KalahariHarry Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 Hi all. I have been wondering what to look for a diesel or petrol bakkie/suv. As some of you may know diesel is sometimes much more economical on milage than petrol in my case I get nearky 10k's a lite on my diesel bakkie vs the 6k's my mate gets on his v6 petrol. In south africa this is a cost factor. I would just like to get feedback on how big of a deal it is in aus. Fuel being more affordable vs rsa relative to your income. @ hansaplease I know your a bit of a fundi...any comments? Trev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 @Trev, see you are already getting into the whole Aussie name shortening habit. You'll fit right in here.As far as diesel vs petrol thing goes, as you say fuel being more affordable in relation to salary, it really makes the whole thing about choice and preference. Personally I think if you are seriously into the whole 4x4 thing then diesel is probably a better choice in terms of torque/power ratios when it comes to getting out of tight spots but that's again a personal choice and there's much debate to be had on the matter. Diesel here is more expensive than petrol by about 10 cents but still affordable in relation to salary and because of this larger engines are common place. Most SUV's, Ute's and 4x4's here are all 2.5lt and bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KalahariHarry Posted January 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 Thx HEOJJ,Not a serious 4x4 nut but have done the odd road trip to Nam and Moz, here and there driving in heavy sand, to be honest I currely have a nissan 2x4 3.0Lt Diesel and that has always been enough for my needs. When in sand i just deflate the tyres and i have always made it out :-).mainly looking at an SUV/bakkie for space as we have a young baby. As you know a lot of gear goes with baby and its a sweet excuse to buy a bigger car.I envision us buying a cheapish car cash when we arrive, when i say cheap i mean a toyota corrola/vw golf in the $8 000 - $10 000 range (with the goal of this later being mommies car), thereafter once we are settled and after a few payslips under the belt i would like to buy a bakkie/suv again for me and for weekends/family trips/camping whatever.This is why the Q's about petrol vs diesel I have seen I can pick up a nice Navara/Jeep for $20-$25K AUD, Toyota always seems a bit more expensive, and Ford, well I love the new ranger but they are also a bit expensive still. Even when i do get one I would drive to work and back and weekends so fuel should not be a major factor.In RSA I would not buy a petrol (like a fortuner v6 4.0Lt vs the 3.0 Diesel) because my rand goes further on a diesel re milage - So your take it that it really does not make much of a difference?Also if you have any ideas/suggestions on a mid size car i could get in the $8-$10K AUD range pls advise.Trev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordy Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 Here we call them utes mate lolI have 2.7L Diesel Territory and love it. The price of Diesel is fixed but the price of petrol fluctates daily. Diesel is about $1.57 in Mandurah at the moment and petrol varies between $1.50 and $1.60. That is if you dont use the Coles/Woolworths 4 cents vouchers. The extra few cents that Diesel costs but the better milage makes it a better choice IMHO. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KalahariHarry Posted January 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 @jordy, I agree.So the fact is you still think Diesel with more milage there is a better bet even with the fuel vs income ratioThat was my original question :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansaPlease Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 Hi TrevorJust be careful, there is a reason the older Navaras and Jeeps are cheap, the Navara has been known to have problems and the Jeep is known for it's un-reliability and silly things going wrong. Our daily short trip station car is petrol and our holiday/long trip/family SUV is diesel. As you know, diesels don't like short trips. A lot of people focus on the fuel consumption factor with Diesel, but I think that ours works out well in the long run because the service intervals are 12 months/15000km, whereas a lot of petrol cars can be 6y/7500km removing the benefit of the initial saving of buying a petrol car. Anyway, long story short, we love Diesel for towing, off road, long trips and petrol for the short trip town car. