unibody vs truck on frame design

[jimsaq]

Originally Posted by FSETH

I definitely think the trend is going from body on frame to unibody across the board. Even the Explorer is going to change to a unibody design.

this trend is long established, I don't understand this thread. it's like travelling back in time to 2004 or something

Originally Posted by FSETH

I am curious as to what you think is better about an SUV that drives and rides like a truck instead of one that drives and rides like a car? What is the benefit?

I don't think he is claiming it's better - all he said was he liked the vehicle, that it wasn't all that bad or truck-like. and I know exactly what he means.
the use of a ladder chassis is far less of a contributor to a truck-like feel than say a live axle in place of IFS

[rh71]

Originally Posted by FSETH

I am curious as to what you think is better about an SUV that drives and rides like a truck instead of one that drives and rides like a car? What is the benefit?

I've been following this thread to see if anyone would mention it but nobody has - what about actual off-roading? My Rodeo is on a truck-frame and while the comfort and ride suffers (only in comparison), it has one of the best 4WD systems for its time and is a great off-roader (think rock-climbing). I know nobody buys our $50k+ vehicles to go off-road but then there's this question about unibody vehicles [at any price] being the superior design for an SUV... truck frames = better off-roaders, no? Embarrassingly, an infamous review showed the X3 couldn't climb a small hill on dirt.

[jimsaq]

same again - it's the suspension which is more important than the chassis, generally speaking. the typical wishbone IFS setup you'll find on most recent 'offroaders' doesn't lend itself to downward travel very well compared to beam/live axle. traction control or difflocks help a lot, but it's still better to have as many wheels on the ground as possible in terms of distributing the torque across as much contact patch as possible

what vehicle is a rodeo in the US? in australia it was a small japanese-style pickup put out by holden. not really great off road due to independent front suspension and a rather lame LSD in the rear

[AzNMpower32]

Originally Posted by jimsaq

this trend is long established, I don't understand this thread. it's like travelling back in time to 2004 or something

American cars are very backwards. Many of them still use suspension technology that dates back to the Romans, while Europe and Japan have moved onto slightly more advanced things such as 4-wheel independent suspension. "Independent suspension" is a concept unknown to many.

American car companies are still grasping the idea of stability control and "braking". Some of their cars can now "corner", but many of them still cannot.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by jimsaq

what vehicle is a rodeo in the US? in australia it was a small japanese-style pickup put out by holden.

You probably know it as a Frontera.

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by jimsaq

this trend is long established, I don't understand this thread. it's like travelling back in time to 2004 or something

I agree. It is like going back in time. One person didn't see it as a trend and I was just pointing out that I thought it was.


I don't think he is claiming it's better - all he said was he liked the vehicle, that it wasn't all that bad or truck-like. and I know exactly what he means.
the use of a ladder chassis is far less of a contributor to a truck-like feel than say a live axle in place of IFS

If you read the first post, it sure sounded like the OP thought the body on frame was better. "truck-like sturdiness, high driving position", etc... Everything the OP has writen in this thread made it sound like they preferred driving a body on frame vehicle or a vehicle that drove and felt "truck-like" and I was curious as to why.

This is an X5 forum, not Jeep or Land Rover. 95% of us do no significant off roading at all and a unibody design where handling is preferred over true off road capability, the X5 does just fine.

If you want an SUV that drives and feels like a truck and is based on a body on frame design, you are barking up the wrong tree and need to look at another vehicle. Even if BMW made a truck, it wouldn't feel like you were driving one. That is why it is a BMW in the first place.

[jimsaq]

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

American cars are very backwards. Many of them still use suspension technology that dates back to the Romans, while Europe and Japan have moved onto slightly more advanced things such as 4-wheel independent suspension. "Independent suspension" is a concept unknown to many.

American car companies are still grasping the idea of stability control and "braking". Some of their cars can now "corner", but many of them still cannot.

entertaining AND informative

[StumpyPete]

Originally Posted by rh71

I've been following this thread to see if anyone would mention it but nobody has - what about actual off-roading? My Rodeo is on a truck-frame and while the comfort and ride suffers (only in comparison), it has one of the best 4WD systems for its time and is a great off-roader (think rock-climbing). I know nobody buys our $50k+ vehicles to go off-road but then there's this question about unibody vehicles [at any price] being the superior design for an SUV... truck frames = better off-roaders, no? Embarrassingly, an infamous review showed the X3 couldn't climb a small hill on dirt.

What about current Range Rover - isn't it unibody - it can go anywhere!

[jimsaq]

it can go anywhere*

*actually not very far once the going gets tough

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by jimsaq

*actually not very far once the going gets tough

Current Range Rover, actually designed and developed when Land Rover was owned by BMW, is brilliant off road as long as it is optioned with the rear self-proportioning/self-locking 'electronic' diff. Standard spec is a centre 'e-diff' taking care of inter-axle control while electronic traction control takes care of cross-axle control at both ends. As such the RR is okay but not brilliant off road. But add the rear locker (a $2000 option here in Australia) and it completely transforms the vehicle. I drove one just a month ago off-road and it's about as good as it gets. The Range Rover's height-adjustable suspension is a big plus off road.