The 4x4s that didn't quite make the grade!

While many of these vehicles were not total flops per se, if the manufacturer had their time over, they may never have seen the light of day!

Many 4x4s were born as a panic reaction to what a competitor was doing, or in a bold attempt to create a niche market. Winding the clock back to the 1970s, many of these classic '4x4 wannabes' were launched by expectant makers. The problem that manufacturers faced in the mid-1970s was a growing boom in four-wheel recreational driving. Prior to this, 4x4s were only purchased for use in mines, farms or other environments where 4x4 was a necessity. Then suddenly along came a new wave of buyers that purchased 4x4s for no other reason than to have fun. This provided a dilemma for manufacturers as 4WDs were not a high priority in their total vehicle output, and traditionally, those built were extremely utilitarian, lacking creature comforts. Just take a look at the original Nissan G60 Patrol and the Series II Land Rover and you begin to get the picture!

Suzuki was one company that recognised the recreational potential of their vehicles early on and the LJ80 quickly gathered a cult following in recreational 4x4 circles. Despite being a two stroke, puffing lots of black smoke and offering a pretty ordinary ride, it was so light that you could bog it and with a couple of mates just lift it out of the bog.

Perhaps the most memorable Suzuki was the Mighty Boy.

This diminutive ute-style vehicle was a classic understatement of functionality and practicality. Shorter than a Mini Minor, the Mighty Boy could well be the smallest utility every built, with the cargo area just big enough to fit a mid-sized Esky. Annually at new vehicle launches of Suzuki, one journalist wag or another inevitably asks, "and are there any plans to re-introduce the Mighty Boy?" This normally has the Suzuki officials cringing and the journos laughing.

Manufacturers have often tried the dubious practice of model sharing with another car maker - usually at their own peril! Speaking of Suzuki, Holden rebadged the Suzuki Sierra as the Drover in the early 1980s. Not a great idea and not surprisingly, far from a sales success.

Moving up a notch we come to Daihatsu. Another 1970s warrior, the F20 Daihatsu 4x4 was slightly bigger than the Suzuki of the day and went by the tag, "Daddy long legs" a reference to its high boxy body and high centre of gravity. It was a short wheelbase, hard top (and soft top) originally powered by a 1000cc petrol engine, which was upgraded to 1600cc by 1977.

The Daihatsu F20 was actually a reasonably confident 4x4, but had the ride of a wagon train. Looking to expand its market, Westcoast Daihatsu Distributors, Premier Motors of Perth created a dropside pickup conversion of the F20 in 1977, but again the cargo area struggled to fit a few jerrycans, and was another flop.

The Daihatsu never enjoyed much market success - as is evidenced by its disappearance from the Australian market today - despite later models having macho names like 'Rocky', feeding off the Rocky movies that were big at the time. The equally dubious Daihatsu Scat arrived in 1982 powered by a 1.6-litre 4-cylinder and a half decent 2.8-litre diesel engine.

Now Toyota should have known better. They have always built good, solid and robust 4x4s that have earned them a coveted place in the annals of Australian 4x4 history. So what could have moved them to rebadge a Daihatsu F20 as a Toyota, with the awful name of the Toyota Blizzard. The Blizzard blew in early in 1982, and was almost a mirror image of the Daihatsu F50 De Luxe hardtop. Possibly Toyota's only contribution was the 2188cc diesel engine and badging. The Blizzard was well equipped for the day and was pitched at the recreational buyer and those wanting something a little bigger than the Suzuki Sierra. Another vehicle best relegated to the "we could have done better" segment!

The 1970s were a golden era for 4x4 experiments. Other 4x4s that briefly graced our tracks included the Russian built Lada Niva. Surprisingly - or not so surprisingly, depending on how you rate Russian vehicle build quality - despite being fitted with similar independent suspension to that found on the Range Rover, the Niva was far from memorable. So too, the Australian 4WD version of the Moke, and dare we even mention the Subaru Brumby pickup, or Toyota Tercel.

This brings us to Ford. They brought us the Yanky Explorer that just didn't cut it locally, and in their quest for a serious 4x4, did a deal with Nissan to rebadge the new GQ Patrol wagon as the Ford Maverick. Strangely enough they sold a number of these with buyers seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were buying a Nissan with a Ford badge! At the time, a sticker of uncertain origins mysteriously appeared and became very popular in 4x4 club circles. The sticker boldly stated, "This is not a horseshit Maverick, but a genuine Toyota". All is fair in love and war I suppose.

As if Holden hadn't learnt their lesson with the Suzuki/Holden Drover, they tried again in the eighties, this time with a product from Isuzu. Not to be confused with other successful Holden-badged Isuzus, the Jackaroo and later the Rodeo, through to today's Colorado, we refer to the infamous Frontera. The only frontier this car could cut it with was on a sealed bitumen road. I have a gut feeling that Holden had a few misgivings about the Frontera, because at launch at beautiful Airey Beach, the drive program for this new 4x4 consisted of around 380km of bitumen and a measly 20km of dirt road. Unfortunately, this was enough for most journalists to report that steering was wayward on gravel and the handling and ride were far from flash as well. Another good idea bit the dust!

Others had the nous to pull the pin while they were in front, with two relatively recent examples being Honda's discontinued AWD H-RV and Nissan's deleted petrol Terrano II. Actually, the diesel version wasn't such a bad machine, but it too goes down in history as yet another one-generation 4x4 wonder.

Brian Tanner