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 I have to agree with Hansa here. Diesel is definitely a better option for towing because of the power it offers. We had a VW Polo 1.9 in RSA and I could tow just about anything with that car where a colugue had a 2.0 petrol and battled to even tow a slightly heavy venter trailer. We managed to pick up a 2006 1.6 Hyundai Gets for $3950.00 on Gumtree. It's an awesome little car when it comes to fuel economy. I drive to work and back every day which is a 50km round trip and I use about $50 every 2 weeks.We bought a petrol Kia Sportage 4x4 when we first arrived which set us back about $9000 in the long run because of a cracked master cylinder but it has been a good car. Not sure if I would take it off road, I never really had much faith in wannabe 4x4's. To be honest I'm one of the old school thinkers where the less electronics a 4x4 has the better. You know the ones where you have to stop and lock the wheels manually before going off road. Incedently you can pick up a new Jeep for around $25k. They have been advertising it for a while now on TV, I wouldn't mind one myself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) I fancy myself a bit of a 4x4 guru....would like to offer some experiences here, I'm a car nutter, esp 4x4s.. I've owned over a dozen in 13 years. TCO wise a diesel is way more expensive to own on average. Now, let me explain. If you are the normal suburban warrior who goes out on a biggish trip, once or twice a year and spends most of the year on the road to work n back, stay mainstream. As was mentioned above, there reasons why the jeeps etc are so cheap. The jeep has steering issues and spectacular gearbox implosions. The newest jeep version has major issues on soft sand, the ETC will just shutdown drive to the rear wheels and it drags itself to the chassis in seconds. Class action pending in the US. HEOJJ, on the power front, just be mindful that the reason your 1.9 kicked ass was the altitude, based on your profile of Pretoria. At that altitude, a diesel turbo loses 5-8%. Normally aspirated petrol, around 13-22%. At Perth levels, irrelevant. Hence you kick ass ability. VW also did a mapping upgrade on the ECU/EMS to deal with the Gauteng altitude....Trev, based on your budget, go for a Passat or Golf as a mummy's car, she will love you for the extra space. If you are only an occasional warrior and don't do heavy work offroad, a bog standard Toyota double cab is fine. Watch out for ball joint wear, and steering box cracks on the mounts. On the diesels, check for fuel line leaks. Check door seals in all of them, although build quality is better nowadays. Nissans are okay, but have drivetrain issues. Ford is okay, but same issues in motor with Mazda keep me far away from them. I agree with HELOJj around electronics! but only if you are a 4x4 buff. Most of the electronics today help amateur/weak offroad skills. The Discovery is great case in point. Even the new Cruisers and Mercs etc come with offroad modes. Great for guys who don't take it seriously. If you are serious, you cannot beat manual lockers. The button stuff is not half bad, but will let you down in the heavy stuff, I have owned enough of them to know. You also have two TOTALLY different driving styles with manual vs buttons. With traction control, you need to keep you foot down, vs manual you take it off the juice if you are losing traction. A simple but fundamental mistake to make if you're crossing a sand dune, and in extreme situations, you can pay for that mistake with your life. I'll start a second post...Success offroad is primarily two things, knowing your own limitations and skills, know your car!!! As Trev pointed out, he deflates his tyres and has always gotten out. Well mate, you will need that here, WA has some of the worst beaches in the world, deflation is your friend!! One of the fastest ways to see if someone is a wannabe off-roader or for real is to ask this question: when you let a tyre down, which way does it provide extra floatation? Most people don't realise that it is in the direction bonnet to boot, NOT door to door. Stay away from these learned specimens, they spend most of their day stuck getting out of the parking lot....Trevor, is your second car going to be a day rider, or just a weekend car? I ask because it fundamentally changes my advice to you. Let's explore the two options, next post... Edited January 12, 2014 by SurferMan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 If you want a weekend car only, get a 60/80 Cruiser. They are amazing, have live axles front and rear, and are bulletproof. Don't be shocked at the price vs age vs kilometres, they have good resale for a reason. The old Patrols are incredible, they have the strongest drivetrain and chassis of any 4x4. The reason is that Nissan took (30 years ago) a three ton truck chassis and gearbox, and put a wagon frame on top!!! Unchanged until the 2013 model, which uses monocoque design. (Stressed member design) If you want a day rider and a weekend car, I guess a double cab or a wagon are options. My choices would be a Pajero, cruiser or Patrol. If you have some money, the Touaregs are amazing. I own one. They are very expensive to own, but I go where all the lads go in their lift kit trucks with 33/35 Mickey Thompson tyres. I have high and low range, diff locks AND most important, on my model I can switch off the silly traction control. But they are expensive to own, I won't lie. I have the V6 and I kick ass. About to trade