Which 4×4?

I SEE SOMETHING I like and, if it fits the bill, I buy it. But moving from street cars to 4WDs has been a much longer, more drawn out and more thought out process. It started out as all my car purchases do – I had a need my current car couldn’t satisfy and I started looking to fill that gap with a new car. I’d recently parted out and sold my lightly modified Subaru BRZ in favour of something that wasn’t depreciating before my eyes, was a bit older, more practical, still fun, would hold its value and I wouldn’t have to care about it in the harsh sun and on the unsealed roads of north-western Victoria while away with work.

Enter the 2003 Subaru WRX hatch I dubbed Artie. While it served me well in the six-months I owned it (the shortest amount of time I’ve owned a car), got me to Mildura and back and many places in between, just one month into ownership I was looking for something else. You see, a different bug had bitten. When I’m bored and by myself I like to go somewhere scenic for a walk. The WRX ate up the gravel roads – unsurprisingly the car was in its element there, but it lacked the ability to take the side tracks to the places I really wanted to go. Not for lack of AWD capability, rather clearance. At that exact moment, after owning street cars and sportscars my entire driving history, I realised I needed a 4×4 and the hunt began.

But narrowing down the 4×4 I wanted took months. After my first exposure to off-road 4WDing in 2015, I had tough decisions to make. Something Ranger-sized was far too big for my needs. So, I knew that I was looking for a small-medium 4×4, and given budget constraints of less than $30,000, something second-hand. I also wanted something reasonably modern, safe and cheap to maintain, to have decent fuel economy, genuine offroad capability and some degree of aftermarket support. The list started to narrow quite considerably.

I asked my friends. Jeeps tended to fit a lot of my criteria, but that was about the only marque I had ruled out completely due to reliability concerns. Sorry Jeep, awesomely specified and attractive cars, but you can’t win me over.

There were other suggestions:

• Prado (SWB & LWB);
• Pajero (SWB & LWB);
• Patrol (I think my friends missed or ignored the small and economical criteria…);
• Grand Vitara; and
• FJ Cruiser.

Then there was the soft-roader suggestion – a Subaru Forester. Fantastic vehicles, very practical but not quite 4WD-ey enough for me. I didn’t want to go crazy, but something with aftermarket support by way of a lift kit, snorkel, bullbar – the usual. I’d need to spend crazy amounts of money to get a Forester “good enough” for where I wanted to go.

Let me clarify, where I want to go is not hardcore, comp-truck-only tracks with huge bog holes, winch-only hills and full of mud. I like a light to moderate bit of a challenge, but with minimal chance of damage to the car and where progress can be made at least as fast as walking pace.

I ruled out the Prado early. The LWB was too big and I’d driven enough to be disappointed with the on-road handling, and the SWB was too ugly. The only serious contenders were narrowed down to:

• SWB Pajero;
• Grand Vitara; and
• FJ Cruiser.

I’ll point out, at this point I’d driven none of the cars on my shortlist. I also faced a conundrum. I can respect a car’s capability, but I also have to like the way it looks as I’ll be staring at the thing every day.

And with that, after months of looking at the FJ Cruiser with eyes squinting, I decided I couldn’t live with the look of it long-term.

The thirsty engine sealed its fate in my eyes. Sorry FJ, I’m sure you’re fantastic, and people love you, but I just couldn’t. This narrowed the choices down to two cars:

• SWB Pajero; and
• Grand Vitara.

I’ve always loved the look of the SWB Pajero, but they were few and far between and well… I realised I really, really wanted a Grand Vitara all along. I’ve always loved the look and thought gee, I wouldn’t mind owning one of those one day. I still hadn’t driven one, but months and months of research on forums, Facebook groups and Google cemented the decision…so the search began.

But the question is…which one?

• SWB or LWB;
• 1.9L 4cyl diesel; and
• petrol; 1.6L 4cyl, 2.0L 4cyl, 2.4L 4cyl, 2.7L V6, 3.2L V6.

There were so many choices… stay tuned.