4Motion or not, your advice please!

[109LWB]

I've had 4wd vehicles pretty much exclusively for the last 15 years, mostly landrovers, so obviously the 4 motion was my first choice when looking for a van.

However I couldnt find a decent one in budget and it dawned on me, that my daily driver for the last 3 years has been a Nissan Navara.
Over that 3 years, I think I turned on the 4wd system once.. when I was pulling an artic out of trouble during an icy spell.
I'd Greenlaned the Navara, been over very muddy fields and driven in deep snow, all in 2 wheel drive. Granted it was rear wheel not front like the vans..
The reason I rarely used 4wd... I had bfg ko2 tyres fitted as soon as i got it.

So as long as you aren't properly offroading, a 2 wheel drive with decent all terrain tyres should perform in most day to day situations. Driver education also plays a huge part. I've seen people in landrovers with permenant 4wd get stuck because they didn't know how to drive off road correctly.

 

[BuilderJay]

I had my last T5 for 13 years. Standard 1.9tdi 2wd.
In all those years it never let me down in the snow. I found it best with M&S tyres which seem to come standard on 17” steelies which I had 2 sets of.
Best in the snow if you remove most of the weight from the back of the van so the engine pushes the front tyres down to grip in the snow.
A lot of my neighbours thought my van was 4wd as I used to go to work everyday in the snow while they sat at home. TBH most idiots cant drive in the snow. Especially BMW owners

 

[JSJQ]

We have a 4m with Desert Duellers. Most of the time it would never switch on but when it does the extra traction and ability to proceed is very good. Serval months ago in outback Queenland I foolishly crossed a levy and drove toward a river bank. It was only when I turned the steering wheel and the vehicle tended to go straight ahead that I realised I was in trouble. What looked like a nice, even, dry surface was really thick grey mud. By gently accelerating the 4m kicked in and I was able to turn the vehicle and drive out of what was a risky situation including an uphill climb over a badly washed away surface. I am sure a 2wd could not have done it.

Yes, it was stupid to have crossed the levy in the first place but the old adage (at least in Australia) proved true - you don’t need a 4wd until you do.

 

[Salty Spuds]

On paper, 4mot is far more useful than aircon or LED head lights, but no one would question whether it’s worth having AC & LED.

 

[dubber36]

We have a 4m with Desert Duellers. Most of the time it would never switch on but when it does the extra traction and ability to proceed is very good. Serval months ago in outback Queenland I foolishly crossed a levy and drove toward a river bank. It was only when I turned the steering wheel and the vehicle tended to go straight ahead that I realised I was in trouble. What looked like a nice, even, dry surface was really thick grey mud. By gently accelerating the 4m kicked in and I was able to turn the vehicle and drive out of what was a risky situation including an uphill climb over a badly washed away surface. I am sure a 2wd could not have done it.

Yes, it was stupid to have crossed the levy in the first place but the old adage (at least in Australia) proved true - you don’t need a 4wd until you do.

So when Don Mclean drove his Chevy there, it might not have been dry like he first thought after all?

 

[JSJQ]

If indeed he found it grey mud he would have been in deep trouble without 4wd. The problem we would have had if we were struck was that we had already run out of whisky and rye.

 

[Green Giant]

Reason we brought a 4M is we live in Hilly Cumbria and drive over the passes daily/weekly, my previous FWD ford van made it over Kirkstone pass many times in the winter ice/ slush/snow, passing stuck AWD cars, but I always fitted the continental winter contact tyres all round, they worked great if I kept up momentum, but if I had to stop or slow for a struggling vehicle then things got very interesting.
Hill starts on very steep wet roads also had the clutch burning, my van is usually heavy loaded.
Had a friend in a new Cali who had to abandon his route over Hardknott pass in the summer as the wet road, his tyres and the weight of the van made it impossible.
If your van is carrying weight or towing 4M is a wise choice, ours is the manual 150

 

[Chris Sherwood]

I would suggest that you only add it if you think you would get stuck without it.



I chose it because I am often in muddy fields with long wet grass where 2WD vans get stuck.

If you don’t regularly go off-road, tow / launch boats or drive on snow, I would question whether you need it, but it is also useful when pulling out of side roads sharpish!