it for the V8 or 5 litre twin turbo V10....by the way, the Pajeros are dogs on fuel! The petrol sucks about 17-21 litres per 100....they are okay for sand, but avoid the traction control models..so look for a 2002 or earlier model with a rear diff lock. (The ones with the trapezoid footlights, NOT the round ones)So in summary, go for a Patrol or Cruiser, you can fix/service them at home, they run for years and they have parts and accessories all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 In terms of power etc, Hansaplease has nailed it, I would add though that depending on what you want to do, the power/torque is almost incidental. Most cars here have auto trannies (transmissions) beach work in a manual if it's heavy sand can be exhausting. Offroad, most situations an auto is smoother and easier. If you are a guru though, you can't beat a manual with lockers. I have owned an even spread of diesels and petrol 4x4s, and I tell you my preference if the going is ultra heavy...petrol. No doubt in my mind the absolute power, the spread of power (rev band) and elasticity wins hands down. The cost of a diesel is high, don't underestimate it. And man alive, get water into it, or dirty fuel, and your looking at 12-30k for a rebuild. The newer common rail diesels are notorious for this. Ask blokes like Roothy or Glenno (Aussie offroad legends) I thought I knew a lot about off-loading and 4x4s, but man I have been taught so much since I got here...my sand driving was always very good, as I grew up on it, (St. Lucia in South Africa) but man did I get lessons here!!!!!Unless you are going really big in the torque dept, you can't beat a petrol for pulling power. Now I'm talking over 650-700nM, or don't bother. Get an old shell, and drop in a 6-7 litre Chevy turbo diesel...lololol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) So, on your budget get a Cruiser/Patrol, make sure it comes with a bullbar and lockers, add a lift kit, if it doesn't have one. And go for all terrain tyres. Forget the silly mud tyres...for one, they are noisy, have shyt braking in the wet (read non grip, super slip!!) and are actually worse in sand than a road tyre. If you don't believe me, check out the latest 4x4Action mag...heheheThen you only need basics like MaxxTraxx, snatch rope, D shackles and a long handled spade and your good to go. If you are not up to speed on recovery techniques, I am more than happy to help you out. I help my mates to understand their cars sometimes by taking them out and showing them how to use their tech on their cars and how to recover, what modes to use and when etc. I am sure though you are all good, having driven Namibia. A word to the wise, watch out for the beaches between here and Lancelin, legendary soft sand and vicious conditions, ask me. One day when I just bought my SWB Pajero I slipped onto the beach at Dame Pattie drive. Silly me...no recovery kit, and family in the car...almost immediately I started to get stuck. Didn't bottom it out though, too experienced for that, but I was in serious trouble...no kit and the tide was coming in fast. Late afternoon, nobody around....I dropped the pressures down as low as I dared. First low, diffs locked, Traction control off (it doesn't actually switch off totally...) luckily I knew the trick to the new Pajero's traction control. At over 6500 rpm it disengages as it will melt the discs, so I ran her at 8000rpm, to override that, and to ensure the gyroscopic action kept the tyre on the rim. A torturous five min ensured, as we ploughed slowly through the sand towards the sea, desperately trying to turn in time to miss the waves and climb back up the dune gap and out. Long story short, we made, it, but a serious white knuckle lesson for me. If that were Kosi bay or anywhere on the north coast of SA, I would have aced it, but I was humbled by the beach here. WA beaches, not for sissies, LOLOL. Edited January 12, 2014 by SurferMan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 HEOJJ,The little Getz cars are legends! run on the smell of a rag and good little town cars! respect. Also respect for you saying the Kia is not a real 4x4, so many people argue with me, saying their Sportage can go where the big boys go, they can't. I have personally recovered them here in Aus (just south of Yanchep, in the dunes) and they are good for a bit of sand and gravel, but that's it really. I have to tell the story of the fellow I rescued in 2011...here goes. We were driving back from Yanchep when we saw a white chick standing by the side of the road, waving, first thought...hijack. But I stopped and asked if I could help. She said her family are badly stuck in the dunes and in dire need of help. I get over the dunes, and lo a Kia Sportage up to its ears in sand. This celebrated individual, had flown over the blind side of a dune without walking it, yes, no walking the obstacle!!! He almost rolled it, but the sand on the lee side of the dune stopped him. He had not deflated his tyres, and was adamant his Kia could do the