Whats everyones opinions on new 4wd vehicles.

In all fairness, this is my experience with ECU-controlled vehicles.:

1. Freelander 1: mechanical failures - pump & injectors due to dirty diesel
2. 90 Td5 : mechanical failures, incl head gasket, propshafts
3. Audi A3: mechanical issues due to dirty diesel
4. Disco 2 Td5: mechanical failures - fuel pressure regulator, exhaust manifold, coolant loss, etc.
5. 90 Puma: mechanical issues.

Now while the A3 can be ignored, all the other vehicles were used offroad, sometimes for extended travels in remote areas. Once SWAMBO packed her friends in the FL1 and took off for Botswana - no plan, no recovery gear, no AT tyres, nothing. Got stuck in a pan, dug themselves out with firewood.

Not once have the electronics prevented us from reaching a destination and/or tackling an offroad obstacle, be it a snowy mountain or the long gravel roads in Namibia.

While I also do not like the idea of the 'black box' doing stuff that I do not understand and cannot fix, ECUs have come a long, long way and failures are very rare. :angel: