Bushranger 4WD gear gets serious with SUVs
27 Nov, 2008
6 Comments 
words and photography Anthony Crawford
There’s no reason why you can’t cross the Simpson Desert in your Subaru Forester or Kia Sportage provided you have the right equipment on board.
No joke, the guys from premium four-wheel-drive accessory brand Bushranger, took a Kia Sportage Diesel across that vast Australian desert last year, where it proved itself capable of negotiating the same harsh terrain as more serious off-roaders, such as the Nissan Patrol and Toyota LandCruiser.
That doesn’t surprise me one bit after witnessing first hand, the extraordinary capability of Land Rover’s Freelander 2, as it punished some harsh ground from Alice Springs to Kununurra, and the surprising rock crawl abilities of Hyundai’s Santa Fe CRDi on some steep tracks off Blackfellas Road in New South Wales.
These so called “torque on demand” SUVs are light and have proven to be highly versatile off road contenders, but venture off the beaten trail into some deep sand or mud, and things may well come to a grinding halt.
That’s no cause for panic according to Bushranger Chief Executive Office Evan Black, who doesn’t dress like any CEO I’ve ever met before. I doubt whether Evan gives a toss about Zegna suits or a pair of Barker shoes, but when it comes to well-made 4WD kit and preparing your SUV for off road duty, this is your man.
Bushranger have developed a range of inexpensive off-road accessories, which will allow you and your SUV to tackle some of the more hostile terrain without the fear of getting bogged in the middle of nowhere or worse still, floating away off Stockton Beach on a king tide!
Location: Home / Land Rover, SUV, 4WD, 4x4, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, Kia, Car News / ...
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November 27th, 2008 at 8:51 am
I have had a Bushranger Max Air compressor as shown in photos for 5 years.
Has been great on our beach runs, inflates a tyre quick and was a lot cheaper than some of the competition.
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November 27th, 2008 at 9:50 am
It sure makes the Subaru Forester look like it had to work extra hard when a VT Commodore wagon made it on the beach (in the background of the photo with CEO Evan Black)…
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November 27th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Brent, you’re not too observant are you old mate. The commy wagon along with tents etc are clearly on the flat hard packed ground as opposed to where the Forrester is in the foreground. The Commodore would not make 10 metres in the soft stuff before the Forester driver would need to hook up the snatch strap and pull her out.
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November 28th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Yes but Anthony I’m sure you’d realise it had to get there somehow, and I’m fairly sure a helicopter didn’t drop it down there…
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November 30th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I’ve been there with my best friend and his sky blue combi following his dad. As we tried catching up to dad in the 4WD, we launched over a dune and all his dad saw in the rear view was the underbelly of the 1960 van.
A kodak moment.
Most people would be surprised what a bit of ground clearance can get you. 4WD’s can be overkill.
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December 17th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Where you get to depends on how you drive it. Surprising what happens with lower tyre pressure and lower speeds. I did 60,000km around Australia in a 1986 L300 4wd campervan ( full Suncamper Conversion) with a 2l petrol. The advice on tyres can not be ignored, I did it on BF Goodrich All Terrains and did not get flat. I travelled the Bloomfield Track & Lakefield NP, remote parts of Kakadu, Mereenie Loop, Gibb River Road, Cape Leveque etc.
I took one of the Bushranger Air Jacks but did not use it. When I tested it before I left it worked as expected. Tried to used on my current Troopy and it burst.
Can anyone attest to the capabilities of the Forester on the islands of SE QLD?
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