4x4 liberation

[huntersforge]

Though I would share my delight . The financial burden of owning a 4x4 has now been lifted on the sale of my vauxhall brava .
The chancellor will now have some other poor soul financeing his plans .
No more £80 fill ups . 20 mpg journeys or having to steady myself on the furniture after being told the cost of the part I need to keep it moving .
I have replaced it with a very economical Citroen Berlingo van . Magic .:)

[tommy the cat]

Good van fella Severn Trent kitted out everyone in the field with them..apart from the odd Landy in really rural areas!
Still love Landys though Dave

[Mike Ameling]

I grew up driving a 2-wheel drive pickup truck. You quickly learn just how far you can push it - when crawling around on the farm. And when you put the tire chains on the back drive wheels, you would be amazed at what you can do - especially with a little extra weight in the box.

I drove a 4x4 pickup truck for a couple years. That whas enough. Most of the time I never used nor needed that 4-wheel drive. And the few times I did need it, I could have gotten by with a little more thought/planning and tire chains on the 2-wheel drive pickup. So, the extra cost of parts, maintenance, tires, license, and gas just didn't justify the few times I might really need it. And most of the times I needed that 4-wheel drive, it was snowing and I felt better just staying home next to the fire with my "blankie" and a hot toddy.

I still remember some sage advice I got many many years ago about using 4-wheel drive in a vehicle. You keep in 2-wheel drive until you get yourself stuck. Then you put it in 4-wheel drive to get yourself out an GO STRAIGHT HOME. I know soooo many people who rely upon and push the limits of their 4-wheel drive. They are always getting stuck, and needing a pull out. And it constantly amazes them when they see that I can do as much or more with 2-wheel drive than they can with their expensive 4-wheel drive.

The big thing is to know your vehicle, and it's limits. The truly hard part is making it all look so ... easy.

Any time you wonder/worry about your vehicle, just remember what people were able to do with that old VW Bug - and it was just 2-wheel drive!

Just some humble thoughts to ponder.

Mikey - crawling through hills that make 4-wheelers weak in the knees - in the Hinterlands

[Tengu]

Yup, a lot of the time you dont need a 4x4

Look at the East African Safari Rally; one of the worlds toughest races yet the cars are old classics, not a modern or 4x4 amoung them.

[Osprey]

Hi
I've recently done a similar thing and put my Subaru Forester into semi retirement, I'll keep it through the winter and maybe get rid of it next spring. We used to get a lot of snow each winter here, but in the last three winters have had very little. Maybe I don't need the 4x4 any more.

I considered getting a Berlingo Multispace as several friends have them and swear by them, but have ended up with an Astra estate 1.3 CDTi, which I am told will do nearly 70mpg on a good day ! we will see ! I've only had it a week and am still on the fuel it came with. I will not miss the weekly £50 fill-ups:) .
Cheers,
Doug

[steve a]

S o r r y but The East African Rally is not a classic car rally, it was won this year by a Subaru Impreza, which is a 4 wheel drive car, for the last five years it has been won by either a Subaru Impreza or a Mitsubishi Lance, all of which are 4x4, they are also fully tricked rally cars. The East African Safari Rally (classic) was first run in 2003 for cars built prior to 1971 and was won by a Datsun 240, again full rally prep. Both rallies are run on roads and dirt tracks.

[Tengu]

I didnt know there were two races,

Still, my Skylines still in with a chance....

[TobyH]

It's all horses for courses. My jeep runs mostly in 2wd, but then I do proper off roading and use 4wd. Where I go in 4wd a 2wd wouldn't stand a chance, but then I swich back to 2wd and still get 28mpg. Best of both worlds? maybe apart from the mud and wet carpets the next day!!;)

http://fazer-mania.co.uk/coppermine/albums/userpics/10149/Going_In.jpg

http://fazer-mania.co.uk/coppermine/albums/userpics/10149/coming_out%21.jpg

[Chainsaw]

Cool pics Toby, I'd pay money to see a berlingo do that ;)

I've just plumped for a 4x4 lightweight, a nissan pathfinder. It's actually more economical than my current car as it's a diesel and it's got a lot more space for 'stuff'

I'll start another thread on newbie 4x4 stuff rather than hijack this one.

Cheers,

Alan