Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 10:11
There's one simple reason that stops me from buying a Prado - despite being a Toyota man since 1981 - and that is the ridiculous pricing and resale of the Prados.
They are the most over-priced 4WD you could buy, with a price premium of $10,000 - 15,000 more than many other 4WD's.
There are 20 other 4WD's you could buy that present far better value for the money, that will do the job admirably.
Diesel is the only choice for outback, long-distance travel, that involves towing.
If you want to see fuel disappear at a staggering rate, buy a big petrol engine, travel at high speed or tow some weight!
I'm concerned, however, about the trend to ever-smaller engine sizes in the diesels in the last few years.
You need a minimum of 3 litres in a diesel to ensure adequate power for overtaking and towing.
Rollovers are caused by too high speeds for the conditions, coupled with inadequate driver skills.
Far too many people do not have the skills to correct properly from a vehicle upset caused by hitting a large pothole, or indulging in excessive swerving when trying to avoid something.
The classic situation that has caused the largest percentage of rollovers is running off the bitumen into the gravel shoulder, then swerving excessively to get back on the sealed section, thus causing a broadside, that the driver is unable to correct, due to slow reflexes, or too severe a swerve in the first place.
I don't care what vehicle you own, a simple lack of corrective driving skills when regaining control of a sliding vehicle, will see any vehicle travelling at high speed, roll over.
I learnt how to correct properly and easily from slides and drifts, as a
young bloke in the early 1960's, when 95% of the country roads were unsealed - they were deeply rutted - and slippery gravel was the order of the day.
We owned and drove old Holden utes that were so light in the tail when empty, they would go sideways in an instant on any sharp bend on gravel roads. You soon learnt how to correct gravel road slides without rolling over.
The early learning of this skill has ensured I have never rolled a vehicle of any type, in over 50 yrs of driving - and I've covered over 2,500,000 kms on every road condition imaginable - and I've owned dozens of unstable 4WD vehicles - Landrovers included!
Too many people today simply have no gravel-road driving experience or skills. I don't care what you drive - if you have inadequate vehicle control skills, you will end up putting any vehicle on its roof, as soon as you encounter adverse road conditions at speed.
Cheers, Ron.
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