Your Guide to Car Body Types – Part 1
If you’re in the market for a new car, you’ve probably been thorough with your research as you narrow down your selection. But if you’re still sitting on the fence, identifying the vehicle you need can sometimes be difficult if you don’t understand how that is influenced by the body type of each car.
Not only can the body of a car have a bearing on overall ride comfort and performance, but it can influence your ongoing ownership costs. Here, in part 1 of this guide, we take a look at the various car body types to enable you to frame your buying decision.
Spot the Difference?
Did you know that the Renault Koleos is very much a Nissan X-Trail? Were you also aware that the current BMW 7-Series is the platform for the new Rolls-Royce Dawn? These days car manufacturers are sharing a lot of the components that go into making a new vehicle. A lot of the electronic systems and computer chips are shared between makes and models, even engines and an entire body platform. As the costs of designing and building a complex new car rise, by getting together and pooling money, skills, assets, and sharing the costs of the new build, these are definitely clever ways for manufacturers to reduce their overheads, and the overall cost of designing and building a new vehicle.
Top Tips For Off-Road Driving
The science of terramechanics is all very well (see last week’s post), but when you’re actually behind the wheel of a 4×4 and looking at a rugged bit of off-road track, you aren’t going to get out your calculator… and you probably don’t know all the specs and stats of the soil you’re about to drive over anyway. If you’re in this situation, what you need is some practical information. To help you with this, I’ve talked to one of the best off-road drivers that I know and have got his top tips for off-road driving.
Number 1: If In Doubt, Don’t
Sure, you want to get a thrill from taking your bush-basher off to bash some bush, but every vehicle has its limits. If the terrain looks a bit too gnarly and you’re not sure if your vehicle can handle it, then don’t risk it. It’s no fun getting stuck in the middle of nowhere, trying to use your muscles to free something that weighs at least a ton or more. It’s particularly not fun if you’ve killed your engine by getting water into where it shouldn’t be. Know your limits when it comes to approach angles, descent angles, ground clearance and water depth.
Terramechanics: The Science Of Off-Roading
A lot of us have purchased, or have considered purchasing, a 4×4 vehicle. This could be because we like the benefits of extra safety or the visibility of the higher body. Or it could be that we want to go off-road in the vehicle and do a spot of exploring. However, when we get behind the wheel of one of these vehicles and head for the nearest dirt road or river, we don’t often stop to think about all the science behind what we’re about to do. The most we might think about are things like the power and torque needed – and possibly the basic physics involved in getting over or around a gnarly bit of terrain.
However, there’s a whole branch of science related to off-road driving, known as terramechanics. In fact, there’s a specialised scientific journal on the topic. Terramechanics has been a scientific topic since the 1950s, and the concept was introduced by a Polish-born engineer by the name of Dr Bekker, who was one of the key developers of the lunar rover vehicle used on the moon. However, much of Dr Bekker’s work was more down to earth – literally.
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