Since I bought my V8 Landrover Discovery, I have found out that it is technically an offroader. I also have a Landrover Freelander TD4, a turbo diesel vehicle - and that is technically a softroader.. The difference is not immediately apparent. Both are automatics and with my Freelander, it is an all wheel drive, whereas my huge Disco is a high/low range selection (manual shift!) when needed - which is not that often in town. Off road is technically when you pull into a tarred parking bay at the local mall!
I noticed a Range Rover Evoque the other day, and was stunned that it is classed technically as a softroader.
Why then do I have a vehicle in the same category (not the same class though!) and a much larger vehicle that is a major off-roader. It will climb vertical walls and wade through miles of mud without getting stuck, although maybe I do need to take a course in offroad driving?
You would think that in Africa, the opportunities to make full use of offroading is endless, but in larger cities (Sandton for example) many huge offroaders venture no further off road than down the driveway, or into the parking bays at the local mall! In 4x4 stores there, you can buy spray on mud, to give your vehicle a seriously used offroad look - designer mud?
Last time I went up to the Game Reserve, I drove through some fresh poop, so had Designer Poop on my offroader - way better than designer mud!
Why own 2 4x4's? I love both of them, different in feel, and I love them. I admit that to drive to the airport in Durban, I prefer my TD4, since that has cruise control. Maybe it is incomprehensible that I would have an off-roader when walking is difficult enough for me, but the freedom you get when you are out of civilisation is a feeling that makes me glad to be alive!
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