5 minute read
Alan Kidd Naming the best 4x4 of all time might be trickier than you think
Alan Kidd Editor
What’s the best-ever 4x4? It’s a subject that keeps on coming up, or rather that never goes away, and of course there’s no correct answer – just everybody’s opinion. Still, it’s a fun one to debate and since this month’s issue includes a sort-of guide to a dozen different trucks that all want to lay claim to the title, I can hardly help but start musing to myself about those of them I’ve owned.
My fi rst 4x4 was the one I still come over all wistful about today. I’ve droned on about it often enough so I won’t start again, but it was a 300Tdi Defender 90 van which I had from new as a company car and grew to love and depend on like a limb, a family pet and a favourite jumper all rolled into one.
Since the I’ve had a Range Rover that turned out to be a bucket of rust; two Jeep Cherokees (one modestly prepped and brilliant, the other a self-propelled cautionary tale about how to modify a vehicle to the point of unusability); a Nissan Patrol that proved what a good idea leaving it standard can be; a Discovery 2 that was actually not too unreliable, though mainly you could rely on its V8 engine to leave scorch marks up the side of your credit card; a Land Cruiser Colorado which illustrated that even the most reliable vehicles in the world will bite back at you if you don’t look after them right; another Defender 90 that’s turned into one of those eternal projects; and now an Isuzu D-Max which, after all these years, feels a bit like coming full circle.
I didn’t quite have it from new, see, but I had it straight from Isuzu and they did all the prep work on it before it come to us. So it’s a bit like my old 90 in that respect, though it’s been modded with a plan whereas I had no idea what I was doing back then and however much a loved that Landy, in my heart of hearts I know it was always a bit of a lash-up.
So anyway, that means I’ve had just over half of the Dirty Dozen in our feature, in some shape or form. And I’m not including the Suzuki Jimny I had for a while, because all it did was sit on my driveway before going off to a new home while I was otherwise occupied with nappies, nappies and more nappies.
Maybe the best ever 4x4 is one that hasn’t happened yet… And which of them was best? Honestly, considering this mag thrives on modifi ed vehicles, it pains me a little to say I’m struggling to see past the Patrol. Only thing was that it did need to have been modifi ed, as it turns out, though only in the way of armour, because a life on the lanes didn’t half take its toll on the truck’s bodywork. Maybe my idea of the best ever 4x4 is also clouded by the ones I’ve never had. An 80-Series Land Cruiser has always felt like the gold standard. That and a Wrangler. And here’s another bit of heartache from the past. Do you remember Ruby 3, a TJ which Jeep UK built up to use on events like the Croisiere Blanche and so on? Well, when it was two or three years old and the JK was on the way, it was time to get rid so they offered it to me for £4500. And I didn’t buy it. Talk about a missed opportunity… If there’s one thing I would have done differently in my off-roading life, it would have been buying Ruby 3. Or keeping my 90 when I had to sell it to raise the deposit for my fi rst fl at. Or putting an 8” lift on the Cherokee when 3” was already working perfectly. Or not having steel bumpers on my Patrol before taking it up Hollinsclough and Stanage Edge. And so on… If there’s one bit of advice I always give people and have mainly ignored, it’s to start with the best vehicle you can possibly afford. That’s what I did with the Patrol and the D-Max, and the latter in particular has repaid the investment many times over. If you can afford to start with a new Wrangler or Land Cruiser, or the pick-up of your choice, you won’t regret it. And that will also be the case when the Ineos Grenadier comes out, which it will very soon. And what’s this on the front cover? The Munro MK_1 was unexpected, to say the least – but if it does everything it promises, it will be an absolute game-changer. So it’s an exciting time in the off-road market. When you talk about the best-ever 4x4, inevitably you’re looking into the past. But something’s up that we were never expecting. Maybe, as it turns out, the best ever 4x4s is one that hasn’t happened yet… Tel: 01283 553243 Email: enquiries@assignment-media.co.uk Web: www.totaloffroad.co.uk www.4x4i.com Online Shop: www.toronline.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/totaloffroad www.facebook.com/4x4Mag
Editor
Alan Kidd
Art Editor
Samantha D’Souza
Contributors
Graham Scott, Olly Sack, Gary Noskill, Dan Fenn, Paul Looe, Tom Alderney, James Watts, Richard and Sophie Morgan
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