4x4 Truck & SUV Buyers Guide!

I tend to look at vehicles primarily from this angle. A-B cars are used to take you and your passengers from point A to point B. They can be equipped with various features to make the ride easier, more comfortable and even entertaining. A 4x4 can of course also be used to take you on the same route. On the other hand they can also be used to get to locations where it would be difficult or impossible to reach in an A-B car.

A 4x4 is used for supporting various activities. Some use it to go fishing on the weekends, others go skiing in the mountains and a number of people use it just to get to remote and little traveled places. Only a few use it almost exclusively to take on extremely rough tracks and sometimes competitions.
Apart from this, 4x4s are often higher and therefore easier for elderly and disabled people to board.
All these uses are good reasons to own and operate a 4x4.

In resent years, the trend has been growing trend to market various levels of in-between cars. Subaru have from the beginning offered cars with drive to all four wheels. The recent Subaru Forrester is almost comparable to the Ford Escape. We have also seen the expensive luxury SUVs like the BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne and the Mercedes ML. Although, I am not sure I would be comfortable taking one of them on some Icelandic tracks!

Of note are also recent developments in diesel engines. They are growing fast in fuel efficiency and power. Take the VW Touareg as an example. It has the most powerful diesel engine in a mass produced vehicle. The V10 TDI with its 10 cylinders produces 313 hp and 750 Nm of torque - has a top speed of 225 km/h and goes from 0-100 in 7.8 seconds - sure sounds impressive. Call me harsh but for me this is still an A-B car.

What worries me most though - is that recent vehicles have more gadgets that can break down and are also becoming more and more difficult to fix out in the field - given you use only minimal knowledge and primitive tools.

As always the choice is up to you to select a vehicle that fits your needs and lifestyle.
The types of 4x4 vehicles available are ever increasing. You will have to make your own decision based on your intended use and how much money you want to spend on this particular part of your life. Will your 4x4 be used for the occasional fishing or hunting trip? Or will it be used daily in extreme and demanding terrain?

Like anything made by humans - 4x4s are a compromise. There is no such thing as the perfect off road vehicle. Making it fit all your family and still be able to take it wherever you want to go can be challenging. A great rock crawler would be slow and uncomfortable for long journeys. A luxurious SUV with lots of space gives a great ride experience for long journeys but might run into problems doing some serious river crossing or mudding.

Use what you've got - try it out in various terrains. Enjoy the ride! Observe what can be improved and where you want to go. Minor things can be modified to make them function better and for major issues you may consider buying a new rig rather than performing some expensive modifications.

Go ahead and read the full 4x4 Truck & SUV Buyers Guide RIGHT NOW!