Bonnie didn’t know she had a dream car until she first laid eyes on it.
asserted
she → know → it
The 27-year-old Pilates instructor, who has chosen to withhold her surname for privacy reasons, had previously driven a series of small hatchbacks that were perfectly serviceable, if a little forgettable.
asserted
that → choose → hatchbacks
“I was driving a Mazda 3, and there was nothing wrong with it, but I was sick of it,” she recalls.
asserted
she → drive → it
“I’d been talking to my partner for a while about what I wanted in a car, and I couldn’t really verbalise it.
asserted
I → talk → it
But when I saw the Pajero, I knew it was my dream car.”
asserted
it → see → Pajero
She fell head over heels for a bright red short-wheelbase Mitsubishi Pajero that’s older than she is.
asserted
she → fall → Pajero
The two-door, diesel-powered 4WD from 1992 has a manual transmission and not much else.
asserted
4WD → power → transmission
“When I bought it three years ago, it didn’t have seats or carpet on the floor, and the speedometer and the tachometer didn’t work,” Bonnie laughs.
asserted
Bonnie → buy → floor
“It still doesn’t even have airbags.”
asserted
It → have → airbags
While her friends drive modern SUVs with cruise control and blind-spot monitoring, Bonnie says she wouldn’t trade her vintage ride for all the mod-cons in the world.
asserted
she → drive → world
“Honestly, I don’t think I was a very good driver in the past, and now, having a connection to my car, I’m a much better driver,” she admits.
asserted
she → think → car
“Because I really enjoy it, I’ve asked my partner lots of questions about how it works and how to fix things.
asserted
it → enjoy → things
He’s taught me how to service it, so I do that on my own too.”
asserted
I → teach → own
Bonnie is one of an increasing raft of young women opting for old, off-road-focused cars over modern SUVs, hatchbacks and electric vehicles.
asserted
Bonnie → increase → SUVs
In June, a headline in The Wall Street Journal declared, “The Expensive Accessory Every ‘Hot Girl’ Wants: An Old, Loud SUV”, with journalist Chavie Lieber pointing to the booming market for secondhand Ford Broncos and Land Rovers, driven by affluent young women.
asserted
Lieber → declare → women
It turns out a similar phenomenon is playing out in Australia, but swap Ford Broncos for Toyota LandCruisers and “affluent young women” for savvy creatives with a thirst for serious adventure.
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phenomenon → turn → adventure
Stuart Amm, owner of Sydney-based restoration company Aussie Motor Group, has witnessed this trend in real time over the last two years, and says young female owners now account for roughly 25 per cent of his company’s work.
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owners → base → work
“Specifically for women, they’ve been exposed to the car scene via social media, and they see the beauty, the design and the story of these vehicles and want to be involved,” Amm says.
“They love to continually refine and update their vehicles, so they’re falling into that pattern of the old-school revhead, but coming at it from a different angle.”
asserted
they → expose → angle
Amm says his female customers tend to be successful business owners with a creative background who are heavily involved in their car’s design and customisation.
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who → say → design
Most recently, Amm worked with Ngoc Dang, the owner of Melbourne-based events company Ed&Ed Studio, to customise her 2015 Land Rover Defender.
asserted
Amm → work → Defender
“One of the biggest things that drew me to my car was that it was a manual, and it’s really difficult to buy a manual car new,” Dang explains.
asserted
Dang → draw → car
“But the first time I actually drove it, I was like, ‘What was I thinking?!‘.
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I → drive → What
It has such a heavy clutch, and it’s clunky to drive, but you get used to it.
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you → have → it
Those are the things that make you feel like you’re really driving.”
asserted
you → make → ?
While Dang has kept the manual transmission, she’s worked with Amm to add Apple CarPlay and sound dampening so she can take work phone calls on the go, and has had the interior fitted out in a striking caramel-coloured leather.
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interior → keep → leather
“I don’t think I’ve stopped – the best thing about the Defender is you can continually keep working on the small details.”
asserted
you → think → details
Amm concurs: “These cars are the antidote to disposable culture.
asserted
cars → concur → culture
It doesn’t hurt that cars like the Defender or Toyota LandCruisers are just as capable as they are aesthetically pleasing.
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they → hurt → Defender
“It’s a cool car to take to the beach or to your highlands farm, but it looks just as good parked outside a hotel next to a modern Range Rover – they cross worlds really well,” Amm says.
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Amm → ’ → worlds
Going off-road and offline
For Madelyn Holmes, a 31-year-old photographer from Queensland, it was this duality that kick-started her love affair with vintage Land Rovers.
asserted
that → go → Rovers
“My original interest was photography and nature, and I realised that 4WDs are the perfect way to access the more remote locations,” she says.
“It’s great to have a capable vehicle, but they’ve also got such a character to them, and they’re photogenic too,” she says.
asserted
she → realise → them
For Holmes, the bare-bones design was a plus rather than a minus, allowing her to disconnect from her screen-heavy lifestyle.
“I work in photography and graphic design, and I’m surrounded by cameras and phones and computers, so I like that it’s stripped back.”
Holmes is a seasoned Land Rover enthusiast – she’s owned three in total and currently runs a 2015 Defender 110 and a 1973 Land Rover Series III – but says she’s faced backlash from male enthusiasts not ready to welcome young women into the fold.
asserted
she → allow → fold
“At the start of my experience in Land Rover world, I had a lot of people saying ‘Wow, I really like your boyfriend’s car,’” she recalls.
asserted
she → have → car
“When I was trying to buy my Series III I had some people push back and say, ‘I’m not going to sell this car to you,’ purely based on my profile picture and name.”
asserted
I → try → picture
Holmes started her popular Instagram account @ladyinalandy as a tongue-in-cheek response to the sexist comments.
asserted
Holmes → start → comments
In reality, it’s younger buyers like Holmes that are seeing models like the Land Rover Defender and Toyota LandCruiser hold their value incredibly well on the used market.
asserted
models → ’ → market
Impressively, a 2012 Land Rover Defender on average retains more than 100 per cent of its original value when sold on today’s used market, according to data from automotive intelligence firm AutoGrab.
uncertain
Defender → retain → AutoGrab
Toyota LandCruisers are a similarly solid buy, with data showing two-to-four-year-old models are regularly selling for the same amount as they cost new.
asserted
they → show → new
For Jaycee Wilson, a LandCruiser Troop Carrier or “Troopy” was the only option when buying her first car.
asserted
Carrier → buy → car
“I fell in love with Troopy because I saw the possibility and capability.
asserted
I → fall → possibility
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
