i am going to try to be as subtle as possible here
i been offroading for years in my parents patrols and landcruisers. that is where i got my start in offroading from
and i know how capable my subaru is BUT its still not a car designed for offroading...not that im standing up for ANYBODY on this topic but just making a point or two
the most recent car i borrowed off parents was their 100 series v8 landcruiser with well over 3 or 4 grand in suspension and tyres and all that jizz jazz
YES it is a heavy brick of a car and YES it will not climb sand hills and some things like that as easy as the subarus will due to weight factor
BUT i have taken the thing more places then i would ever even contemplate taking the subaru due to many reasons.
one track i have done it the gibb river road and kalumburu road north of WA in the kimberly. this is known as one of the most trechorous and dangerous tracks in australia. it has claimed thousands and thousands of cars over the years and ive done it successfully twice now in the cruiser and came out without a single break or rattle even develop. in this situation i would not ever take a subaru there...just for the sheer fact that its unbeleivable terrain for the whole 800 kms odd worth of track and i fear the subaru will just fall apart before i finish the track. especially the kalumburu part of the track. having said that i have seen subarus up there and i have seen subarus break up there.
another track ive done here in a cruiser is the canning stock route...which again you will never see me in a subaru along this trecherous road. one reason is the size of them...youll never be able to pack the car enough to carry all the essentials u need and simply put...i think a subaru wil just shake apart.
having said all this. i LOVE me subaru...i can usually take my cars anywhere i point them without any problems
but sometimes we all have to realise that the "REAL" 4x4's do have a very very big advantage over the subarus as this is what they are designed for.
yes subarus may impress and show off.. but efffort is a LOT more, more prone to breaking things and simply put....there is several places i could show off but would not do it over and over again caus the soob may just break...where as the cruiser would have cruised over it easy as pie
like i said...im VERY proud of my subaru but we cant exclude the fact that the bigger cars are far better designed and are in the end...gonna out run a subaru in a few situations...but also keeping that in mind....given the oppurtunity...i would still take my subaru over the cruiser any day...simply caus its more challenging and fun taking it.. and at the end of the day u have the satisfaction knowing you have just taken a subaru somewhere that normally only big offroaders go
*runs and hides in anticipation*
dave
No desert crossing for subies
no more subarus
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All the posts on this topic do have both good points and bad, and being no expert on this matter whatsoever makes my 2c just an observation. We probably own our Subarus today because we know what they can do, how to improve them, how WE drive them and how other drivers react to seeing one negotiating the same terrain as they have, albeit in their much larger, shiny new Patrols, Landcruisers, Jeeps etc.. But commonsense will eventually win in any arguement, and who can say how their next offroading trip will turn out without putting some thought into it?
The fact of it is that a Subaru can(within reason)go places other 4wd vehicles go, with a certain degree of comfort and performance that comes from knowing what you, as a driver, and your vehicle are capable of. Recently I bragged about showing up my brother and his Triton, well that day is one of a hundred kickbutt days that came of hours tinkering and improving and testing both myself and the wagon....what I failed to include in my bragging was that my brother was the one person who urged me to follow in his footsteps and buy a Subi like he did in his youth, and find out for myself just what an awesome machine they can be. Add to this that he sat beside me the whole time we made our way along an ugly washed out trail and eventually congratulated me for showing more than just a yahoo, bull at the gate attitude while 4wdriving.
(he did, however, show me the opposite side of his personality the following day, but who can comfortably travel through mud, rocks pines trees and sand at 140k/hr and expect their passenger to listen to their moaning about scratches, a few dents and a broken taillight without rolling of eyes and roaring laughter?!!!)
Just remember, mankind ventured into space in little more than a battery powered tin can the first time...
The fact of it is that a Subaru can(within reason)go places other 4wd vehicles go, with a certain degree of comfort and performance that comes from knowing what you, as a driver, and your vehicle are capable of. Recently I bragged about showing up my brother and his Triton, well that day is one of a hundred kickbutt days that came of hours tinkering and improving and testing both myself and the wagon....what I failed to include in my bragging was that my brother was the one person who urged me to follow in his footsteps and buy a Subi like he did in his youth, and find out for myself just what an awesome machine they can be. Add to this that he sat beside me the whole time we made our way along an ugly washed out trail and eventually congratulated me for showing more than just a yahoo, bull at the gate attitude while 4wdriving.
