Went to Whaddon on Sunday. Was my first time off-roading so didn't do anything too extreme. However, did slightly more exciting stuff like deeper mud, tougher and deeper ruts, steeper and longer climbs and descends than these videos but the Mrs. was more interested in watching the action rather than recording it...

http://youtu.be/WfAv7UMgp9E

http://youtu.be/Ua11pPqMlMs

Very impressed with the performance of my RRS given I had no prior offroad experience and have road-biased tyres which are quite worn too.


Some pictures of the aftermath:

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Wow, fair play! I live just down the road from Whaddon and pop in there occasionally (but in my Defender!!); not surprised you got some strange looks!

James

James @ Lookers Park Royal wrote:

Wow, fair play! I live just down the road from Whaddon and pop in there occasionally (but in my Defender!!); not surprised you got some strange looks!

James

That was upon returning to London - people here don't expect 4x4s to go offroad I guess. Whaddon was OK. Although now that I am thinking about it, apart from a couple of old Defenders, mine was the only LR there No X5/X6, Q7, ML, Cayenne in sight either. Should've raised an alarm in my head.

There was no damage apart from scratching the wheels a little bit. The allloys were all kerbed anyway and going to be replaced with a winter set soon. Had planned the trip with that in mind

RRSBoy was so traumatised following taking his Defender G4 there that he sold it immediately after!! It's a very different place in winter.

James

I can imagine.

fkarim wrote:

James @ Lookers Park Royal wrote:

Wow, fair play! I live just down the road from Whaddon and pop in there occasionally (but in my Defender!!); not surprised you got some strange looks!

James

That was upon returning to London - people here don't expect 4x4s to go offroad I guess. Whaddon was OK. Although now that I am thinking about it, apart from a couple of old Defenders, mine was the only LR there No X5/X6, Q7, ML, Cayenne in sight either. Should've raised an alarm in my head.

There was no damage apart from scratching the wheels a little bit. The allloys were all kerbed anyway and going to be replaced with a winter set soon. Had planned the trip with that in mind

mse wrote:

im not sure in any off road site ive been ive ever seen a bmx, merc - a few toyotas etc...mainly lr's including sports...older sports though

fkarim wrote:

mse wrote:

im not sure in any off road site ive been ive ever seen a bmx, merc - a few toyotas etc...mainly lr's including sports...older sports though

Which of these do you think is the main reason, mse:
1. Not capable enough.
2. Owners don't think of these as capable enough.
3. Considered too precious to trash.
4. Bought for reasons other than off road capability.

For the none BMW/Merc thing - all of the above...equally they are reasonable sh t

The common cheap 4x4 is usually something like a vaxhaul... Suzuki's are always cool Mike

2014 Facelift Discovery

For a cheap off roading toy, the Lada Niva is supposedly very good. Simple, decent ground clearance, lockable centre diff, high and low range box. Fixable with spanners, screwdrivers and hammers. None of the "take it a to a dealer to have codes read" rubbish.  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

RRSTDV8 wrote:

For a cheap off roading toy, the Lada Niva is supposedly very good. Simple, decent ground clearance, lockable centre diff, high and low range box. Fixable with spanners, screwdrivers and hammers. None of the "take it a to a dealer to have codes read" rubbish.

The Jimny, surprisingly, is quite popular it seems. Again, small and simple. I used one in New Zealand at an off road play place. All fairly simple stuff except one big drop - drive over a lip and the track drops 7m at about 70degs. The thump as it gets to the bottom has to be felt to be believed. They use standard Jimnys except for the airbags which they disable. Very impressive all things considered. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

I would agree - i love them...i nearly bought one new just for fun off roading...they are surprisingly good and fun...but im a land rover person and need to tow (and occasionally winch) which is what lets the suzuki down.

We had to assist three - 1 stuck and the other two tied together trying to winch it out...out came the disco, done in 4 seconds...ok a little longer! but i wouldnt hold that against them, just a natural limitation for all the pro points Mike

2014 Facelift Discovery

Yeah, the need to tow does limit ones choices. Our horse trailer has a max weight of 2.5t so the choice of tow vehicle is even more limited.

I do quite fancy a little Jimny or Niva though. If I ever get involved in picking up rather than beating at shoots, I might get one - be a good little picking up vehicle on farm shoots. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

its narrow too - helps get it into places Mike

2014 Facelift Discovery

There were a couple of Suzukis there. One was a Grand Vitara that got grounded and was being winched out. The other I saw from a distance so not sure whether it was a Jimny or Vitara. Must say I was surprised to see the Suzukis as I never thought of them as decent offroaders. However, after reading the above, their presence at Whaddon makes a bit more sense now.

Sounds like I made a mistake taking the RRS there but got away with it without any damage