4x4 Fun Day - 19/20th October 2001
Driver: Lawrence Fowler
Navigator: George Cooke
Vehicle: Vauxhall Frontera 2,8TD LWB
Seeded: N/A
Finished: N/A
Ever since I bought this 4x4 I've wondered what it could do. I had an old Daihatsu Four Track in the past and got it stuck, big time, in the snow once, so this time I thought I'd get along to one of those 4x4 Fun Days.
So, here we are, George and I, on the way to a farm in Aston Cantlow, near Henley-in-Arden. We turn the corner into the farms driveway - what the! In front of us is a - a - er - a Suzuki Jeep SJ - with a V8i sticker on the back door - with tyres as big as a child's paddling pool and enough ground clearance to house a small family - what were we doing here?
A very friendly marshal at the gate was very encouraging and advised that the hybrid was amongst a number of "standard" 4x4's currently having a play. We paid or £25 and entered the site.
The site was a very large field, sloping away from us. Where we had entered were a collection of Landrovers, Toyotas and Suzuki's parked up, their owners making use of the buttie wagon that was parked up for the day.
Ok, engage 4-wheel-drive, low ratio and off we trundled down the hill to see what was what. Most of the field, although on a slope, was flat. The brown grass we determined was the "road", whilst the green grass must be for grazing animals in the week. It was obvious that the water runs down the hill and accumulates at the bottom, and with the passage of 4x4's, turns to mud / bog / quagmire - call it what you will - but some of it stank. Having seen the mud, Lawrence opted to tie on the tow rope now, rather than get his shiny boots muddy later.
In second (low) gear, we tried a few (man made) undulating ramps and dips. We eventually came to an almost 45° slope - as the front wheels begin to climb apply a bit more power, up to the top, ease off and we're over - only a small grating noise heard as the under body protection ploughs out the ridge. Going up is easier than coming down as you can see where you are going - going down there appears to be too much fresh air.
Time to try some water - dirty water - mud. Using the same technique, 2nd gear, low ratio, keep the revs constant, over the edge and into the pond - bang - can't stop now, keep the revs steady and drive to the exit, up a slippy wet muddy bank and back onto terra-firma. We decide to park up and check for damage - hmm, all appears OK.
Four wheel drive is amazing, even with a standard road pattern tyre (albeit fairly new with a good depth of tread) - right, lets find some more mud... We did manage to find the limit of the Frontera - being long wheel base, it had trouble getting over big humps (ramp over angle) - we ran aground a couple of times, but managed to reverse off.
So confident was Lawrence in the ability of the Frontera, he even let George have a go, which was appreciated and enjoyed. We took a break for some lunch an chatted with others who had brought both standard and "special" off-roaders. Suitably refreshed, we returned for a bit more of a play.
Things learnt:
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The Vauxhall Frontera 2.8TD is good when off road.
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Landrovers get stuck in gooey mud
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Suzuki Jeeps are surprising good off road.
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Even owners of shiny Isuzu Crew Cabs will have a go
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Landrovers get stuck more because their owners will try more
Lawrence Fowler