(he did, however, show me the opposite side of his personality the following day, but who can comfortably travel through mud, rocks pines trees and sand at 140k/hr and expect their passenger to listen to their moaning about scratches, a few dents and a broken taillight without rolling of eyes and roaring laughter?!!!)
Just remember, mankind ventured into space in little more than a battery powered tin can the first time...
Must be some extensive knowledge there tex. Having driven made makes and models of 4x4 on sand myself and not been bogged once, I'm wondering why the landcruiser bash ?
My opinion is it's all about the nut behind the wheel, and PPPPP.
I've heard of people on pushies and motorbikes doing CSR unsupported, but not having done it myself I cannot say if a subaru would like the idea of that trip. So it can be done with a small amount of the right gear, just the matter of the vehicle.
My opinion is it's all about the nut behind the wheel, and PPPPP.
I've heard of people on pushies and motorbikes doing CSR unsupported, but not having done it myself I cannot say if a subaru would like the idea of that trip. So it can be done with a small amount of the right gear, just the matter of the vehicle.
There is only one thing you must do in your life. Everything else is a choice.
In theory a subaru could do CSR unsupported.
based on my experience of the 'ol Lseries with then carby motor, fully loaded
doing about 9.5l/100l=km. Was loaded with 4xjerrys, so say about 140l gives you at least 1400km. The CSR is about 2000km, so lets say another 3 jerrys easily does it. But forget about a fridge or passengers.You wouldn't be trying it without 3-4jerrys of water that you need also, and at least 2-3spare tyres.
Theres not much that goes wrong with the 'ol L series that you couldn't fix with a few essential spares and tools either.
A larger 4WD allows you to do it with more comfort, bring all your gear along and passengers etc, that is why you can't simply compare the vehicles based on where they can possibly go, its more than just that.
based on my experience of the 'ol Lseries with then carby motor, fully loaded
doing about 9.5l/100l=km. Was loaded with 4xjerrys, so say about 140l gives you at least 1400km. The CSR is about 2000km, so lets say another 3 jerrys easily does it. But forget about a fridge or passengers.You wouldn't be trying it without 3-4jerrys of water that you need also, and at least 2-3spare tyres.
Theres not much that goes wrong with the 'ol L series that you couldn't fix with a few essential spares and tools either.
A larger 4WD allows you to do it with more comfort, bring all your gear along and passengers etc, that is why you can't simply compare the vehicles based on where they can possibly go, its more than just that.
sorry just not a huge fan of cruisers but I suppose their designed as a multi purpose vehicle and although I've driven a few of the late model ones the last few have all been pov packs, But their just not as sure footed as a patrol or rover and at least the subie has the weight thing going for it. But been seeing a few of the new fj series getting about lately curious how they would go!
I went to the QLD Subaru 4wd club meeting last night, it is held at the Brisbane Veterans car club and on the wall I was reading a story there of the first ever crossing from South to North in a motor vehicle, through the centre of Australia. I think it said it was in 1908, two guys, no support car, no GPS, no sat phone, no maps,no fuel drops, not even any roads or tracks to follow and guess what ......... it was a 2wd. Anything is possible with some forethought and good planning.
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El_Freddo
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I remember reading about that somewhere. They were in a Ford and broke a gearbox somewhere in NT bogged on a sanddune. I think they walked back or an aboriginal mob helped them back. They then got the next version of the same car that had a stronger gearbox with spare parts for the other one. They recovered the other car and continued on way from memory...Subaman wrote:I went to the QLD Subaru 4wd club meeting last night, it is held at the Brisbane Veterans car club and on the wall I was reading a story there of the first ever crossing from South to North in a motor vehicle, through the centre of Australia. I think it said it was in 1908, two guys, no support car, no GPS, no sat phone, no maps,no fuel drops, not even any roads or tracks to follow and guess what ......... it was a 2wd. Anything is possible with some forethought and good planning.
Back in the good ol' days...
Cheers
Bennie