offroad thing. Err, he had 215 tyres. But what made me really angry was he had two little girls in the car, severely dehydrated. (They stopped sweating, white around the lips, dilated pupils etc) I gave them water and put them in the Pajero with the aircon. I had to do a blind over the hill snatch recovery, which I managed to get right. He cracked the chassis.....his wife gave him serious lip, and told me, we are selling this car and going to buy a real 4x4, tomorrow, lol. Hubby looked suitably sheepish and had stopped arguing with me on sand driving techniques some time back. The worst was he never told anyone where he was going, no kit, no water, no radio, nothing. I was just glad to be coming along and that I had the kit to help them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 I wish I could do more 4x4ing but alas the wife is a bit of an anti tank person. I'm not that clued up on the whole scene but I know stupid when I see it. I was involved in scoutimg and rovers in South Africa for a long time so I do know a bit about the whole how not to die when going on adventures like the above mentioned one.What makes me really angry is people who don't know their limits or what their vehicles are not capable of. We have done a couple of trips to Ponta da Oura in Mozambique for diving and on more than one occasion I saw the same little blue city golf at the border and later on in the town. The driver could take that little golf where most 4x4 pros couldn't. Had too many bad experiences with kia's to even chance a serious off roaf trip with it. It rocks at pavement parking though, which is the only reason it has a 4x4 gearbox. What was the best 4x4 you've owned besides the defender? One day when I am big and strong I'll own a real 4x4, wife permitting that is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Waaahaha, man do I know them, the brandy n coke club! Up in Sterkfontein I had a mate who owned a massive farm. One Friday we were sipping the booze when he said lets go 4x4ing along the farm mountainside. They packed enough booze to anaesthetise an army, and off we went. Needless to say the ass in the X5, copped it first, blown traction control. The dude in the Sorento was next, tyre off the rim. Ass number three was in an ML, bottomed the diff on a rock. Rock 1, diff 0. Q7, beached itself on a crest, stopped there. The Merc GL dragged its ass over the rocks like a dog with worms. Game over. Myself, the Toyota double cab and the Landy made it to the top. By the way, to prove ability I drove it in 2WD three quarters of the way up....The two best 4x4s I've ever owned, will be a surprise. A single cab Mitsubishi 2.4 4x4 trail buster. Yes, a 2.4. Best power to weight ratio and unstoppable. The very best I have had is the Touareg, awesome power, luxury, safety etc. Porsche platform(shares 85%) and amazing handling. As I said, the next car will be another one, or a Cruiser....I'll send you a link of a bloke who pimped his Treg...Downsides, expensive servicing, eats tyres due to perm 4x4. http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f66/big-bad-mud-tyres-78250-28.htmlHEOJJ,I use to drive my Golf 1.3 on the beach, with 155 tyres. Lol, past the blokes in their fancy 4x4s back in the day. All about technique. I used to have a place up at Kosi bay, and the locals there drove a Cressida around after the rains, you should have seen the looks on the faces of the guys driving discos, range rovers etc. those boys could drive, all Mad max!!!You don't need to convince mommy too hard these days, the tank like drives are mostly the older cars. If you went for a Treg, a cruiser or even a double cab you would be amazed at the diffs between models. Hey Trevor,Take a look at the Amarok, amazingly capable and a fuel fairy.. Disclosure, I am a VW fan. Biased view points ahead. Hehehe.They have great abilities, are luxury, and have a swag of accessories. You will need to add a snorkel, cos the intake is in a stupid position. Also reroute the fuel and brake lines, they are put in silly areas. After that, add a bashplate and you're good to go. Try to go for the earlier model, with dual range gearboxes. The new ones have an eight speed gearbox, and first is ultra low, which they say is good enough for offroad. I don't agree. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 I though 8 gears were reserved for trucks. Never thought I'd see the day that a passenger vehicle came out with an 8 speed gear box.If I had the cash I would go for the Treg any day. I worked for Audi Kempton park for a while as a driver (long story but I needed the cash) and they were part of the VW group so got to drive some really awesome cars. Had the privilege of driving the Treg (even if it was to put diesel in for a customer), the A4 all road and a Q7. Treg won hands down for luxury and drivabilitly. Must say though I would like to give a land cruiser and spin just to compare. The one thing I wonder though is why do they make 4x4's with brake and fuel lines in places they know are going to get damaged off road? Seems like the design engineers have never been off road themselves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) The answer is simple, they do the design mostly for cost effectiveness for production, although you're argument is bulletproof, why the hell don't just move it? Q7 is very nice for mommy, it's immense inside and pure luxury with good power. I have had an Allroad for a bit, it's I credible, esp. the diesel 2.5 with low range,,yeah they had low range. If you go for a Treg, go for a gen 1 model. 