Where have the real 4x4's gone "`In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men
were REAL men, women were REAL women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were REAL small furry creatures from Aplha Centauri.'"
- Douglas Adams - 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'
addendum
"And large 4x4's were REAL large 4x4's"
- zaphod
Once in a while , I turn on the telly and flick through the channels , and sometimes on NatGeo or of of the other Science Channels, you see this wonderful sight of a Land Rover Defender or Landcruiser making it's way through the Sahara on some expedition.
Back here in India , we have some decent 4x4's - the Mahindra
MM540/550 series , the Classics (though I've heard that they were pretty unreliable) and the Gypsy - but here I'm not looking for a vehicle to go mudplugging in - I'd love to but where are the places ?
On the other hand , I do love the mountains , my family made a trip in our Armada 4x4 to Kalpa, Chitkul and up as far as Tabo, Sadly that extremely defective vehicle's steering failed and we had a godawful accident ..... I used a walker for 2 months and then a crutch for a year... (Note to self : Please kill the designers and engineers who designed that POS Armada)
Then apart from the twice a year jaunts to Manali or Mcleod , I have only been on one long trip - Delhi-Manali-Keylong-Leh and Back - all the way by the HP/JK RTC buses - cheap and fun - living like a backpacker , Floyd playing on the discman, cream burning slowly in the Rizla, whiskey in the glasses , a starry sky , a landscape out of a fantasy and the mighty river Indus meandering through the rugged mountains.
And now I want to go back , some of us schoolmates are planning a trip this June, but this time I want drive myself - cheaper than renting taxis up in the hills and far more freedom than busing it , and I need a mid sized 4x4 which is reliable, can be fixed easily and is large enough for 6 people and luggage (i'm not talking stuffing people sardine can style in a Qualis).
So before I settled on a Baleno, I looked at our neighbours '87 Landcruiser and an Embassy disposal '94 Patrol but was deterred by the cost and trouble if anything went wrong - especially in the middle of nowhere.
Then comes the Endeavour - Even if we could afford one at the moment , it's still not something you could take on a trip where you live like a stinking hippy, besides the $$$$ factor.
So I keep on wondering , why can't one of the car majors make a mid size 4x4 without the eye candy and fancy stuff - no leather, no stereo, no slick dash's , maybe even no power windows - stripped down interior, everything down to the minimum except the engine and the 4x4 ability - make it available with steel rims, take out the fake wood - whatever.
I want the Indian equivalent of the Defender - basic yet not too shabby.
And priced somewhere around the 7L mark .
So come on Toyota - get a new 4x4 ready on your IMV platform - not a carlike MPV Innova but a proper (and the looks matter , I'm ashamed to say) , rugged looking 4x4 .
Ford - strip down your endeavour or introduce the Ranger KingCab
Mahindra - I don't trust you , I',m sorry
Tata - You can do it - you once showed the Sumo Army 4x4 and it seemed like something I'd like.
The only one I can find which is the nearest to my requirements is the Tempo Trax Judo .... but I want something a tad more reliable .
So where have the proper 4x4's gone ? All we have are some rather dated ones or some rather 'plasticky' which you don't feel like
getting any dirt on.......
As a citizen of a land so vast and with such a varied terrain - I demand my birthright to have a affordable 'expedition class' 4x4 !
......musings of a lonely man wishing for the mountains.
zaphod
Last edited by zaphod : 5th April 2005 at 22:30.
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