Buying a 4×4 for the very first time can be a confusing affair. To help you out, the Editor gives some initial advice on how to get started, to make the best decision, and our contributors and industry experts confess on just what they chose for their first 4x4s…
Looking to buy a 4×4 for the first time? Well, as you might expect, our first reaction is, well done – and our second is, what took you so long? But to be serious, a fatuous comment like that is of little help to someone considering a 4×4 vehicle for the very first time and if that’s you, hopefully we can offer some pointers for you to consider and ensure you make the right first choice.
One of the most exciting things about the world of 4×4 ownership is that it is so broad; the variety of vehicles on offer to you is enormous. If you are buying new, then at one end of the market you can have a Fiat Panda 4×4 for around the £14,000 mark, or you might consider a top spec Range Rover which has a starting price of £71,310 or for the long wheelbase option a staggering £102,120 (and that’s before you look at the impressive option list and start personalising your machine). Now, would someone sit down and ask: ‘Shall I buy a Panda or a long wheelbase Range Rover?’ Of course not, but what is true, and what makes 4×4 ownership such an excitingly broad church, encompassing such an enormous breadth of vehicles, is that they are linked, they have a similar basic DNA; they are both 4x4s and they are different to other vehicles on the road.
ARB has extended its range of battery trays to now cover the Ford Ranger and Mazda BT50. The new under vehicle battery tray is designed around the Optima range of battery and Redarc’s BCDC range of chargers. The trays are 4mm thick steel, zinc plated and black powder coated and are suitable for single, dual and extra cab models. The cover plate also incorporates plastic press fit insulators to prevent terminal and cover plate contact. As with all the top ARB equipment, it is available from the Arbil dealer network. Check the website to find your nearest dealer.
There cannot be many readers who in their time have not used a good dollop of T-Cut to try and remove an annoying scratch or scuff. It’s particularly useful after a greenlaning trip when you suddenly spot the faint scratches along your paintwork. It will not surprise, therefore, to learn that the product is actually 60 years young. To celebrate, the company has commissioned a sparkling £50,000 Swarovski crystal-encrusted T-Cut tin! It seems it took 75 hours to piece together the 26,000 diamonds and the can will be shown around the country at automotive car retailers before being on permanent display at the company’s Bury headquarters. There is a nationwide campaign to find the vehicle that most deserves some T-Cut TLC… now surely we can find a Lada Niva or battered Series II that fits the bill!
For anyone who has a penchant for pick-ups, then you are certainly going to love this… we do! This is a full-size Tonka toy, produced by the Tuscany Motor Company in Elkhart, Indiana. Based on the Ford F150 Lariat Crew Cab 4×4 pick-up, this special edition is built under licence from the toymakers Hasbro. As you would expect, there’s a lot of umphh under the bonnet, sorry hood, with a 5.0-litre V8 stumping up some 360 US hp. Pro-Comp provide the vehicle with a massive six inch suspension lift, with heavy duty shock absorbers and custom 20inch Tonka alloy wheels are fitted with 325/60 BFGoodrich All-Terrains. If you want one, it will cost you a cool 72,360 US dollars – don’t bother checking the exchange rate, we didn’t! Looks great though.
A new range of ARB Intensity Driving Light covers are available in a new range of clear, colour tinted and solid colours. Manufactured from moulded polycarbonate, these covers are hard coated for scratch and UV resistance and designed for the harshest of conditions. The covers are available in clear, amber, blue, red and solid black. The covers retail at around £55, and are sensibly sold in pairs and are available through Arbil’s dealer network. 
This is one model that we feel has not received the success that it deserves. Indeed, the Subaru XV was one of the class winners in our 2013 4×4 Of The Year. The latest models now have enhancements to improve the vehicle’s refinement, ride and handling, while the overall range has also been rationalised ‘to provide a simpler customer option’.
A drive last year on the icy roads of a Canadian winter reminded editor Nigel Fryatt of what a competent, comfortable and pleasant car the Freelander 2 is. It was a reminder, rather than a sudden realisation, because we’ve always liked Land Rover’s compact SUV, it’s just that little has changed since the introduction in 2006, so we’ve not felt the need to reappraise the model on more than a few key occasions.
There’s always going to be the potential to improve a 4×4 or add more accessories to it, but the list of options can be bewildering and choosing the right ones isn’t always that easy. It is, however, easy to throw a lot of money at a vehicle, but be left wondering whether it was really all necessary. We’ve all been there; purchasing products from the Internet and Shows, sometimes only to gather dust in the garage.
The Yeti has proved an impressive sales success for Skoda and the latest revised version is likely to gain more converts, thanks to the fifth generation Haldex clutch
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