Submitted by: Samson Muric

I’ve never been great with figures so I always dismissed motor vehicles with the 4×4 tag as not for me. This was before I had the chance to take an an adventure getaway with chums. My pal’s husband said they’d be fetching me in the ‘truck’, and not having seen it before, I presumed that I might need to endure the lengthy trip to our holiday location in a huge noisy box on wheels with hard uncomfortable seating. Picture my amazement when they drew up in a snazzy-looking 4-wheel-drive suv. It was no ‘truck’ in the traditional meaning of the term. The cab was surprisingly luxurious inside, with comfortable well-sprung seats and lots of inside room. Even though we picked up the remainder of our band of happy campers with their huge carriers of padkos, and had been traveling for some hours, it didn’t seem cramped at all.

Now, I’m rather short so I battled to climb into the 4×4 in the beginning, until the driver showed me a nifty step set into the running board specifically to assist vertically challenged individuals like me. That I cannot easily get into elevated cars has always been a bone of contention with me so I was happy to cross this reservation off my list, and once I had perfected the art of stepping into and out of the cab, I discovered I rather liked being way up high. The view from the cab was impressive and perfect for taking in the sights when we got to the national game park that was our vacation spot. All my past trips to game parks were in vehicles that sat much nearer to the road surface, so I genuinely noticed the change in my game viewing experience this time around.

We suffered a couple of day’s rainy weather during our holiday however it didn’t hamper our enjoyment much. The 4×4 handled the muddy and slick conditions well because of the equal distribution of capacity to all four wheels, and I have to admit, I was feeling very safe. My friend’s husband joked about how the sense of security was what had endeared his vehicle to her and that she tolerated it using the whole car port due to this. With a more somber note, he added that it was easy to get complacent in this secure-feeling vehicle and that he needed to make certain he did not take a chance on the streets. I also learned that 4x4s suit both off and on road requirements because they have a switch that allows them to be altered from 4WD to 2WD.

After I returned from my trip and had to enter peak hour traffic once more, the real difference between finding myself a large 4×4 versus my normal modest car was evident to me. I could not look far in front ahead the way I’d been capable of in the 4WD vehicle. It was subsequently frustrating to not be able to see what was causing the traffic jam up in front. Then later, while i was overtaking a sluggish vehicle, a minibus taxi cab came up on my right and attempted to squeeze past. I tried to accelerate but there wasn’t enough power under the bonnet of my car to put the taxi behind me and I was forced to put up with its indignant hooting from the rear. Come Christmas time, I will be asking Father Christmas to give me a 4×4.

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