2016 Drive Car of the Year: Best 4WD

[Matty4]

Originally Posted by Falcon SXR8

GQ patrol on 35's, open diffs, home made rock sliders, straight through exhaust. Or keep those mods but swap out the gq for an 80 series cruiser

Where can I buy one of these off the showroom floor nowadays? And travel the open highways on a regular basis?

This comparison of a "real" 4WD is pretty pathetic. I guess a "real" family Falcon should have a carby 6 or 8, 3 speed auto (4 speed manual if you prefer) AM radio, rear drum brakes, no air con, manual windows etc, etc, etc....

Some need to move with the times.

This isn't a pi55ing contest, but my 2 month old Jeep did the VHC including Monument track on the factory 20's without getting into low range, and Melb Cup weekend it did the Blue Rag track on AT 18's in pouring rain without needing low range either. The 3 others in the car (who own other 4WD's) were rather surprised by its abilities, and I bet you'd be surprised by the Everest's abilities too, if you'd give it half a chance....

[Falcon SXR8]

Originally Posted by Matty4

Where can I buy one of these off the showroom floor nowadays? And travel the open highways on a regular basis?

This comparison of a "real" 4WD is pretty pathetic. I guess a "real" family Falcon should have a carby 6 or 8, 3 speed auto (4 speed manual if you prefer) AM radio, rear drum brakes, no air con, manual windows etc, etc, etc....

Some need to move with the times.

This isn't a pi55ing contest, but my 2 month old Jeep did the VHC including Monument track on the factory 20's without getting into low range, and Melb Cup weekend it did the Blue Rag track on AT 18's in pouring rain without needing low range either. The 3 others in the car (who own other 4WD's) were rather surprised by its abilities, and I bet you'd be surprised by the Everest's abilities too, if you'd give it half a chance....

Hi mate i was just kidding around and describing what most of the "hardcore" 4x4ers use hence the "open diffs" ect. I know what the newer 4wds are capable of as a lot come with rear diff lock or fancy traction control and would flog a big jacked up open diff 4wd in a lot of situations.

You can get most places in australia no problems with an ifs ute on 31s but yes if your the type of guy who likes to do that huge rutted 100m hill off to the side of the track that has a perfectly fine chicken track around it for the "soft roaders" then by all means there is only a few vehicles on the market that are really suited for that.

[mike_nofx]

Originally Posted by Falcon SXR8

You can get most places in australia no problems with an ifs ute on 31s but yes if your the type of guy who likes to do that huge rutted 100m hill off to the side of the track that has a perfectly fine chicken track around it for the "soft roaders" then by all means there is only a few vehicles on the market that are really suited for that.

You mean.... there are 4WD's that are better off-road than the "Drive best off-roader"??

[DFB FGXR6]

Drive Car of the Year Awards are geared towards giving advice to the "Mum and Dad" crowd of consumers looking for all round car buying advice.

Certainly, in this case, there are more capable 4x4's for genuine hard-core off-roading than the Everest. But can you imagine Drive advising the average "Mum and Dad" consumer that the best vehicle to buy is a now discontinued, ancient design Nissan or Toyota with compromised on-road behaviour and outdated safety systems?

Hard-core off-roaders are hardly likely to be seeking Drives advice on what car to buy anyway.

[Falcon SXR8]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

You mean.... there are 4WD's that are better off-road than the "Drive best off-roader"??

got me on that one

[4VCLEVO]

Check out how these standard modern 4x4's go against a standard GU Patrol.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/431436/f...nissan-patrol/

[b0son]

Best 4wd with no LC or Disco in the test? What criteria did they use to end up with just these three?

[Outbackjack]

I would not take any of those soft roaders where I routinely take my gu. Another Toyota sponsored road test?

[duaned]

Should be called Toorak Tractors, not 4wd's!

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by b0son

Best 4wd with no LC or Disco in the test? What criteria did they use to end up with just these three?

The test was best family 4x4 and the most expensive vehicle there was the Patrol at $60k, already $5k more than the most expensive of the others. LC and Disco are about 17k and 10k above that.

My guess is they had a price range a family could afford at around the mid $50k mark with the slightly more expensive Patrol thrown in as representative of a well respected, large off-roader as a guide point.