REAR VIEW

4X4 AUSTRALIA LOOKS BACK AT THE CHANGES IN THE INDUSTRY, THE RISE IN . OUTBACK TOURING, THE EVOLUTIONARY SOPHISTICATION OF 4X4S, AND MORE

30 YEARS AGO – MARCH 1994

We compared a trio of petrol-powered vehicles that back in their day all sold in the mid-$40K bracket. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that of the Discovery, Jackaroo and LandCruiser, the Toyota 80 Series was proclaimed the tour de force. If buying a second-hand one today, even after 30 years, the Cruiser would still be the pick for most people.

Equipment-wise we checked out and gave you the drum on leaf-spring suspensions and where to find best 4x4 repair and maintenance centres around the country to have your vehicle serviced. There are even more these days and most would be a far better choice than the vehicle dealers’ service centres many feel obliged to go to.

This issue, as far as places to go were concerned, we kept our wanderings to the Sunshine State and explored Cape York, St Helena in Moreton Bay, Idalia NP, Lawn Hill and a guide to some of the lesser-known national parks in Qld. Make sure you visit at least some of them soon.

20 YEARS AGO – MARCH 2004

The cover story and the major yarn in this issue was the 4x4 Of The Year where we pitted 31 contenders against a set of five judging criteria over the course of a hectic week. Finally, we got down to the last six and from the cloud of dust surrounding them the winner emerged – the Toyota Prado 3.0TD. It’s still a great second-hand buy today!