Campbells

Greetings all,

Yet another question:

Have been looking at the vehicle prices in NZ as we reckon we have to buy ASAP.

Question:
Is there really much need for a 4x4 in NZ apart from pulling a boat or caravan?

We really are looking forward to getting out and exploring the outdoors there and we are excited about visiting all of the country as well in the snow (being in SA we don’t get too much) as it is a bit of a novelty to us.

Thanks for your input

Campbell.

ukkiwi

No need really - unless you want to go off road

markeh

Hiya Campbells
well if you are asking the question you must have a serious liking for them

Plenty of people have them even in the UK and there isn't much snow in the Midlands or South.
It's a questionof where you will be goingon road, a car will do, but going off road willl require something more!

If you feel like one thouigh just have one!
I quite fancy a nice 4 door pick up when I eventually get to Oz! :scared:


Bye
Mark

extrameant

I have a motorcycle trials bike which I often use just round farms (This is the best thing I have found about NZ, the countryside etc. Much harder to get into this back in Glasgow). The forestry roads are unsealed but in good condition and a car is fine but it will get chipped. That is not a problem though because you wait and see what happens to your car when it is just parked in car parks. I think Kiwis all 'use the force' to drive, they certainly don't hold onto the steering wheel to make it turn.
I have an old rear wheel drive van to get to the farms and have never been stuck. I think the real reason for a 4X4 is to drop off the kids at the local school. Having said that, if you like off road stuff, NZ seems to be good for it.
I used to drive a landrover in scotland and 4x4 is not as good as you might think in snow. It is chains that make all the difference.

BritboyNZ

In Auckland, they're known as 'Remuera Tractors'. On a daily basis I see mummy taking the sprogs to school in them (usually very short distances....can't have the little darlings walking now can we!) causing totally unnecessary congestion & spewing pollution/smoke everywhere.

They are the most environmentally unfriendly vehicles known to man & some are actually unsafer than your average saloon/estate (higher centre of gravity/easily tipped over).

Only real use for them is if you're pulling a caravan/boat/trailer as stated above. At the moment, fuel is cheaper than petrol (even when you take Road User charges into account) although the government is looking into changing this. The original concept behind cheap diesel / Road User Charges was to benefit agricultural users/farmers, as they were the main users of such vehicles. Now that all & sundry are using them mainly for short journeys (very inefficient & polluting) the govt i imagine will probably increase RUC.

Russ

JWW

4x4's seem to have become a object of irritation in most countries for townies.

I will only speak from my own experience on the South Island. If you want to go skiing you will need a 4x4 to get up the access roads safely. If there is fresh snow you will also need chains.

If you intend to go fishing, camping or exploring in the national parks you will also need one as the roads to such places are just dirt, often very rutted.

Effectively if you want do do anything other than go to work, shop and watch telly you will need one. The beauty of NZ is that the minute you leave the highway you are effectively bush. Getting bogged down on a river bed with the family and absolutely noone around to help and zero cell phone coverage is not going to be a pleasant thing.

Campbells

Thanks for that JWW,
THat's more like the reply I was looking for. Yes, we have it too the yuppies that never take their 4 x 4 off the tar but we are outdoor folk and one of our main motivations to move to NZ is the outdoor life it offers.

Me thinks we will seriously look at getting a 4 x 4.

Thanks mate.

Campbell

iaink

How can it be so different to canadian snow??? We all get around here in the frozen north just fine without 4x4 , and chains are practically illegal here There are a lot of SUVs here, but its purely an ego / image thing. Bloody dangerous if you ask me, no handling ability, high center of gravity, more weight to drag to a stop, and I cant see past them to anticipate whats going on ahead of me...not to mention the fuel economy too, and the much greater damage and injury inflicted on hapless innocents when you hit them.

JWW

It's not the snow that's the problem except in the mountains, its the lack of roads. It's only snowed twice in Christchurch in the 6 years we've been here.

You will probably find far more roads of a high quality in Canada than NZ. Outside of the cities and towns there tends to be only one quality highway, normally one lane, to whereever you want to go. If you leave the highway you're on metal roads which normal service farms, homes etc. If you want to get into the national parks you will need alot of clearance as the dirt roads are rutted and after rain difficult to manage in a 4x4 let alone a two wheel drive.

Most of the main south island rivers are also mountain fed, so very prone to flood by rain and snow melt in the mountains during spring. Under normal flow they only take up about 10% of the river bed. Therefore, to fish these rivers for the great salmon and trout they offer you normally have to cross several hundred metres of shingle river bed.

You either have a 4x4 or no clutch.

iaink

Ah. Of course over here Auto is the norm, so most locals have no idea what a clutch is !

Actually canada probably has just as few roads in the wild area, and its not covered in snow the whole year round but I take your point. I guess it depends how keen you are to go to these places, and if its going to be an extra vehicle or a daily driver.

A lot of folk here will canoe in and out of the algonquin area for example, and these ATVs are really popular with hunters and fishermen...they chuck them in the back of a (2WD) pickup and head out to cottage country. If you are that keen to go real offroading a Jeep or (in NZ) LR is probably the best bet, rather than a 3 ton leather lined poseur mobile, but you wouldnt want one for everyday driving as your only vehicle.

JWW

I guess the trouble is most families would struggle to afford a 4x4 just for weekend usage. I'm a keen cyclist so I do agree that having some smoke bellowing landcruiser bearing down on you is not a good thing, just don't know how it can be controlled without affecting the justifiable users.

sofistek

When? Don't you mean "if"?

I don't know about you, but the only living thing I've ever hit, in nearly 30 years of driving is a dog that ran out in front of me from trees. Oh, apart from a few flies, of course!

iaink

No, I meant when. As a group SUV driver ARE hitting and killing people all the time. Many of those people would still be alive , watching there kids grow up etc if they had been hit by something lighter with a lower front end to push them over rather than under the vehicle.

Sometimes you have no control over an accident happening, as that dog demonstrated, but you do have some control over the consequences by not letting your ego dictate that you need some macho urban tank to get around in.

sofistek

It's not ego, and SUV drivers don't drive as a group, so you meant "if". It is people, driving cars that hit people, not the cars that are deliberately aiming themselves at people. The world is full of risks, and accidents happen. We don't prohibit an activity just because an accident might arise. Drive safely and you're a lot less likely to have an accident, whether your driving a Smart car or an SUV. Indeed, one could argue that the better visibility available with an SUV makes a safe driver even less likely to have an accident.

iaink

Indeed you could. You could also argue that the higher center of gravity, higher mass, and large sidewalled tires all make it more likely that you will be less able to avoid trouble if it happens. Im sure there must be some stats out there somewhere relating to accident rates for different vehicle classes, even if its just an explanation for the higher insurance premiums for some vehicle types?

Accidents happen to all drivers, you live long enough and you will have an accident. The more SUVs there are, the more accidents involving SUVs there will be. When an accident happens involving an SUV the consequences are more severe due to the higher mass. That is a fact. Might not be you getting maimed if you are inside it, but everyday some unfortunate innocent is paying the price. Ask yourself, would you rather the drunk driver who hits someone you know was driving a Smart Car or an Merc M class??