4WD of the year

[murcod]

Some of you guys need to get out a bit more - "4WD of the Year"; the 4WD equivalent of "Wheels Car of the Year"....

ie. they compare all the new release 4WD's on the Aussie market and decide which is the best overall for the years new models.....

[Jeeps]

All in all, the Landrover is a very nice bit of gear.

[grimbo]

Some of you guys need to get out a bit more - "4WD of the Year"; the 4WD equivalent of "Wheels Car of the Year"....

ie. they compare all the new release 4WD's on the Aussie market and decide which is the best overall for the years new models.....

and who would "they" be. That is what I was trying to find out. Is it 4WD of The Year as judged by 10 Grandmas over a game of bingo, or perhaps 17 left handed shep farmers whilst clearing the dags from their sheep, or maybe 10 lords a leaping decided it.

[DamTriton]

Some of you guys need to get out a bit more - "4WD of the Year"; the 4WD equivalent of "Wheels Car of the Year"....

ie. they compare all the new release 4WD's on the Aussie market and decide which is the best overall for the years new models.....

Previous Wheels COTY winners:

Leyland P76
Holden Camira
Austin 1800

Yep, they pick the cream of the crop...........

[HeathGQ]

There was/is someone in the Gold Coast 4x4 club that had/has a Range Rover HSE - I saw them driving it at sundown NP and the underneath scraped a few rocks on one of the creek crossings.

now has 100 series sahara

[murcod]

Some of you guys need to get out a bit more - "4WD of the Year"; the 4WD equivalent of "Wheels Car of the Year"....

ie. they compare all the new release 4WD's on the Aussie market and decide which is the best overall for the years new models.....

Previous Wheels COTY winners:

Leyland P76
Holden Camira
Austin 1800

Yep, they pick the cream of the crop...........

It's not judged by Wheels..... I used the Wheels award as an example of what it's all about All of those vehicles you mentioned were improvements on the current day design standards when they won BTW.

One of the 4WD mags does the award- whether or not they employ Grandmas to do the judging I've got no idea....

Continue on with all your negative comments- someone else can answer the silly questions.

[ISUZUROVER]

and who would "they" be

Ever used Google? I suppose now you will say you have never heard of Overlander??? 4WDOTY has only been happening for 25 years - where have you been?

OVERLANDER 4WD OF THE YEAR 2005
Discovery 3 SE wins 4WD of the Year 2005
In the twelve months from December 1 2003 to November 30 2004, there were no fewer than 17 new or revised 4WD models released, all eligible for Overlander 4WD of the Year. Some were hot and some not so hot, while others we knew straight away would be contenders for the title. Overlander's road testers narrowed the field down to seven finalists for 4WDOTY testing and, of them, one wasn't available so it missed the final cut. Here's a quick review of what was new and what made the grade.

The Contenders

Volkswagen Touareg V10 tdi
The Touareg V10 just missed out on the field in 4WDOTY 2003 because it wasn't available here until December. That wasn't a problem for VW as the Touareg V8 went on to take the 2003 4WDOTY and the V10 gives it a second bite in 2004. If the V8 petrol is that good then the V10 tdi must be better, right? Not so. Its 750Nm may be just the ticket for towing, but this monster turbo-diesel is too abrupt in the way it delivers its power off idle and is less of a pleasure to drive than the award-winning V8. The V10 is also only available in top spec $130,000 trim.

Toyota RAV4 2.4L
The RAV4 is one of the sweetest driving compact soft roaders available but was starting to feel the pinch of more powerful, bigger-engined competition. Toyota answered with a bigger, more powerful 2.4- litre VVT-i engine, but even with competitive punch the revamped RAV brought nothing new to the market and wouldn't be a 4WDOTY competitor.

Jeep Cherokee 2.4L
New in the KJ Cherokee range for '04 was a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine. But it's a bit gutless in a vehicle of this weight and is mated to a manual transmission only – with gearing that is way too high. As reported in our road test of the Jeep in the June 2004 issue, it leaves a bit to be desired. Audi allroad V8 Audi's allroad is a sweet touring SUV that truly lives up to its allroad moniker. The V8 engine is driving bliss, but the vehicle's more of a snow road tourer than offroad basher and certainly no Overlander 4WDOTY. Space-saver spare counts against it too, especially after we had a flat with the 18-inch tyres on test in July 2004.

