23rd January, 1998
On-Road Off-Roaders.
Here's an idea for about 90% of four wheel drive owners: take your car somewhere other than down the shops! That's the statistic, apparently about ninety or more percent of four wheel drive recreational vehicles out there have never been off the road.
People who own vehicles such as LandCruisers, Patrols, Cherokees,
Jackaroos, and the like, can't bring themselves to take them
off-road. Why not? When questioned, one owner of a late-model Pajero said
that it was because the paintwork might get scratched.
Okay, I have two things to say to that answer:
- A car could just as easily be scratched by another car, a shopping trolley, some idiot with a key, and numerous other things present in the city and suburbia.
- What if it does get scratched? If resale value is what you're worried about, then the recent market influences (such as the introduction of cheap imports - eg. KIA, Proton, and Daewoo) have played havoc on used car values and so such small blemishes will have little or no effect on what you'll get for your car.
Incidentally, some time later the people involved traded their Pajero in for a much more suitable Commodore sedan.
Admittedly, vehicles such as the LandCruiser do have some other areas in which they excel, for example pulling heavy trailers. But there's only so many horse floats and large caravans out there. What's more, there are other vehicles which qualify as good towing vehicles, such as Ford LTDs or many older Australian built family cars (eg. H series Holden).
Others claim that they've bought their four wheel drive for the load capacity or the number of people you can pack in. I've got two words for these people: "Toyota Tarago", this and similar people mover type vehicles were specifically designed for this purpose and are much more adept at carrying seven or so people in comfort.
What I suspect is the biggest single factor making people hand over cash for an Explorer, Patrol, whatever, is the image supposedly associated with such vehicles. How else can you explain vehicles such as the Honda CRV or KIA Sportage? These vehicles have very little off-road ability, yet still have that look about them. In reality, they're more like hatchbacks with four wheel drive. Don't get me wrong - I haven't singled them out just because they are smaller four wheel drives, in fact I know first-hand that smaller vehicles such as the Suzuki Vitara can go almost anywhere one of the larger four wheel drives can. Sometimes they can squeeze in where a larger vehicle can't, so size is not the issue. It's more to do with the fact that these vehicles have been designed from the start to live on the asphalt, and will have difficulty if they ever get taken off road - but as we know, they're not at risk of that happening.
That's my two cents worth, anyway. If you have anything you think I haven't considered - please get in contact with me.
Copyright � 23rd January 1998.
Opinions expressed here are purely those of
Adam Smolarczyk.