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AWD or 4WD | choosing the best for you

SUVs are proving to be a popular choice for Australians but it's important to know if your new purchase suits your needs.

We can't get enough of high-riding wagons that drive like cars — but for some there's no substitute for the tough off-roader.

Thirty years ago, the SUV didn't exist. Hard-core dual range 4WDs such as Toyota's LandCruiser, the Nissan Patrol and Holden Jackaroo were the only alternatives to Falcon, Commodore and Camry wagons, our favourite family freighters back in the day.

In the 1990s, a few imaginative car companies tried their luck with wagons that combined elements of both and the SUV was born. Pioneer SUVs such as Subaru's Outback and the Toyota RAV4 were light, safe, fuel-efficient, comfortable and easy to drive — just like a car — but they also had extra ground clearance, high-range all-wheel drive and dual-purpose tyres so you could also point them at a dirt road without embarrassing yourself in front of the family.

To say we went for the concept is an understatement.

The SUV is now available in hundreds of different flavours, led in the sales charts by Mazda's CX-5.

The conventional 4WD wagon is still with us, of course, but it sells in much smaller numbers than SUVs.

Toyota's Prado has dominated this market for 20 years but last year's launch of Ford's new Everest, Mitsubishi's Pajero Sport and Toyota's Fortuner could well spark a 4WD revival.

Everest, Pajero Sport and Fortuner are basically wagon bodies dropped on to an existing one-tonner 4WD ute chassis — respectively, the Ranger, Triton and HiLux.

They're credible family vehicles largely because their crash protection, which wasn't even an optional extra on one- tonners or 4WDs of yore, is now comparable with the majority of cars and SUVs, at least according to ANCAP tests.

One-tonners are still way off the pace, though, when it comes to the latest hi-tech driver safety aids such as radar cruise control, automatic emergency braking and lane keeping — these are available, for now, only in the Ford Ranger and Everest.

So the 4WD v SUV family wagon decision in 2015 requires you to make fewer compromises but it's still worth asking yourself exactly what you want the vehicle to do, where you're going to use it and what your priorities are. Work this out and you'll know which way to go.

If your most ambitious off-road excursions will be on access roads to popular national parks, or the snow in winter, an SUV will do the job perfectly well and you won't be paying for off-road hardware you'll never use or the extra weight of a 4WD that costs you serious money every time you fill up or get it serviced.

Despite the fact that AWD and stability control essentially do the same job — improve grip, control and safety in slippery conditions — an all-paw SUV is still worth thinking about if you do regular highway hauls because it does give you an extra measure of grip.

If off-road adventuring, outback travel or towing are on your agenda, the 4WD wagon or one-tonner will usually do the job

If bopping around town is all you do, many SUVs now include a front-drive variant, which will be fine in this application and is usually thousands of dollars cheaper.

In six or seven-seaters, check whether the side curtain airbags extend to the third row. In some wagons only the front and middle row passengers are protected.

The SUV became more popular than the 4WD because during the noughties people realised that the latter is complete overkill for everyday suburban driving.

However if off-road adventuring, outback travel or towing are on your agenda, the 4WD wagon or one-tonner will usually do the job much more easily and reliably than an SUV.

The trade-off is relatively sedate performance, ponderous handling and higher running costs. These things are, after all, tarted-up light trucks — even the ones with "Sport" badges.

High ground clearance, underbody protection, heavy-duty suspension, low-range gearing and fat, chunky tyres really come into their own on long, corrugated outback routes, steep, rough tracks or creek crossings, where most SUVs are, literally, out of their depth. You can also carry more gear in (and on, with a roof rack) a 4WD wagon.

They're a no-brainer for towing heavy trailers for most of the same reasons and also because their turbo diesel engines are tuned for grunt rather than power.

Towing is a whole lot more complicated than it looks, so you should check a few things first. Get familiar with the towing regulations in your state, especially weight limits, including gross vehicle, trailer and combination mass.

The fact that the maker says your 4WD will pull 3.5 tonnes up Ayers Rock is irrelevant. If you exceed the maximum allowable load, which includes people, accessories, gear, fuel and everything else, it's illegal and if you have a prang your insurance company will probably refuse your claim.

Some manual one-tonners have clutches that don't last five minutes when towing heavy loads. If your clutch packs it in, you'll be on your own because the manufacturer will claim you fried it through abuse or incompetence. An automatic tows much more efficiently, reliably and with a heap less hassle than a manual.

Ask the dealer, in writing via email, to confirm that the 4WD he wants to sell you is suitable for towing whatever trailer you're going to pull, making specific reference to its weight.

If your new 4WD then has problems such as overheating or transmission issues related to towing — and some do — you're on much firmer ground in any warranty argy bargy with the dealer and manufacturer. If things get really nasty you can also use the Australian Consumer Law to claim a refund or replacement vehicle.

The big business of small SUVs

By Richard Blackburn

The number of SUVs on our roads has more than doubled in the past decade.

But the make-up of the SUV market has changed considerably over that period, as buyers downsized and discovered they could save money by deleting the all-wheel-drive option and the big off-road tyres.

Small SUVs are very much the business end of the market

A decade ago, the homegrown Ford Territory seven-seater ruled the roost. Toyota's tough-as-teak Prado and LandCruiser jostled for the minor placings with softer, but still off-road capable rivals such as the Subaru Forester, Nissan-X-Trail and Toyota RAV4.

Fast-forward 10 years and the car-like, compact and city-friendly Mazda CX-5 takes top billing, trailled by tiny tots in the form of the stablemate CX-3, Mitsubishi ASX and Honda HR-V.

Small SUVs are very much the business end of the market, with no fewer than six all-new mini-SUVs released in 2015. Sales grew by more than a quarter as a result.

That wasn't the only growth area. In the last quarter of 2015, three ute-based heavy-duty SUVs arrived as more affordable alternatives to the Prado and LandCruiser, which can cost up to $85,000 and $120,000 respectively.

The Toyota Fortuner, Ford Everest and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport are already proving popular with buyers who want to tow and aren't afraid of a dirt road or two.

Passenger cars still make up the majority of new vehicles bought each year. Most pundits believe that by the end of 2017, when the last of the local sedans are gone, SUVs will rule our roads.

Do you prefer an SUV for everyday driving over a sedan, hatch or wagon? Let us know why in the comments below.