BMW X3
The baby BMW falls in the same category as the allroad, in that it's a beaut tourer, but it has very limited offroad ability. It's too close to X5 in price and size and fails to make the impression that big brother did when it hit the market or even what the second-generation X5 has achieved.

Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute 2.4L
The Escape/Tribute siblings got a new and bigger four-cylinder engine in '04. This was a size increase for the Mazda and the first time a four was offered in Escape. Not as good as the V6 variants of the same vehicles, and would be better with manual transmissions.

HSV Avalanche
Holden Special Vehicles' take on the Adventra is an impressive tourer with heaps of grunt, but with a low body kit and lowprofile high-performance rubber is less of an all-roader than the standard Holden and falls well short of the refinement of say an Audi allroad or a BMW X5.

Mitsubishi Outlander MIVEC
Like the RAV4, the Outlander was a great little soft-roader that was lacking the power to keep up with the likes of Nissan's XTrail. A new MIVEC engine gives it the power it needs, but it's a case of playing catch up rather than leading the pack.

Ssangyong Musso
The Musso is back, this time as a dual cabute, rather than the old wagon, and with a choice of turbo-diesel or petrol engines and arguably the best back seat in its class. But, as a ute it lacks load capacity and a family vehicle it lacks refinement. A compromise all 'round.

Hyundai Tucson
The Tucson is Hyundai's second entry in the compact SUV market and is powered by the same 2.7L V6 as the slightly bigger Santa Fe. It has power, unique looks, loads of features and represents good value for money, but fails to bring anything new to the market or even the class.

Toyota Prado
This is the vehicle that would have been our seventh 4WDOTY finalist but Toyota couldn't supply one. Our biggest criticism of the Prado has always been that you only get the full gamut of DAT technology on the top-spec Grande and then you have to put up with the soggy suspension with air springs at the rear. Toyota partly solved the problem mid-year by releasing the Prado VX which, while still loaded with kit and at the top end of the range, gave buyers Traction and stability control in a Prado with coil springs all round. To put the icing on the cake, petrol Prados received new five-speed auto and six-speed manual transmissions late in the year, but as Overlander was not able to drive one of these vehicles it missed out on the 4WDOTY test.


The Finalists

BMW X5 3.0d
Back for its third year as a 4WDOTY finalist, the new X5 is a second-generation vehicle with a subtle styling facelift, new xDrive 4WD system, new transmissions and more performance from its excellent 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine. We chose the 3.0d as a finalist because, not only does it get the most out of the model upgrade, but it's the best model in the range for Australian touring.

Ford Territory
TS AWD One of the biggest new vehicle launches in 2004 was the Ford Territory. This all-new vehicle does share a few bits with the Ford Falcon, but its unique body differentiates it from the sedan, and its great specification list makes it arguably the best Australian family car ever. We chose the mid-spec TS variant as it offers many of the features of the top-spec Ghia without all the frills and high price tag.

Ssangyong Rexton Sport 270
A bit of a wild card in 4WDOTY, the allnew Rexton offers one generation old, common-rail, turbo-diesel technology, a Mercedes Benz sourced five-speed auto, loads of standard features and new levels of refinement from the Koreans in a sub- $50K wagon. We chose the lower-spec Sport model to keep the price down and improve the value for money factor.

Nissan Patrol ST 3.0di
The GU Patrol got a major facelift in '04 with fresh sheet metal and a new interior, but under the skin it's business as usual with the same engine, driveline and chassis. The 3.0di engine copped a power and Torque increase, but only when mated to the five-speed manual transmission. As this was the most upgraded variant it was our choice as a 4WDOTY finalist.

Land Rover Discovery 3 SE TDV6 and V8
The long awaited, and some say overdue, all-new Discovery arrived just in time to make 4WDOTY. With its choice of three engines, coil or Air suspension and a host of new technologies on board, the Disco 3 should be a big player in the large 4WD wagon segment. The petrol V6 and coilspring models don't go into production until '05 so it was the TDV6 and petrol V8 SE models that got the call up for 4WDOTY duty. The petrol V6 should be eligible in 2005.


