4x4 is not just a gimmick for High Street posers

When the motoring talk turns to 4x4s, there is often somebody prepared to have a girn about these vehicles being bought by people who hardly use the off-road capabilities built into them needing the extra ground clearance for no more arduous a task than bumping over a high kerb.

All of that is true and, at the same time, completely beside the point. One thing to keep in mind about a 4x4 is that if you need its rough country, bad weather or towing capabilities at any time during the year, then no other kind of vehicle will give you the same service.

The fixation that 4x4s are sensible vehicles only for enthusiasts who batter their way up hillside gullies, or trauchle through foot-deep rivers, is very hard to shift. Granted that some 4x4s are bought simply because their owners like the lifestyle element, these cars have far more uses than that.

People whose business takes them to country properties or building sites, where rough terrain is just a fact of life, would look daft if they turned up in a limousine.

When winter strikes, a 4x4 - with generous ground clearance and far better traction than an ordinary car can provide - can be essential transport.

A 4x4 can be a normal business car from Monday to Friday, and then tow a boat or caravan around, go with confidence into the rain-soaked grassy car park at some outdoor event, or take people to an angling or climbing rendezvous well off the beaten track. Observers have been predicting a slump in interest in 4x4s for some time, but the number of individual models available on the UK market is remarkable, with more manufacturers about to join in.

Some car makers hedge their bets about 4x4s and do not get involved in a go-it-alone production situation. Nissan Iberica in Spainbuilds both the Nissan

Terrano and the Ford Maverick, and it is interesting that early

predictions about the Maverick substantially outselling the Terrano in this country were from people who got hold of the wrong end of the retail marketing stick.

Vauxhall's two 4x4s, the Frontera and the Monterey are both Isuzu designs, although with specifically Vauxhall engines available here. Right-hand drive UK-market Fronteras are built in Luton, while the Monterey is an import.

Cars like the Daihatsu Sportrak (the Foutrak being more of a working type), the Kia Sportage, the new Suzuki Vitara and the very well thought-out Honda CR-V are sold more as leisure vehicles. So are the two versions of the

Toyota RAV 4 in short and long wheelbase form.

But the Toyotas, like some of their class rivals, are remarkably agile off tarmac. They prove that bulk and muscle are not the only contributory factors to a vehicle's ability to pick its way easily up boulder-strewn tracks or through mud splashes.

When it comes to bigger and more powerful 4x4s, Toyota has been established in this part of the market for nearly 50 years.Toyota has a strong enough grip on 4x4 sales to offer two different models in the Land Cruiser range. The Land Cruiser Colorado, an off-roader with a instantly

recognisable ''face'', is appearing in increasing numbers in Scotland.

And the latest Land Cruiser

Amazon is one of the huskiest four-wheel drive vehicles on or off the road. If the previous Amazon was built on a majestic scale, the new one is even bigger. It comes with either a new 4.7-litre V8 petrol engine or an intercooled 4.2-litre turbo diesel, and the extensive range of options includes a worthwhile hydro-pneumatic suspension system.

Among the other Japanese

manufacturers of large-size 4x4s, Nissan offers the uncompromising Patrol, updated for 1998. Sales of the Mitsubishi Shogun continue to rise, helped among landowning folk by the importers' involvement in the Badminton Horse Trials.

The Shogun was restyled for this model year. Top power unit in the range is the uprated 3.5-litre V6, and the flagship five-door is fitted in the UK with special leather upholstery.

Subaru is better known for its four-wheel drive saloons and estates, but has come into the 4x4 market with the Forester, which is one of the most interesting vehicles in this sector. Taking a different approach from other 4x4s, it is built on the Impreza platform and has more car-like handling and ride characteristics than anything else in the class. The flat-four engine gives it an unexpectedly low centre of gravity, but ground clearance is fair enough.

The Subaru Impreza and Legacy are mainstream saloons and estates with the traction and

handling benefits of four-wheel drive. Of European manufacturers, only Volvo takes a similar approach. It uses four-wheel drive to put its high performance cars' hefty power output on the tarmac, while the V70 XC estate is built with higher ground clearance for rough-road work.

All Subaru's UK-market models are fitted with four-wheel drive. Isuzu is another 4WD specialist manufacturer, but one which ignores saloons and estates, and concentrates on off-roaders.

The latest Trooper, which went on sale earlier this month, does have a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine option. But most attention is focussed on the three-litre, twin cam 16-valve turbo diesel. It takes diesel design on beyond the direct injection stage which many rival manufacturers have not yet even reached, offering crisper response and massive amounts of torque.

In the midst of all the uncertainty about the future of the Korean motor industry, SsangYong is now effectively controlled by Daewoo, which is coming into the GM orbit. The great point about the SsangYong Musso 4x4, and the smaller Korando, is that they are powered by Mercedes turbo diesels, with all the power, torque, economy and engine life which the use of the latest 2.9-litre five-cylinder design implies.

The Americans have come strongly into the UK 4x4 market, where they were not seriously

represented until just a few years ago. That was principally because they did not build any suitable vehicles with right-hand drive.

Chrysler Jeep took the plunge first of all, and its Cherokee model, while not over-generous with rear cabin passenger space, appealed right away because of its unexpectedly sporty handling. Customers soon wanted a bigger car, and a more lavish specification.

Those two things were provided when the Austrian-assembled Grand Cherokee came on the scene. Now there is a top of the range Grand Cherokee Orvis.

One Grand Cherokee model is imported with left-hand drive - the Limited LX, which is the only car in the range with the top-rated 5.9-litre V8.

Hardly in the executive car league, the Wrangler is also imported as the extensively

developed nineties' expression of the Second World War Willys Jeep.

Ford has responded to its rival's activities by bringing in RHD

versions of the four-litre Explorer, the best selling individual 4x4 model world-wide. Stage two has been a range of modifications to the UK market versions for 1998.

The third US ''major'' has also decided to enter the British 4x4 market. Starting this month, GM will be selling the Chevrolet Blazer.

For the first few months the Blazer will be available only with left-hand drive. But full UK-

specification vehicles are planned to be here in the autumn.