2004-2008, if your budget is low, or a t2 if you want a newer one. Stay away from the T 3, no low range and too soft. The T1 was designed to handle 1200nm of torque and the gearbox is one of the strongest ever built. I absolutely hammer my Treg offroad and she does the school run in the week quite often too. The only downside with steel suspension is ground clearance in extreme offroad, but with a bit of planning, aka walking the obstacle and choosing your line right, I have never gotten stuck. I run standard 255/17 Pirellis and I easily play in the sand and give the little traffic light racers a good packing off the line. By the way, steel spring suspension Treg has better ground clearance than a 100 Series Cruiser....If you want a spin offroad, gimme a shout, be happy to show you what they can do. The 3.2 V6 is more than powerful, since you can't speed in Aus anyways. I like the brutal power of the V8/10 though, and would be looking to change up as I said. I won't buy the Cayenne purely for cost. It's identical to the Treg, but sooo expensive. But drive the Turbo, and they won't wipe the smile off your face for a week. It is also slightly stiffer offroad and the giant Brembo brakes mean you can't go below 18 inch tyres, which are useless offroad. If you want one, go for the gen 1 cayennes, they could fit 17 inch tyres.Hansaplease What is your view mate?I though 8 gears were reserved for trucks. Never thought I'd see the day that a passenger vehicle came out with an 8 speed gear box.If I had the cash I would go for the Treg any day. I worked for Audi Kempton park for a while as a driver (long story but I needed the cash) and they were part of the VW group so got to drive some really awesome cars. Had the privilege of driving the Treg (even if it was to put diesel in for a customer), the A4 all road and a Q7. Treg won hands down for luxury and drivabilitly. Must say though I would like to give a land cruiser and spin just to compare. The one thing I wonder though is why do they make 4x4's with brake and fuel lines in places they know are going to get damaged off road? Seems like the design engineers have never been off road themselves.They are about to launch 9 speed, and Lexus is doing a new ten speed gearbox. In the old days the clutch was the problem, no more. Edited January 12, 2014 by SurferMan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OubaasDik Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 SurferManI am dumbfounded that one mind can hold so much information. Agog in fact.Gimme your opinion of these AWD and 4WD "SUV"s like the RAV that don't (well didn't) have a low range.Personally, I don't regard that as real 4WD. In my (limited) opinion they don't really do a dratted thing more that the equivalent 2wd model.Am I right or am I, as all too often lately, talking horse puckey? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Lol,OBD, I have a photographic memory of sorts. I'm glad you asked, that is another very misunderstood concept, and most of the car owners only find out when they get stuck or worse. Let's talk about drive trains in easy speak shall we? Part time 4WD is like the old cars that you had to stop, engage the hubs to have 4x4. Nowadays they call it selectable 4x4, shift on the fly etc. like the Pajeros. However, car makers have blurred the definition today. Today "on demand" 4x4 is meaning when the car detects slip, it will engage a clutch, like a Haldex system and then push power to the front or back wheels as needed. This is great for wet roads and the like, but major :censored: for off-roading. By the time the system kicks in its too late, and worse, when you take your foot off the juice, it disconnects, much the same as traction control. Which you DONT want. The RAVs used to have full time 4x4, but now have on demand 4x4. Mostly I agree they don't do any more than a normal 2WD, but give a good guy a 2Wd with a rear diff lock and he will amaze you where he can drive. Full time 4WD is like my Touareg or the new Toyota Cruisers, Merc GLs etc. you cannot switch to 2WD. It means all four wheels continuously provide tractive force, albeit at different levels. My car is tuned to a 40:60 split front to rear, but can even push 100% power to one wheel if needed. Now, here is where you separate the men from the boys. A differential allows the wheels to spin at different speeds. A diff lock forces the wheels on that axle to spin at the same speed. If you have an open diff, the wheel with the least resistance