Lagos and its Ideal vehicle!!!!!!

A city of 16 million people and a whole lot of cars: a lot of noise is often made about being able to drive in the state of New York. I’m sure a lot of people who have that opinion will change their minds just after driving for five minutes in Lagos. Here you have to worry about bad driving, bad roads, Armed robbers with AK47 riffles, area boys etc etc. I dare say if you can drive in Lagos, you can drive anywhere in the world.
Lagos, a city where most people do not go to driving schools, they learn on the job. A city where right of way at a round about is almost never obeyed. A city, where traffic officials do not even know the contents of the High way code. A City where when changing lanes on the freeway, the right of way belongs to the bigger vehicle, the more daring driver or the guy in a uniform. A city where not understanding traffic rules is deemed cool. Lagos, a city where the bigger vehicle always wins!!!!
So we go on, what is the ideal vehicle in a city where the size of what you drive matters? It’s clear a bigger vehicle intimidates the next guy. However, this presents a draw back of its own because almost always the city is locked down in traffic and as Lagos drivers are known for their impatience, Lane change is the order of the day. Any small space, even the side walk is not spared. Going against traffic used to be the order of the day before the introduction of LASTMA (I hate those guys)! A problem now arises when driving around in a very big car. The smaller, nimbler cars, Kia Picanto, Nissan sunny, VW Golf, out- maneuver the SUV’s. A slight variation to this rule is would be the Bus drivers (especially the Vanagon drivers, officially known as the Volkswagen Transporter) that’s a topic for another day though!
It goes without saying that the ideal car for Lagos has to able to 1. Maneuver in traffic, 2. Be medium sized, 3. Withstand mad traffic, 4. Go off-road* yes, driving on paved roads is very much similar to off-road driving in Lagos, 5. Have good ground clearance, be able to get unto sidewalks and wade through water, and finally have outstanding MPG values. .
Starting with the process of elimination, large SUV’s are good, they intimidate other drivers but are not easily maneuverable. Smaller cars are maneuverable but they don’t intimidate other drivers. So the answer lies in a combination of car like and SUV like features. No other segment better personifies this than the Cross over utility vehicle segment (CUV). Some models come with all wheel drive, though not real auxiliary gears and do very well on sandy roads. A prominent member, arguably the founding member, the Toyota RAV4 posses’ car like and SUV like features in near perfect combinations. High ground clearance, medium sized and relatively priced. A 1998 model is just around 1.4 million naira about the price of a Baby boy (Honda Accord). A classic example of their utilitarian prowess can be seen on the Oniru Bye Pass in V.I, you’re stuck in the sand while trying to beat traffic in your baby boy, and a RAV4 breezes past with ease while you ponder how you’ll pay money to the ‘Boy’s already lurking and hovering like vultures who’ll push your car out from the sand you’re stuck in, I’ll bet it’d make you wonder why you didn’t buy the RAV4 since they’re almost identical in pricing?
So for a city with mad traffic, de-ranged bus drivers and potholes large enough to be seen from outer space( like the Palm beaches in Dubai), the ideal vehicle is a Toyota Rav4( any of the 3 generations will do). Though I will recommend a BMW X3, a Mercedes GLK or an Audi Q3 just because I love German Engineered cars.