Are 4WDs becoming too high tech for the Bush?

[Jaymboze Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jaymboze]

My brother in law just bought a Ranger and he loves it. Although he rarely drives off road, he likes his 4wds.
Went for a spin in it and I have to say that it felt bloody awful to me.
Drives like his old 90s hilux, which was crap.
Don't no how well they are off road, but it's not my cup of tea...

[shodown Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shodown]

So what's wrong with the Rangers guys?

I've heard mixed reviews, more negative than positive.

Saw a notice of a Ranger busting a diff doing 110 on the highway.....

[AussieAndy Find all posts View Profile Close AussieAndy]

I actually like driving the new ranger better than any other new 4wd ute on the market. Would I buy one, no. I just dont think they will last the test of time, I also question how ruggedly they are built. They are a nice drive on the road though in my oppinion.

[kav Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close kav]

Does that apply to the moon rover too?

They didn't tow it home . May be Richard Branson could start up an inter galactic towing and salvage company . Maybe call it inter galactic virgin salvage .

[Beach Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beach]

I'll take the high tech Jap over a high or low tech pommy or American piece of driving excellence .

Very valid point.

[Beach Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beach]

I seem to recall this discussion when fuel injection and cars with CPU's became mainstream. Now look where we are!

[pete8205 Member Find all posts View Profile Close pete8205]

so is the rover and now the ranger the most disliked on the forum?
If there no good why do the mines buy them over the other dual cab options? I don't think because there cheaper otherwise they never would have brought the Toyotas in the first place?

[AussieAndy Find all posts View Profile Close AussieAndy]

Ancap ratings, thats all

[Australian Member Find all posts View Profile Close Australian]

I hate the push to start and keyless entry. Just more things to go wrong and more load to drain the battery faster. Sadly with most sales geared towards soccer mums this is becoming the new norm.

[Beach Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beach]

I hate the push to start and keyless entry. Just more things to go wrong and more load to drain the battery faster. Sadly with most sales geared towards soccer mums this is becoming the new norm.

Agreed. This is the stuff that sales and marketing types, wet dreams are made of.

Even more astonishing is how easily people are sucked in by "the shiny thing" syndrome.

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

so is the rover and now the ranger the most disliked on the forum?
If there no good why do the mines buy them over the other dual cab options? I don't think because there cheaper otherwise they never would have brought the Toyotas in the first place?

Apparently some mines that have gone for the Rangers and starting to rethink their decisions due to the repair cost factor...... It appears that Toyotas are one of the few makes that can handle the abuse, but in saying that, they can't handle the abuse the same as the Toyotas of old..... All 4WD's are becoming softer and more geared to on road characteristics because that's where the Safety is leading and its also where the money is....

In regards to disliking Rangers / Rovers, I wonder how many people are talking from 1st hand experience and not a mate of a mate had this go wrong, etc, etc... You go to these other forums and they are saying the same thing about Toyota's..... but I read something recently on the Rover site that the majority agreed that Toyota "are" more reliable in the fact that Toyota's can handle "lack of Maintenance better" than Rovers. Apparently u need to be fairly diligent with Rover Maintenance if u want a trouble free motoring in Rovers..... but for offroad ability, etc, that the Rovers were far better (talking about Defenders here). It also came down to knowing your car and the Defenders "apparently" must be more on the basic side of things and therefore easier to repair. For those that truly use them as they were intended, very few of them ever had any major troubles that prevented them from completing their journeys.... This is what I've gathered from reading various posts on the Rover Forum.......

I'm going to reserve my opinion at this point in time as I've recently purchased an old '96 Disco Tdi for a bit of a play toy in the bush.... After reading many. many posts about the TDi engines, if u look after them and service them properly, they will give u many years of faithful service. I read quite a few posts where owners have gotten over 1,000,000kms out of their engines..... Not bad for a 4cyl engine in such a large vehicle....

Let the bagging begin

[Toy4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toy4x4]

Went out with a ranger and BT-50 last week, unimpressed with both of them to be honest they both seemed to struggle with traction where the Prado and Disco 3 sailed through, I can't speak for anyone else but dragging my arse on the ground through steep terrains isn't my idea of fun

You pay a lot for the ranger and bt-50 for not a whole lot of car,if I were to buy one it would be the BT-50 as you do get factory rear diff lock while you only get it in the top of the range ranger.

I prefer my Prado it only cost me 30k it's relatively easy to repair it does the job bloody well great on and off road and it's only as complicated as I make it

[Roochard Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Roochard]

Back to the question......Modern 4WD's are way more reliable being high tech. Not the same break downs as the older ones.

[nikE Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close nikE]

I believe the business model behind the design and manufacture of vehicles has changed dramatically since Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth'; engines now running lower viscosity oils on lower density fuels. Not built for the long haul, but instead to meet emissions standards and cater to a generation who can't see past a 3 year dealer warranty.

Or maybe I'm wearing a tin-foil hat.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

I believe the business model behind the design and manufacture of vehicles has changed dramatically since Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth'; engines now running lower viscosity oils on lower density fuels. Not built for the long haul, but instead to meet emissions standards and cater to a generation who can't see past a 3 year dealer warranty.

Or maybe I'm wearing a tin-foil hat.

I don't think its just cars, we are a throw away society, technology changes so fast that things are obsolete before they are released!

I recall on the radio a few years they had people calling with the oldest electrical appliance they had, one guy called in and said his parent just had to replace their fridge that from memory they bought in the 1930's, it was still keeping things cool but the door hinges had worn out and they couldn't get replacements Those days are long gone unfortunately.

Cheers Andrew