gets the most power. (Read the wheel in the air) which sucks. A locker stops that. Modern softie 4x4s use the ABS to measure the wheel speed, and apply brakes to the spinning wheel, transferring power to the wheel that has traction. So it's acts like a diff lock, but not as well. It also kills the discs and pads, trust me. They hate sand. They hate mud. Ultimate setup is manually lockable centre diff, rear and from diff, like the Merc Gelanderwagen. Ugly as hell, but man it's like a tank offroad. I generally only buy 4x4 drive system cars for the pure advantage they give in driving conditions, all of them. The only reason my Passat is not 4x4 is that I couldn't find a nice version of the W8 engine here in WA. If you want a softie, the RAV is actually not too bad, stay away from the Kia's (sorry HEOJJ!!) or worse, these little wannabe softies like Suzuki. One of the best traction systems ever built was installed in the old Audi Allroad, I'll paste a link for you to see. It is the same as the one on my Treg. Amazing. I see you were from Roodekrans, was that in krugersdorp. If so, I hail from there also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 http://youtu.be/Q4IrzzMgkks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Looks this guy, here is a great illustration of how good Quattro is...but don't forget, rule one. Driver limitations... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OubaasDik Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) Hate you now SurferManYou should never have said Suzukis were soft .....And to think I sold my RAV to someone to get my Suzi ..... AAARRGGGHHHH life is terrible.Thanks for your opinion anyway - it's worth more than mine were. My Suzi suits me perfectly - so far this year on the way to work is not been stuck in the crap more than ,,,, umm ... never. This is city driving, of course - the people out in the sticks are so ..... *shudder* rough. Edited January 12, 2014 by OubaasDik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 The little Suz is NLT half bad, stay in the easy stuff and you will be fine. I have seen an old friend of mine with a RAV1 drive on the beach while the Discos were up to their axles in sand. It's a good car, just limited in what it can do.nin the hands of a pro off-roader, it is a mean machine, just don't ask the old girl to pull anything or have 5 big Saffers in the car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 OBD, lolRough people yeah some outback folk can be a bit on the rough side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Have to say im liking my Ford Escape pavement warrior, auto 4x4 with the ability to turn 4x4 on with a switch, it seems to also enable diff lock at the same time as i can hear tires dragging around tight turns with 4x4 forced on.Have had it on lots of soft sand, and some mountain climbing type stuff with no issues so far, we do the easy top moderate type stuff, not the really insane stuff.Will be replacing it with a Jeep Wrangler this year though, for no other reason than i want a convertible and our lifestyle needs a car that can go offroad, don't think a sports car will do well pulling a camper trailer through mud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Have to say im liking my Ford Escape pavement warrior, auto 4x4 with the ability to turn 4x4 on with a switch, it seems to also enable diff lock at the same time as i can hear tires dragging around tight turns with 4x4 forced on.Have had it on lots of soft sand, and some mountain climbing type stuff with no issues so far, we do the easy top moderate type stuff, not the really insane stuff.Will be replacing it with a Jeep Wrangler this year though, for no other reason than i want a convertible and our lifestyle needs a car that can go offroad, don't think a sports car will do well pulling a camper trailer through mud LOL @ Nev,Your car does not have a diff lock per se, it has an actuator on the rear diff. I STRONGLY suggest you don't do that "tyre dragging thing" that implies diff windup, which is terminal if you carry on. (read diff/drivetrain destruction) From 2005 onwards, they switched to an on demand system. You seem to be okay with the terrain youre playing, which is also a function of your skill, as you know where to play and where not to play. The Wrangler is okay, I don't like Jeeps for their crappy build quality, but that said, if you do get a good one, they do last a while. Will you go for diesel or petrol? Which drive system, as they have two on offer?. The Rubicon would be my bet if I was forced into a Jeep. At least it has decent offroad abilities. Funny thing that with sports cars, not being able to drag camper through mud, one would have thought the engineers would have catered for that eventuality. Here is my car, topless..; and ute And yours, if I had to choose one. Whatever you end up with, just go offroad and enjoy! Look forward to seeing you out there mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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