The criteria & route
As has been the case for a quarter of a century, the contenders are judged not against one another, but against the award's criteria. Just to show things do change once in a while, last year we introduced a new measure to join the four existing criteria that have been around since day one (1980). We tagged this new measure the 'Overlander Factor'. The Overlander Factor brings together the following elements: genuine 4WD ability; design robustness (underbody protection etc.); touring range; load space/carrying capacity; tyre practicality/ alternate tyre choices; and the potential to fit aftermarket accessories to enhance bush practically. The other four criteria are: Value for Money; Soundness of Engineering; Fulfillment of Intended Function; and Progressiveness of Design. To arrive at a winner, the judges' scores against the five criteria are simply tallied to arrive at a total out of 300 – five criteria, each scored out of ten by six judges.

[grimbo]

Od course I have heard of 4WDOTY but it could have been Overlanders, or 4X4Australia's or 4WD Monthly's or Wheels or any number of magazines or media outlets.

All the original post needed was Land Rover wins XYZs 4WDOTY award. Just trying to point out that sometimes a little more care is needed when posting things

[grimbo]

It's not judged by Wheels..... I used the Wheels award as an example of what it's all about All of those vehicles you mentioned were improvements on the current day design standards when they won BTW.

One of the 4WD mags does the award- whether or not they employ Grandmas to do the judging I've got no idea....

Continue on with all your negative comments- someone else can answer the silly questions.

Finding out what publication he was taling about is not a silly question, not saying what publication is silly

[KuKu]

still hasn't my quetion. What are you talking about? 4WD of the Year from who against what. Doesn't mean anything without a few details

I'm with grimbo here. WTF are you guys on about?

You might be surprised (or disappointed more likely) to find that Australia's biggest selling 4WD magazine has given Disco 3 its gong for 2005.

[dirtyGQ]

Just because it's not rock hopped, doesn't mean it's not an offroader

Come on man, even Jeep's see the beach now and then.

Do you honestly think someone is going to take a 300,000 (whatever they cost) porsche cayenne on the beach, little alone tow a horse with it ?

I don't have anything against the cars, hell if I had the money I would buy one as well - but I would still keep the MQ for the weekend basher.

They are called soft roaders for a reason.

Nah it's true, i spend a lot of time on Fraser Is and Rainbow Beach and there's heaps of HSE's on the beach fangin it around. There's A LOT of $80,000 landcruiser's on the beach, and i've seen a few BMW's and even the Merc on the beach. I've never seen a cayenne, onroad or off i so can't comment on them. If i could afford a new disco i'd get one.

I once spoke with a guy in his new HSE and he said that the company he owns helps him 'buy' one every year and he thrashes it and drives through salt water and fills it with sand and after a year or so he just trades it in on another. There's a lot of guys out there like that, and why would you blame them when a $115,000 4wd is just a '12 month business expense'

Yeh the hse is probably better on the beach than an ifs landcruiser, i have recovered heaps of 100 series v8's at d i and find it hard to take as you can even drive a stock ford rtv on the beach

[dirtyGQ]

Has anyone else seen that promotional CD on the new Discovery? It's a very impressive piece of gear with every possible piece of technology crammed in. Most of that technology is geared towards making it better off road- whether propective owners choose to take it off road is irrelevant to it winning the 4WD award.

Probably a well deserved win IMHO.

Based on my experience of LR electrics it will all break just when you need it most......then you'll be farked in the middle of nowhere witha truck that only works when all it's fancy lecy is working.

I got a 4.2L GQ after guys on here advised me to stay away from the problem ridden 3L patrol and I'm happy as...........solid reliable, mechanical truck that can be fixed in the bush.......if not by me then by any bush mechanic.

New Disco is very G'hey

Oh yeah and the promo CD.......it's an advert........what do expect.......them to tell you how it really is???

Hey i agree if you want a nice drive car buy a statesman or mercedes they have all the mod cons electronics don't go to well with salt and dust.
It is amazing how many of these people go to the beach in there hse 's and 100 series ifs
and don't even take a tyre gauge or snatch strap . It would be nice if they came up with a capable 4wd that was like a car to drive though

[KuKu]

Has anyone else seen that promotional CD on the new Discovery? It's a very impressive piece of gear with every possible piece of technology crammed in. Most of that technology is geared towards making it better off road- whether propective owners choose to take it off road is irrelevant to it winning the 4WD award.

Probably a well deserved win IMHO.

Based on my experience of LR electrics it will all break just when you need it most......then you'll be farked in the middle of nowhere witha truck that only works when all it's fancy lecy is working.

