Modern 4x4s are overbuilt and overweight – and that’s why old ones are skyrocketing in value

With all the changes happening so quickly in the automotive world, it has me asking: How did we get to this point? And are we really any better off?

Looking back 50 years, we had quality, Australian-made passenger cars that could take families to most parts of the country – at a time when there were far fewer sealed roads than there are today. Today’s passenger cars wouldn’t stand a chance at such a task, and even the so-called adventure SUVs would be shedding parts on the first rough track.

If your adventures led you beyond what a two-wheel-drive sedan could handle, you had simple Land Rovers, LandCruisers, Patrols, or even a Jeep 4×4 to get you where very few others ventured at the time.

Fast forward to today, and far more people are exploring the wide brown land – mostly along well-trodden, sealed tracks – in all sorts of modern 4×4 vehicles. The trouble is, many of these new vehicles on the market just aren’t built for that kind of work. Maybe the manufacturers of these vehicles should be thankful that outback roads are getting better.

Even the most basic new 4x4s are overloaded with electronics. They’re heavy and unnecessarily complicated.

The number of features and novelties on new dashboards is ridiculous. Some steering wheels have more buttons than the control stick of the space shuttle. Trying to figure out something simple like cruise control for the first time often means stopping the vehicle to find the right buttons. Sure, you get used to it after a while – but do they really need to be there?

And that’s just for the functions that still have physical buttons or dials. Many new vehicles hide everything in a touchscreen, forcing the driver to take their eyes off the road and dig through menus just to adjust something as basic as cabin temperature. A simple knob, connected to the heater tap with a cable, always did that job perfectly well.

And this is before we even get into multiple drive modes and vehicle electrification. EVs bring nothing useful to off-road 4x4s – only more complexity and more weight. Both are enemies of any serious bush tourer. It feels like something being forced on us by politicians and others who have no idea what we actually need.

All you really need is a reliable drivetrain with triple locking diffs, compliant and flexible suspension, and a good set of tyres. It’s no wonder the prices of simple old 4x4s are skyrocketing – they’re gaining popularity for good reason.