4WDs Are Essential for Living in the Outback

If you want to live in and successfully navigate the harsh terrain of the Outback, a good, sturdy four wheel drive vehicle will be essential. A large part of the roads available in the Outback are unsealed roads, which are dangerous and ill-advised to travel on without a car capable of 4WD. On top of this, a large part of the Outback itself is not explored by any roads at all. Sometimes to get from point A to point B requires steamrolling through unmarked expanses, many of which are unpleasant or even impossible to negotiate without a four wheel drive vehicle.

Conventional cars with fancy electronic set ups may be more comfortable and convenient for city life, but out in the wilds of the Outback a conventional car will not survive for very long. When exploring or living in the Outback, it’s important to have a car that can rough it. The going will get rough and only the roughest cars will be able to keep on going.

The Outback is a land of obstacles and difficulties – obstacles that many times can simply not be overcome by a regular car. Four wheel drive cars, on the other hand, were built for obstacles. The main purpose and function of their existence is to facilitate the navigation of obstacles when driving on rough terrain. The Australian bush presents a huge variety of challenges that would cause a two wheel drive car to turn pale and pass out. A 4x4, on the other hand, is well-equipped to face any of the challenges the Australian bush may throw at it.

Bulldust is a common terrain challenge found in the Outback. Although it appears to the untrained eye to be regular sand, treating it like regular sand would be a mistake. Beneath the powdery top layer of bulldust is a sheer rock face. This combination of hard and soft can make driving nearly impossible for a regular vehicle.

The Australian bush also has large expanses of ground that is covered completely by rocks sloping gently upward or downward, toward or away from a valley. For climbing these slopes, a large amount of torque is essential, and this is only provided in the necessary quantities by a four wheel drive vehicle. Even if you think your regular car might be able to hobble up these rocky slopes in a low gear, you will be extremely limited if you don’t use a four wheel drive vehicle.

Much of the terrain in the Outback is knee deep in muddy bogholes. Although these bogholes can even be difficult for a four wheel drive vehicle to negotiate, a regular two wheel drive is almost certain to get hopelessly lodged in even one of the smaller mud pits.

Even beach driving is difficult for a two wheel drive to master. The beautiful stretches of Outback coastline can only truly be enjoyed in a vehicle with 4WD.

Real Outback folk use affordable 4WD vehicles with. Don’t make the mistake of bringing a knife to a gun fight.

Hugh McInnes is a driving enthusiast and loves getting out on the open road, he has recently found an affordable 4WD that ticks all the boxes. He has experienced many Australian offroad adventure and it is around this time of year that he likes to head off to the outback in his 4WD

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Having decided to take an indefinite career break, Hugh is touring Australia in his ute and paying his way by writing freelance.

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