What is the point of a 2 door SUV?

Don't forget the Top Gear Restoration Ripoff with Princess Diana's Range Rover. That was a 2-door, and it was doubtless used as a hunting wagon on the royal estates.
Yes she used it in conjunction with a pair of Holland and Holland shotguns to keep the oiks down. ...
 
Upon closer inspection I think I see a front half-shaft on the gray one, making it a 4x4, but I can't be sure.
 
Upon closer inspection I think I see a front half-shaft on the gray one, making it a 4x4, but I can't be sure.

With the diff so far up it is hard to tell if it is a linkage instead.
 
So you think you can make unfounded accusations about owners of SUV and people who own them should "just let it go?" Why don't you just "let it go" to start with and not make the stupid claims to begin with? Oh, if YOU attack SUV owners, it's all well and dandy because it's YOU doing the attacks. I get it.

Nope, not at all.
 
The grey one is a 4x4. I say this because of the fender flares. D21s had fender flares as 4x4s, but not as 4x2s unless someone added them. Its rare that they did. Its also more likely that someone with a 4x4 would take them off, as opposed to someone with a 4x2 adding them.

I'd say the red one is a 4x2.

There wasn't much difference in 4x2 and 4x4 in the D21 (or WD21). Stickers and flares mostly. In the truck, the 4x4 was a little higher. I think the wheels and tires were also wider, but that could be negated by options.

This thread makes me miss my 94 Hardbody. I always wanted a 2-door WD21 Pathfinder. I might look into one. I go camping a descent amount at the racetrack, and I do hate putting up a tent. Might be worth it. Sleeping bad in the back of the Pathfinder.... Miata v Pathfinder.. hmmm...Plus with a Miata and a G35 Coupe, I can't carry crap so a little utility would be nice.

Upon closer inspection I think I see a front half-shaft on the gray one, making it a 4x4, but I can't be sure.

With the diff so far up it is hard to tell if it is a linkage instead.

Here's the answer: The gray one was a 4x2 (it was cheap). The red one is a 4x4, as I've said before.

There's two ways to tell if a WD21 is 4WD. The easiest is to look inside; all the 4x4s had manual transfer cases; this was the interior of the gray one.
IMG_1574.jpg


And this is the interior of my current Pathfinder, which is 4WD. Note obvious transfer case lever.
IMG_4827.JPG


Shentar: The fender flares are not a good indicator. They were a factory-made but dealer-installed accessory and could be had on both drive types. Dealerships would often slap them on every Pathfinder that came through. Also, the gray Pathfinder was an XE, a base model, that had had quite a few options checked when it was ordered; the red one is an SE, which was at the time the top trim level, but it had none of the options checked, so far as I can tell.

If you just see one passing by, you're unlikely to be able to get a look inside. For the giveaway, take a look at this picture. Look at the nut directly to the left of the big tow hook; there's one on the other side of the truck as well. This is the tension rod for the front suspension (it uses a semi-A-arm with tension rods,) and only the 2WDs have them up front and exposed like that. This is similar to how the Z31 and other Nissan sports cars were set up in the same era.
0900c1528018d5ff.jpg


The 4WD has it flipped around so the tension rods are compression rods and are behind rest of the front suspension assembly.
compress1.jpg


So if you can see the tension rods or tension rod nuts up front, it's a 2WD. If you don't, it's a 4WD. That's literally the only reliable indicator.

I think my point is made about it being difficult to tell a 2WD SUV apart from a 4WD one unless you know what you're looking for. :D
 
Last edited:
This thread needs an awards for being the most meandering from the OP's topic. :p
 
This thread needs an awards for being the most meandering from the OP's topic. :p

This thread is meandering off the beaten path. For a thread about SUVs with offroad abilities, I'd say it's completely on topic.
 
Top