View From A Safe Place

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday August 22, 2008

Rod Easdown

Whether you want a used 4WD for off-road or city driving, always check what lies beneath.

Buying a used four-wheel-drive was once a daunting task. You spent most of the time underneath the vehicle looking for damage caused by stones, branches and other obstacles that off-roaders encounter. Now, many 4WD owners would have an attack of the vapours on beholding a dirt road.

We still suggest a detailed under-body search on vehicles such as Patrols, LandCruisers and anything fitted with a snorkel, a winch or an extra spare wheel, otherwise the toughest conditions most 4WDs encounter these days are schoolyard tussles with other 4WDs.

Mothers (and lots of fathers, too) like the big vehicles because they feel safe in them. They know that if they are involved in a collision they and their children have a lot of metal between them and the mayhem; the elevated seating position also gives them a commanding view of what's going on.

So, in Sydney's dog-eat-dog traffic, vehicles such as these make perfect sense, never mind the thirst for fuel, expensive servicing and growing social stigma attached to driving anything larger than a Prius.

Now the term "compact 4WD" or "soft-roader" is a bit of a misnomer because these things are actually quite big - they are just not as big as those great hunks of iron that qualify for the large tag. So before you buy one, be absolutely sure you are comfortable in it because these things can be quite intimidating.

A test drive should include traffic and a supermarket car park to see just how difficult it may be to squeeze into a tight spot. Try reverse parking, too, because unless it has a rear parking camera, rear vision is often an issue.

There's a small possibility that the vehicle you are looking at will have done some off-roading, especially if it's a Subaru Forester or Nissan X-Trail, both of which are popular buys for off-roading. Off-roading is hard on smaller vehicles and lowers their value substantially. Be very wary of company cars, as many fleets use smaller 4WDs for rough work.

If you are not sure of the vehicle's history, take a look underneath for bangs, gashes and dents. If the wheel bearings are noisy it's possible they have suffered water damage. Tyres often tell a story, especially the spare, which will likely show the most damage (which is why it has been safely tucked under a cover).

Servicing is vital and there should be a full history done according to the manufacturer's specifications. Owners often skimp on servicing because it isn't cheap; with all wheels driven, there's lots of additional hardware down there that requires regular maintenance.

An important test is checking on the constant velocity joints, complex things that allow the front wheels to drive as well as steer. Find a vacant parking lot, put the steering in full lock and slowly drive in a few circles. Now do it in the other direction.

If you hear clicking from the front wheels it's likely the CV joints are on their way out and they are very expensive to replace.

Finally, lift the carpets and look for signs of neglect. You may find food scraps from kids or you may find dust or sand from an outback trip. Take a close look at the trim and upholstery in the rear for unusual wear from kids or animals.

2004 TOYOTA RAV4

We wouldn't recommend these for off-roading - they are built for the city, with light, easy controls and user-friendly road manners, making them an easy transition from a conventional car. They have all of Toyota's fabled reliability and if you look hard you'll find a few short-wheelbase variants around with three doors rather than five. Strangely, these seem to cost as much as the five-door models. It's possible to find some high-distance examples for less than $20,000 but good ones with about 50,000km are mostly about $25,000.

2004 NISSAN X-TRAIL

These are a particular favourite of ours, being well-made, well-equipped and well-priced. And given Nissan's long heritage in 4WD vehicles, if you feel like the odd foray into the bush an X-Trail is a lot better at it than most soft-roaders. For all of that, the vehicle is reasonably easy to drive and park. There are a few quite reasonable examples around with higher distances for $20,000 and less, otherwise good ones with about 50,000km are mostly between $23,000 to $24,000.

2004 HONDA CR-V

These have become something of a cult car among cool mothers - as with D&G sunglasses and Sass & Bide jeans, they are very much items to be seen in. We are not sure what the attraction is because they are not markedly better than anything else here but they possess Honda's excellent build quality. They are also easy to drive but don't buy one for off-roading. Good examples with lower distances are anything from $26,000 to $30,000, otherwise CR-Vs with higher distances are mostly $22,000 to $25,000.

2004 SUBARU FORESTER

These aren't cheap but they are very well, made and reasonably tough. They can handle outback roads as comfortably as a trip down to the shops. They take a little time to get used to after a conventional car. Look for off-road damage. There are usually some well-travelled examples available in the low $20,000 range but good Foresters with about 50,000km are priced from $27,000 to more than $30,000.

VERDICT

If you want one of these for city driving and envisage no rough or off-road work, the RAV4 is the value pick and we can't see much return in spending the extra that a CR-V demands. But if you'd like to try the odd bit of off-roading, the X-Trail is the choice here, combining good ability, easy driving and value.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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