I got a 4.2L GQ after guys on here advised me to stay away from the problem ridden 3L patrol and I'm happy as...........solid reliable, mechanical truck that can be fixed in the bush.......if not by me then by any bush mechanic.

New Disco is very G'hey

Oh yeah and the promo CD.......it's an advert........what do expect.......them to tell you how it really is???

Hey i agree if you want a nice drive car buy a statesman or mercedes they have all the mod cons electronics don't go to well with salt and dust.
It is amazing how many of these people go to the beach in there hse 's and 100 series ifs
and don't even take a tyre gauge or snatch strap . It would be nice if they came up with a capable 4wd that was like a car to drive though

Don't hold your breath. The things that make a 4WD capable offroad are the same things that make it ordinary on-road. A 4WD is a 4WD, a road car is a road car, and never the twain shall meet.

[Rangie ute on 38'']

they keep saying that id have a patrol ute over that ne day cause everything is mechanical and fixable in the bush, this type of cars suits the type of buyer that doesnt have that sort of mind set. if your were in the market for some thing of the above youd go for a defender, nothing is as mechanical and practical as these breed of truck.

so dont harp on about it cause there two different vehicles for two dif markets. the electrics and wizz bang gizmos in a datsun x trail is every bit as valnerable, just like a 100 series sahara. i think people just cry and need to wipe there chin cause they get upset by a trend setter that always sets the bench mark.

look at traction control everyone said ohhh nah its shit cause its in a discovery 11 and its to unreliable blahh electric blahh, then startes getting copied into jap cars like the cruisers. ohh nah its great works well itll defineately be the way of the future(to late cause land rover already set the bench mark). shooten your self in the foot

[RockyF75]

look at traction control everyone said ohhh nah its shit cause its in a discovery 11 and its to unreliable blahh electric blahh, then startes getting copied into jap cars like the cruisers. ohh nah its great works well itll defineately be the way of the future(to late cause land rover already set the bench mark). shooten your self in the foot

i have traction control, its called 1st gear low... and if the going REALLY gets tough, its the middle pedal old school forbies will always be the best

[juzzy]

This all sounds liks a bunch of girls with tall poppy sindrome.

[bad_religion_au]

they keep saying that id have a patrol ute over that ne day cause everything is mechanical and fixable in the bush, this type of cars suits the type of buyer that doesnt have that sort of mind set. if your were in the market for some thing of the above youd go for a defender, nothing is as mechanical and practical as these breed of truck.

so dont harp on about it cause there two different vehicles for two dif markets. the electrics and wizz bang gizmos in a datsun x trail is every bit as valnerable, just like a 100 series sahara. i think people just cry and need to wipe there chin cause they get upset by a trend setter that always sets the bench mark.

look at traction control everyone said ohhh nah its shit cause its in a discovery 11 and its to unreliable blahh electric blahh, then startes getting copied into jap cars like the cruisers. ohh nah its great works well itll defineately be the way of the future(to late cause land rover already set the bench mark). shooten your self in the foot

until you realise your factory traction control sucks in sand or whereever and just cuts power instead of letting a little wheelslip to get you through.

[modman]

not true about sand and traction control, how can you bag a vehicle you haven't driven or been in or watched offroad .
apparently in the 4wd monthly 4wd of the year the d3 belly dragged itself un a sandhill a full length further than a 4.2 td patrol.
when all tyres were freely spinning, the driver selected reverse and backed out.
it is all about what the spin doctors write and 95% of the members on this forum know a few aftermarket modifications would see the patrol win offroad (my opinion)
hopefully the technology filters down in a very usable form for long term reliability and ruggedness.
my 2c GAME ON
david

[Rangie ute on 38'']

dont worry i agree that old school forbies are the way, but for a factory fitted traction aid it pisses all over every thing else, if you wanna see how it works watch micka's defender calve up everyone else on the tracks in brisbane. dont bag it until youve actually driven a factory car with it. even though nothing beats twin lockers

[Slunnie]

Yep, twin lockers is the go, but there isn't a lot between Disco2 ETC and a single rear locker. Sometimes the ETC is better, sometimes the rear locker is better. As for sand, even in the soft stuff the ETC is no problem, it barely flickers. In hard packed sand it does stop you from getting stuck in the crossed up holes where others have been stuck.

Its funny, and I say this having been on both sides of the fence. There are the "Neanderthals" that like stuff that can be fixed, and "technophiles" that drive in comfort, without wheelspin, without sweating, without smoking clutches, without flooding carbies, in airconditioned comfort etc.

