Are 4×4 dual cabs family cars?

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by JG34JA

...I've seen footage of early surfing in WA where EK's are being flogged along sandy beaches. Did much the same with my Kingswood wagons....

Way back in the 70's we used to go with my grandad to his fishing shack which was near Wedge Island north of Lancelin WA (before the bloody Navy turned it in to a live firing range), we used to cross beaches and go through sand dunes to get there, all this in his loaded up HT Kingswood Station Wagon.....

A couple of the smaller dunes we had to go over the top, so one of us kids used to jump out of the car and run up the top to make sure nothing was coming the other way, once pops was given the signal it was clear he would gun the 186 from about 200m and keep the boot in till he was over the top and on the other side, sand a ***t flying everywhere, great times......

[Brazen]

We were re-constructing a lot of remote flood proned railway track and a couple of the maintenance guys have BFIII Falcon wagons. Great watching them just beat the crap out of them, clambouring up embankments, bounding across trails. They both have over 200,000km well beyond lease return km but the company bought the residuals out so the two guys could keep them - there is sometimes 8 hour drives between jobs, they love em. They will or would have been replaced by our Hiluxes by now.

[ebxr8240]

Just don't do that in FPV's these days !! Ahaha

[JG34JA]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

Way back in the 70's we used to go with my grandad to his fishing shack which was near Wedge Island north of Lancelin WA (before the bloody Navy turned it in to a live firing range), we used to cross beaches and go through sand dunes to get there, all this in his loaded up HT Kingswood Station Wagon.....

A couple of the smaller dunes we had to go over the top, so one of us kids used to jump out of the car and run up the top to make sure nothing was coming the other way, once pops was given the signal it was clear he would gun the 186 from about 200m and keep the boot in till he was over the top and on the other side, sand a ***t flying everywhere, great times......

Yep, great memories from that stretch of coast, it was our "happy place" in the mid 1990's. Uncrowded and barrelly, fires on the beach in the cool offshore mornings, etc, etc. You'd see shell-shocked kangaroos... And the hours spent digging ambitious Kingswood wagons out... Try to get up there every time I'm back.

Once had one of the littl'uns up top of a dune there, about to come down with sandboard. As soon as down, a bl**dy FJ45 jumped right over the apex of the dune where they had been standing!

And Chevypower, agree, having done a lot of driving off the beaten track, you can get the 99% with a bit of clearance, but the 1% makes all the difference sometimes. For this reason I reckon the RTV ute was an absolute masterpiece, comfort and that 99% capability. Or the XG outback, or the XY 4x4 for that matter.

Brazen, interesting to hear those BF3's can cope as well... Had a mad mate with an old Volvo sedan who would rally the rocky tracks Down South, crazy scary being a passenger, but we got to the carparks quick!

[spvd02]

Expensive family cars! Quite nice, but hard to justify paying twice as much for a dual cab depending, of course, what you need your car to be able to do. I would definitely be looking at value for money in making a decision.

[BFXR8]

Well its been a month since I picked up my wildtrack and love it so practical put 4 adults in comfort has all the luxury inside handles good for a 4x4 and quite capable as a 4wd as well and good on fuel the only real big difference between this and my fg xr6t is the performance and the falcon is easier to park but I have learnt just to reverse into spots instead of driving in . One of the best bits is Friday arvo load up and go away for a weekend something the falcon couldn't do is take me to the same places the ranger does .

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by spvd02

Expensive family cars! Quite nice, but hard to justify paying twice as much for a dual cab depending, of course, what you need your car to be able to do. I would definitely be looking at value for money in making a decision.

4x4 dual cabs aren't that expensive in the scheme of things,depending on what brand,model and options.
New tritons are low 30 grand driveway,navara are under 40 grand ,and many others are 40-50 grand ,compared to say a full sized car ,like falcon,commie you can see why dual cab 4x4s are such huge sellers ....

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by mcnews

For sure, like anyone thinking that to drive something like a Ranger is anywhere remotely in the same ballpark when it comes to handling, comfort and dynamics compared to a Territory is in la la land.

I own both and the Ranger isn't far off the Territory. I find the Ranger seats better then the Territory... Mine handles fine, only complaint is its gutless over 3000 rpm.

[wranger]

Can't speak for the other Dual Cabs but the Ranger isn't particularly slow. Manual 3.2 will pull on an LC200 and stay with a Prado 4.0.

No Petrol Sedan but it's nothing like a 3.0 Hilux where you need a tailwind to hit 130.

[DFB FGXR6]

We have just taken delivery of a PX Ranger XLT auto. Whilst the ride is firmish (it is a pick-up after all) I can see how they would make family car substitutes.

I can concur with above, the 3.2 I5 pulls quite well, just a little breathless up top, as can be expected for a diesel.

More than enough safety and convenience items as standard.

For me the most surprising thing is how good the PX Ranger is to drive, especially the steering (responsive, consistently well weighted), a massive step up from the PK Ranger and other older generation Pick-ups.

[Ben73]

I've had my PX Ranger for just over a week now and loving it.
I don't have kids, but could see it being used as a family car quite easily.

5 cylinder is great, has typical turbo lag from a stand, but has heaps of torque once you start moving.
Only thing is you have to watch yourself in carparks. It doesn't have a best turning circle and is 5.35 metres long, but I just fix that by parking a little bit away from everyone else if it's a tight carpark.

As a downhill mountain biker and keen on trying a bit of offroad driving, it's benefits outweigh it's negatives.