I owned a Land Rover Series 111 and, after my course of traction was complete, decided to chop it for something better equipped and more comfortable. An ox, perhaps.
My eye was drawn to some of the small Japanese models, the Daihatsu Okinawa and Suzuki Tenko, compact and basic as a sniper's rations they has tiny engines and a lot of attitude.
In the end I was caught a glancing blow by an imported, 1600cc, Russian Vaz.
A terrifying experience, I can tell you, not because the steering wheel was on the wrong side or because the heater was designed to work on the principle of the blast freezer but because it was so reliable.
You see, we had been told that the communists would never attack because everything in their Bakelite world simply did not start in the morning, their rocketry ran on herrings and, anyway, there was no one to press the button because the strategic forces were busy drinking all the anti freeze.
This is not true.
Not once did this car fail, either mechanically, or in the field. Yes it developed more holes than Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's gulag underwear but it always worked. I began to realise that in the event of Mrs Thatcher annoying the bear enough, we were in trouble and may even have to resort to dropping Norman Lamont on Moscow.
But the market moved on and 4x4s, like prize bullocks, became judged on body weight so I bought a Hi Lux.
Suzuki continues to produce a small 4x4, the Jimny, on the face of it a cheeky little man bag of a car, a stylish way to be different around town and because it has just 1.3 litres of capacity and promises 40mpg, a car that costs very little to run and is low on carbons at 171g/Km .
Splendid, you say, just what I need. A 4x4 city car that will make me as socially unique as striped fog.
This, however, would be an error. The trouble with the Jimny is people will insist on driving it on roads. And this is an experience I imagine is close to that of living inside a kangaroo.
The same suspension that makes the car a game terrier off road makes for a braless ride on it. On the motorway this matters less as your senses switch to battling noise levels.
Obviously there's not much point taking about performance, you have to thrash the engine to within an inch of its life to get any sort of momentum.
And the handling? Oh dear, this isn't going very well is it?
Equipment on the £11k SZ4 model includes part leather seats, air conditioning, leather wheels trim and privacy glass over the standard roof rails, fogs, CD radio and electric windows.
Roomy? No.
So apart from much cheapness why would you buy one?
Ah, well, that would be for fun in the rough.
With electronic four wheel drive engagement, good ground clearance and Jack Russell proportions the Jimny is a great off roader in the tradition that pre-dates towing caravans across fields. It is light, hardcore and hilarious. My advice? Get hold of one and make a friend of your local farmer.