Do you seriously think a new car is less reliable? Not from my experiences, and I even upgraded to a LandRover!!!

BTW, LandRovers pet "Lucas" was upgraded to BMW's pet "Bosch".

[Micka]

If you look back to 2003, I think you will find that 4WDMonthly featured a section on the best innovations of the year. Guess what was one of them?


Traction Control.....by Haultech Engineering.

Its here to stay...may as well embrace it.

Micka

[Micka]

I'm pretty sure that the Lockless Monster had Traction Control at Tuff Truck, too.

Ruff will correct me if I am wrong, but I am sure it had the Haultech TC.

Go the Landies

Micka

[Strange Rover]

You can get a rear locker in the disco as a factory option - all computer controlled and stuff and Im sure the Disco they tested has this option.

The disco basically won cause its got air bags and independent suspension so it drives very well on road and its got airbags that it can cross link to get decent articulation and a centre diff lock and a rear locker to make it drive well off road.

Oh yea - and its got a 6 speed automatic with a 4.17:1 first gear which gives it an overall crawl ratio of 45:1 which is about as perfect as you can get (most US comp buggies with 40in tyres run 50:1)

The difference between the standard ride height and the off road ride height about 3inches.

So anybody who thinks this is a soft off road machine should look again cause the only thing that will slow it down would be the 18in alloys

Sam

[grazza]

Thanks for reminding me Sam. so how is the TRC coming along as a purchasable product? Getting close?

[Micka]

45:1

Bastards....my fender is only 40:1

Oh, well...have to call Maxi-drive or Ascroft in the morning.

Its gettin expensive keepin up with these bloody Joneseses.

Micka

[DARTHrover]

the d3 belly dragged itself un a sandhill a full length further than a 4.2 td patrol.

and the D3 is a fair bit heaver!

[Strange Rover]

45:1

Bastards....my fender is only 40:1

Oh, well...have to call Maxi-drive or Ascroft in the morning.

Its gettin expensive keepin up with these bloody Joneseses.

Micka

Yes - but that 45:1 is with an automatic gearbox which equates to something closer to 100:1 with your manual. Basically at 45:1 with the auto there would never be an instant where you would want to crawl slower.

Just as a bit of a side note I had a look on google to try to find some RTI figures and came across this site. Ive only downloaded the suspension flex vid but its fairly fawkin funny these guys wheeling a stock disco3. I do think it does have a fair amount of flex if you watch the rear tyre it stuffs it well into the guard (centre line of the wheel above the bottom of the slider) and when it droops out the top pf the tyre gets to where the centre line was so it would have say 14inches of articulation measured at the wheel. It would do this front and rear cause it runs the same sort of setup with the cross linked airbags. Now this sort of flex would be good for the rear of a live axled vehicle and better than most radius arm live front axled vehicles. And this sort of flex is amazing for something with independent suspension all round.

http://www.uae4x4.com/vids/lr3.htm

Sam

[Strange Rover]

Thanks for reminding me Sam. so how is the TRC coming along as a purchasable product? Getting close?

Fawkin slow - WE Rock is taking up everybodies spare time ATM.

Sam

[Bitsamissin]

Yes the D3 is an amazing truck no doubt about that.
But don't confuse 14" of IFS/IRS wheel travel as creamin your pants stuff.
If you want to know why read Overlander's Sept edition on a Defender vs Disco 3 live axle / IFS comparo. The IFS flexes well but when a wheel compresses the body leans (reducing ground clearance) bringing the other side up leaving the wheel dangling in the air even with all that travel. The Defender easily grounds the drooped wheel as the body stays level.
It is impressive from a showroom floor truck but in the real world without the traction aids a live axle Patrol would eat it offroad.
The potential for offroad mods has to be questioned as well - running 18" tyres I could just imagine how good all the traction aid gizmo's would work on Vic Range track in pissing rain on road tyres
Going from a heavily modified IFS to a live axle conversion I can honestly say the live axle is FAR more capable, more comfortable and shit loads more stable. Sure the IFS went very well but did it much harder with way more abuse on the truck not to mention being chucked around in the cab

[Hobes]

If new 4bys start coming out with traction aids, I wonder if this will eventually make the difflock market redundant?

I mean, why would you bother trying to improve on something as capable as the disco 3?