128 WheelsMag.com.au
Garag
Bright welcome
Carsthatplay‘hello’chimeswhenyouenter,ordisplay
messagestellingyoutohaveaniceday,canquicklyirk.
TheTucsonhaspleasantmannersofthemorepractical
kind:whenitsensesthekeyasyouapproach,itunfoldstheexteriormirrors,whichhavesmallLEDpuddlelights,
whileotherLEDslighteachfrontdoorhandle.Ialsolike
thefrontcornerilluminationthatactivatesoncethe
wheelisgivenhalfaturnoflock.WEEK 14
URBAN COUNTRY SPORTS FAMILY MOTORWAY
4744
The dirt road ended at a trail that led to
a spectacular lookout, with vast, sweeping
views of the towering escarpments of the
Blue Mountains, so I did revel in a little
go-anywhere SUV smugness as I held my
girlfriend’s hand while we soaked in the
glorious vista.
Then, on the way back, we rounded a
sweeping slippery section to see an old
EB Falcon wagon, probably on knackered
retreads, coming towards us. It was cocked
slightly sideways, being held in deft control
by a 20-something bloke with his mate,
doing what Aussies have done on dirt and in
rear-drive wagons for decades, long before
the rise of the SUV.
There’s a message in there somewhere.
ASH WESTERMANMY PARTNER and I were a few kays from
the Jenolan Caves in the Tucson recently,
enjoying a weekend out of Sydney. She was
singing along chirpily to a sexy Brazilian
songstress I now know to be called Ivete
Sangalo, while I was cheerfully spanking the
Hyundai on some empty sweeping roads.
It was getting late in the afternoon and
we were headed in the general direction of
home when I braked hard and swung left
onto an unsignposted dirt road.
“Where does this road go?” she asked. “No
idea, baby”, I replied. “Then why have we
turned onto it?” she responded, reasonably.
“Because it’s dirt, baby,” I explained,
helpfully. “Is that a good thing?” she asked.
Where she’s from, many of the roads are
still dirt, and that’s often Not A Good Thing.
The wrong dirt road can lead to a carjacking,
robbery, and maybe a bit of cheerful
kidnapping action. But I explained that here
in the land Down Under, driving on dirt
roads was a great thing, “because we’re in
an Esse You Vee, baby!”Yes, the pragmatist in me knows I don’t
need an SUV; I have no real need for its light-
duty off-road ability or its torque-splitting
cleverness. A good old rear-drive wagon would
do me just fine. Probably because of this I feel
compelled to explore any snotty little bit of
backcountry I spot, purely because, well, I’m in
an SUV, baby, and I can.
Recent rain had left the road slick with
mud in parts, and covered with loose gravel
on other sections, so the totally road-biased
Continentals struggled for lateral grip, revealing
the ESC system to be late reacting, but then a
bit curt and vigorous. It also takes a fraction
longer than ideal before it allows full power
to be restored. I’d prefer a calibration with a
quicker sense of when the job was done, and
when to ease off the reins. Anyway, I did reflect
that it would likely save an underskilled driver
from headbutting a tree.
I looked in vain for a side trail that would
have provided a snotty plunge worthy of the
hill-descent control. Sadly no such luck, so that
feature’s usefulness remains elusive.SUV ownership brings a search for roads less travelled
Unsealed deals
WAY TO G O
Heading blindly into
unknown territory is
hardly the adventure it
once was, thanks to the
wonder of sat-navHIGHLANDER CRDi
Date acquired:January 2016
Price as tested: $45,490
This month: 1345km @ 10.4L/100km
Overall: 3425km @ 11.6L/100km