Do you belive the 4x4 magazines

Richard in reply to your question "Is it a simple fact that none of them know what they are talking about?" The answer is obvious - NO!! They are there to sell magazines nothing more, nothing less. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. They are journalists after all. They are not engineers or tradies or people who drive utes for a living. Most importantly - THEY DONT PAY FOR WHAT THEY DRIVE. As a result they dont suffer the consequences of paying for a lemon. As long as we all understand that, they do a good job entertaining us.

Methinks the main criteria with these magazines is the Advertisers who pay for their space and therefore get a good scribe. There doesn't appear to be any specific series of test criteria applied consistently when evaluating a vehicle's performance and value for money.

As for the best 4x4 ute: It's the one you've got of course.

Take the latest Mitsy Triton for instance. As far as owners are concerned, they are modern, stylish designs that appease one's eye.

To other people, they are the ugliest, most impractical looking utility vehicle to be turned out in aeons.

Me, I gave up buying and reading these mags quite some time ago.

Hi Richard

I liked pages 26/27 - story about two near identical 80 series.

On page 27 line 2 mag says "Both run same 285 BFG Mud Terrains"

Next to this is photo in which one has Cooper ST and other has BFG AT.

Robin Miller

The only mag I buy these days is overlander.

All the best
Eric

I cannot believe this - you guys rubbishing the rags .

They drive me crazy too , but every month , I by at least two of them . I keep thinking that there will be something good each time .

The eternal optimist .

Richard,

Quote at end of your post: "And what is the best 4x4 ute. "

Answer: Nissan Patrol Dual Cab with 6.5 Chev V8 Diesel....

ahahahahaha

Don't get sucked in by the magazines as they are dictated to by the market and advertising dollars. At the end of the day some of those vehicles above wouldn't make a round trip around Australia without falling apart.!

The good vehicles will always be the good ones and we know which ones are being bought and which ones comeback from the outback time and time again.!

Do your own drive tests and listen to these forums, then read the Magazines for the pictures and fun..!

Remember, the best vehicle is the one that best suits you and your budget..! After that it has to be the Hilux and the Navara..!

He He..!

I agree. The comparisons I have been interested in generally have been most unreliable and contradictory from one issue to another even when the same "journo's" contribute to the story. One example I recall was about the GU 4 Patrol where it was stated the rear view mirrors were too small. When I measured the Cruiser, Pajero and Land Rover they were all on a par. Then they went on to say there is hardly enough room for second battery when in fact on the left side you can install an N70Z with room to spare. Also they said the fuel filter was hard to access when it is on the right to the rear of the battery and is looking at you. Another issue stated the ZD30 was becoming dated when at the time it was 5 years old and no mention of the TD42 which had been around since the year do until 2007. One magazine went in to great detail to do a comparison on QH driving lamps even being so "scientific" as to ensure the applied voltage was the same for each test. The winner uses this article vigorously to promote it's products. What they failed to conveniently overlook was the minor detail that all pairs of lamps tested were in the combination of one pencil beam and one spread beam except the winning combination which used two pencil beams. There is a code for these magazines print and it is called C-R-A-P.

"Do you believe the 4x4 magazines"????

ROTFLMAO now thats funny.
They aren't worth wiping your ar$e with.

Pure crap with results motivated purely by advertising dollars.

I remember a year or two ago one of them declaring the then new Disco 3 four wheel drive of the year and when I said on this forum that it was obviously biased by the advertising taken out by Landrover someone replied that there was no adverts for the Disco 3 in the mag and it could not possibly be the case.
Well they were right I guess, the add was not in the mag but actually the full back cover and remained for the next 3 issues to my knowledge.

I love my mags and can't get enough but you do need to read between the lines and use the info to help you make up your own mind rathet than have blind faith in what is being stated/claimed. If for example all of us who reply to this thread were lined up to try say 6 different rigs, I would find it hard to believe we would all agree on the pecking order. A lot depends on what you see as the most important attributes in a rig. How the test is cionducted and for how long also has a massive effect on conclusions. For example, it is easy to see why the navara finsihed where it did on the 4wdmonthly test as it was lucky to even get to the finished line due to a smashed transfer case. That doesn't mean its no good, but if your requirements are for a lot of off road work on rocky trails, you'd certainly want to consider it. In both cases, not all the testers agreed unanimously on the winner either, using a point system to decide the winner (just like the brownlow lol).

Of course, this is just my opinion. Gotta go get the latest roverlander.

Which manufacturer spends the most money on advertising?

Have a look at what others are driving where you will go. You won't see too many Mazdas out bush.

Nearly wrecked the radiator and aircon cooler bottoming out in a Mazda Bravo. I hope they have fixed that problem, they have to live up to "Ute of the Year" status now.

Barnesy

I had a subscription to 4x4 Monthly which I let lapse. I only bought it at the show for the free stauns and the best part was the adds.

