Why are "four-wheel drive off-road vehicles and large vans" extinct? Are multi-purpose off-road vehicles not popular?

Content overview: Review of four-wheel drive vans, the vertical user market of large and small "vans", and the regret of four-wheel drive MPVs.

Minibus is another name for minibus. The special name comes from its toast-like appearance; this kind of vehicle actually belongs to a category of mid-mounted rear-drive van passenger vehicles. In theory, it is similar to MPV and MPV. VAN and light passenger cars are of the same type. Therefore, this article does not distinguish between product size and quality level. Let’s take a look at some well-known “four-wheel drive bread” machines.

1: Mitsubishi (Southeast) Delica, with its part-time four-wheel drive system and ample space, became popular in the off-road world.

2: JAC Ruifeng Tuwei is also a part-time four-wheel drive MPV that once served as a military vehicle.

3: The four-wheel drive version of Dongfeng Xiaokang van, the part-time four-wheel drive plus axle head lock is like the bread version of 212.

4: Volkswagen Kailuwe extended version VAN, the timely four-wheel drive system has no off-road capability.

5: CMY-SAVANA also has a four-wheel drive option, but the body is too large and there is no room for performance.

Summary: What are the results of the above five four-wheel drive vans? It seems that production has either been discontinued or is in the process of being discontinued. SAVANA is still on sale but imported sales are also extremely sluggish! The reason is simply that users of such vehicles generally do not need their vehicles to have off-road capabilities. Why do you say this?

Buyer's market

Car companies will produce whatever cars users want. This is the way for companies to survive.

The main purpose of MINIBUS is to mix passengers and cargo, although this use of the vehicle is no longer allowed. However, this kind of large-space car with a price in the 2/50,000 range has no other uses. After all, the price determines that the overall quality of the vehicle is very poor. The purpose of using this type of vehicle is to save money and create value. Over time, this general understanding has been formed. Users wish that the vehicle only had a shell and an engine. So if it is given a four-wheel drive system that can go off-road and the price of the vehicle is increased, will users still accept it?

MPV models no longer require a four-wheel drive system. Referring to Tuwei’s four-wheel drive military vehicle version, it seems that the part-time four-wheel drive system can improve off-road capabilities on non-paved roads, but the actual effect is actually very bad. Because the core factor that determines passing ability is not only four-wheel drive, the ideal approach angle, departure angle and breakover angle are also very important; the MPV's too long wheelbase seriously reduces the breakover angle, so even if it is "split four + front and rear Lock" also makes no sense.

Key points: MPVs and light buses are models with very poor passive safety levels, but their traffic accident rates and accident mortality rates are relatively low compared with other models. The reason is that drivers who drive such relatively large vehicles generally have good driving skills and a stable driving style that achieves ideal results. So facing these drivers, the high-cost and high-fuel-consumption four-wheel drive platform seems to be unattractive, so all types of vans, large and small, actually do not need a four-wheel drive system, unless there are very "willful" users - after all It's a minority.

RV demand

Among B-type RVs, there is an urgent need for some four-wheel drive modification platforms.

Type B mostly uses light buses converted into RVs. The body size of such vehicles often reaches 5995*2300*2700mm, and it is normal for the curb weight to reach 3 tons. The bulky car coupled with the unscientific center of gravity results in a very low control limit of the vehicle. If you want to improve it, you can only rely on the timely four-wheel drive or full-time four-wheel drive system. Therefore, RV users are very much looking forward to the introduction of four-wheel drive by major brands. Light guest.

However, the number of RVs of various types is only "100,00", which is insignificant compared to other models with more than 300 million units. Therefore, major OEMs have no reason to independently develop four-wheel drive vans for such a niche market, because the investment in R&D and production lines will take years to recoup the costs. As a result, the four-wheel drive MINIBUS and MPV have almost disappeared, and there may not be any more in the future. Is it a pity?

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.