Britain as the Maverick - which it claims can average 50 miles per gallon.