But there are lots of good uses for them:

Joining 2 snatch straps
Fire Lighters
Emergency loo paper
Propping up the corner of the stove stand or camp table on uneven ground
Padding between the nested small and big bedouries
Insulation under your camping matress etc etc

Pete

In one of those reviews they said the worst points about the Hilux was a small back window( I had to go out to my garage and look to have a look cause in the 10k I have driven it I hadn`t even noticed) and the centre rear seat belt is only a lap belt.

I also like how the nav and bt50 swap places for last must be a real love hate thing

Cya
Stu

I currently get the 4x4monthly and do enjoy some of the reads, but I never take notice of best 4x4, ute of the car etc etc as its to subjective and to me narrow fields of reference.

I do like the "how to" articles and I do read the tests on say the spot lights, fridges etc. These articles at least give you an idea what's about and in the end it's up to you to decide where you put your $$$.

Same as setting up dual batteries, making an awning and how people have set up their respective rigs.

As someone said hereabouts you do need to read between the lines.

I will say I get a bit tired reading about Nissan and Toyota's all the time (not looking at starting a debate) but it was nice to read about a Rodeo for a change mainly because I got one :).

I'll still read them for awhile yet.

Brian

it would be interesting to get joe blogs of the street with no experience with a 4wd to drive them all and see what they pick.they all have good and bad,the mihindra has valve caps on they tyres ,thats good,a ssanyong has the right amount of wheel nuts to studs,thats good to.when i got my current 4wd i let my wife check them and pick .i already had mine picked out being a toyota mechanic,lucky she picked the same,yes we got a navara,at least i can drive it without knowing all the things that can go wrong . its been off road a fair bit,i must be doing it wrong,i havnt caused anything but minor damage yet.

I get a little annoyed because they claim to be helping the consumer choose the most useful goods with the best value.

On the other hand they advertise Hiclowns and other fuel saver gadgets that are known not to work,at least by any thinking person and backed up by motoring organisations.

Im waiting for some clown to jump up and say his fuel saver gives him 8.675% better fuel economy and he can feel an extra 6.8879% power:rolleyes:

Now let's see
One puts the Ford ahead of the Mazda, the other reverses this. That can't be right - the Ford incarnations of Mazda vehicles are always inferior because Ford always uses cheaper parts like shockers to cut costs.

One puts the Mahindra ahead of 4 other vehicles - that's got to be the joke of the century. For a start, it has no airbags. The SSanyong leaves the Mahindra for dead, even in looks, and that's saying something! But you could argue that the Mahindra looks better than the Triton.......

That should be proof enough of the rubbish they write.

I have been amused for years by such articles, both for 4WD and cars - the best time to get the real facts is just after the model is updated, when they write such things as "the new model AUII has bigger brakes, which addresses the problem that the AU couldn't stop", after the AU review a year earlier stated "this car has fantastic brakes"

It's best to buy the one you like. Just don't get to like the Mahindra.....

The Magazines should take the vehicles around Australia and report truthfully on reliability issues, dust absorbsion, rattles, perhaps even compression testing before and after , oil useage, all things mechanical, then report that and leave the driving tests to someone else. I don't think I have ever seen this done but isn't this what everyone would like..? Otherwise you buy the vehicle based on what these guys say about it's driving habits and then after 2 years ownership or 4 years you are welcomed to the world of mechanical and design issues , reliability issues etc that were never reported to begin width.

I asked the same thing 3yrs ago on their spotlight testing - which was exactly the same as you've done

one maggo had brand 1 in #1 and brand 2 last, also 3 page spread of ads and you could win a set
other maggo had different brand 2 #1 and brand 1 last , also 3 page spread of ads and you could win a set

Havent bought a maggo in 3odd years. rather burn the money.

I have never seen a subjective review in any of them. If that is why you are buying them you may as well save you money and buy a new toy for the 4by. They don't even make good fire starters. The wife insists on buying them though. Very quick for me to read as I skip all product reviews. I suppose doing your own research is still the best way to go. As for the vehicles just buy the one you like to drive best. If it doesn't hack the pace sell it and try the next best one. Eventually you will end up with the one a lot of the farmers/tradesman use. How-tos are usually pretty good though.

Steve

Mate, you obviously haven't figured it out yet. A Journalist will only tell you what he wants to and what he's paid to, not what you want or need to know. Get it!

Gaday Richard. Back to your question which is the best ute? Taking looks out of the equation I've been comparing the big 3 & would put Triton # 1, Navara # 2 & Hilux # 3. (& I drive a Toyota)
I based this on usable power, ability to tow a load, price, offroad ability, features & driver comfort.
The current Triton has upraded to coil front end & leaf over axle giving reasonable clearance & angles. Although on paper it's not the most powerfull it does have excellent torque at lower revs combined with a gearbox that makes it the best diesel for towing.
Most rear seat space, nice dash layout & an electric locking limited slip diff good both offroad & on. Add in the generous warrenty & the cheaper than most price it's pretty well featured.
Haven't looked at the others closely so couldn't comment.
As for the mags take little notice & go drive them for yourself. Often it's what they dont say about a car that is important. For example the new V8 cruiser wagon is one of the poorest cars Toyota has released yet barely a negative comment has been printed.
Cheers Craig...................