Chris Harris is about as big of a petrol head as they come. He’s driven just about every sports car, supercar, and SUV on the market today. That last group is the one ‘s beheing interviewed about today and the whole thing is hilarious. Despite being barely five minutes in length, Harris says some things that will probably upset just about any SUV lover regardless of brand preference.
That’s because he covers everything from the Jeep Wrangler to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and yes, you read the headline right: Harris thinks that the Cullinan looks like what a Chinese knock-off of what a Rolls Royce SUV should be. In case that’s not inflammatory enough for you, he has some pretty bold feelings about the GMC Hummer EV and its rivals, the Rivian R1T and the Ford F-150 Lightning, as well.
“Everyone who says (about gas-powered trucks), ‘Oh they are big wasteful things’ well you can turn around and say ‘well, they’re electric’. But of course, they’re still too big and too heavy, and they have too much friction in their tires. So that energy is being produced somewhere… you’re still having to produce twice as much energy… I think they’re awful.”
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That’s quite the opposite of the way these big EV trucks are being presented right now. Jack Rix who’s doing the interviewing makes a great point about the Hummer, namely that it weighs about four tons. Moving that much mass takes a lot of energy indeed. Still, there’s no way that you could come away from this video feeling like Top Gear’s main man loves petrol or diesel-powered SUVs either.
The BMW X6M is a “pox on humanity” according to Harris and he thinks that if Ferdinand Porsche were to see the new Cayenne he’d turn in his grave. He gets the appeal if you “live in the sticks” but also says “why have you got one of these things? Just get an estate car.”
What does Harris think we should be doing instead? Making cars like the McMurtry Spéirling. Sure, it’s not a truck but that’s his point. It’s small, efficient, fun to drive, and doesn’t have the pretension of being some sort of pseudo-military vehicle.
It’s interesting to hear such a completely different perspective compared to that of most Americans. Certainly, Harris has his own biases but some of his points are good ones. He also thinks a few SUVs are inherently cool like the Ford Bronco, the Jeep Wrangler, and the Mercedes G-Wagen, which are notably smaller than vehicles like the Hummer or the F-150. What do you think? Is he on the money or missing the point completely?