4x4

[acfsambo]

What do people define a vehicle to have before it can be a 4x4.

That is, what do u say the difference between an SUV and a 4x4 is/are?

For me it is that if it doesnt have low range or lockable diffs (either front and back or centre).

[f6fhellcat13]

By 4x4 do you mean a true offroader?

[pimento]

Given that SUV is a marketing term invented to try and differentiate from the image of rugged, hard and hopeless on the road, I'd say if you want have a difference I'd say a 4x4 is for something that is designed purely around going off-road, where a SUV is a compromise/hopeless. There's not really a clear distinction though, as marketeers will just invent terminology without proper definition anyway.

[acfsambo]

Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13

By 4x4 do you mean a true offroader?

A Four Wheel Drive

Such as a defender or a landcruiser (Diesel of course)

[LeonOfTheDead]

Technically, an SUV is basically a standard road car monocoque based on an existing one (5 Series -> X5, for exampe), with a huge bodywork and good ground clereance, an awd system even adjustabel (electronically) suspensions in some cases, but always based on common road car suspensions.
An "old school" 4x4 has a different chassis, usually body on frame, different suspensions, so forget multilink and McPerson, and a proper awd system with all the diffs you can have. sort of.

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by LeonOfTheDead

Technically, an SUV is basically a standard road car monocoque based on an existing one (5 Series -> X5, for exampe), with a huge bodywork and good ground clereance, an awd system even adjustabel (electronically) suspensions in some cases, but always based on common road car suspensions.
An "old school" 4x4 has a different chassis, usually body on frame, different suspensions, so forget multilink and McPerson, and a proper awd system with all the diffs you can have. sort of.

Not always body on frame, a Lada Niva for isntance has a monocoque.

In my opinion, apart from all the technicalities, a proper off roader should be a no nonsense car.

[Turbo.Jenkens]

Its really hard to come up with a specific attribute that makes a 4x4 not an SUV. For instance, the FJ cruiser and Xterra have locking differentials, but I'd still call them SUVs.

[cmcpokey]

well, an F-150 is a 4x4 and definitely not a SUV. the definition i always use is 4wd means selectable between 2wd and 4wd. AWD is on all the time. to me, for the definition, there doesnt need to be a low range option, just as long it is selectable.

an SUV is a truck or car based vehicle without an exposed bed, sitting high enough to be classified by the DOT as a truck.

my opinion. take them or leave them

[culver]

I don't think anyone has a set technical defition. My parents had a '78 Jeep Cherokee. It had "full time" 4wd but they didn't order it with a low range (as best as I can recall). However it did have a center dif lock. I would certainly call the old Cherokee a body on frame (this was pre-unibody Cherokee) an SUV. It was certainly not a soft road AWD SUV like say a Ford Escape.

Really, all these terms have become very burred anymore. None are technical so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Most of them do have some sort of implied meaning but nothing so rigid that a rigid definition wouldn’t leave out or include vehicles which we think don’t belong based on our intuition.

[LeonOfTheDead]

We could say that an "proper off roader" can be driven hard in the forest/desert/rock without you fearing scratches and damages. something really rude, in the end.
and if it comes equipped with low profile tires or pretend to be as drivable as a standard car on the road, regardless if it does or not, it's definitely an Suv.

but it's true that those are just names, and not technical definitions, so they are, in a way, pointless.