langley59 wrote: I think the time has come for me to drive a vehicle more suited to the dreadful road surfaces which plague this country, even on the motorways. I currently drive a large Mercedes saloon. I'm thinking of either a large SUV with big chunky wheels and a windscreen which is higher up or a (reliable) old banger which won't bother me so much if it gets wrecked. Thoughts?
As others have said - small wheels with large sidewalls are better than big ones with low profile tyres. Rubber sidewalls absorb bumps and rebound much better than alloy.
There are a series of humps along the lane to our place in the BMW 'M' they are walking pace at best, the other 3 are much better allowing 10-12mph without too much crashing. Best of all is a hire van, big absorbent tyres and somebody elses shock absorbers
Avoid anything with S-line, M sport, or AMG or similar on the back - it basically means "the same performance of a normal car with less comfort".
Paul