Simpson Softroader Mazda 023
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Matt Brogan1 Jul 2016
FEATURE

Simpson by soft-roader

Australia’s Simpson Desert is one of the most inhospitable places on earth. Can it be crossed in a pair of popular family crossovers?

Winner of the 2014 Australasian Safari (production class) and motoring.com.au road test editor Matt Brogan, along with trucksales.com.au editor Geoff Middleton, are no strangers to adventure. But in attempting to cross the world’s largest parallel sand dune desert in a pair of SUVs better suited to the shopping centre car park, our intrepid pair may just have bitten off more than they can chew. Can the Simpson be crossed by soft-roader? We jump behind the wheel of Mazda’s CX-3 and CX-5 to find out.

Australia’s love affair with SUVs shows no sign of abating and this year we could buy more of them than passenger cars for the first time. Aside from being easier to get into and out of – and offering a better view of the road – than a traditional family wagon, a lot of the appeal for modern SUVs is undoubtedly due to the rugged, go-anywhere capability they promise.

And while demand for proper off-road 4x4s is also stronger than ever, the SUV sales boom is being fuelled largely by car-based crossover wagons, many of them marketed by their makers with the dream of traversing our big, brown continent.

In most cases the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. As any experienced four-wheel driver knows, tackling a desert crossing is a perilous undertaking no one should take lightly. Attempting it in the family SUV is arguably one of the riskiest things you could ever attempt, so you’d be forgiven for thinking we’ve completely lost the plot.

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The desert doesn’t tolerate the imprudent. Travelling into the Australian Outback has been the last journey many unprepared tourists have made. It’s a profound thought, and one we are keeping front of mind as we ready ourselves and our vehicles for this intrepid adventure.

In deciding to cross the Simpson by soft-roader we selected a route better suited to the chassis geometry of our road-focussed vehicles. Factoring in the limited ground clearance and suspension travel of the CX-3 and CX-5 we chose the easier (ha!), southernmost route – the Rig Road – in a west-east direction.

This way we’d avoid the steeper western inclines of the sand dunes, of which there are almost 1200, on the tougher, more heavily trafficked French Line, which is the most popular option for off-road adventurers.

With our safety flags in place and a stockpile of essential equipment, including fuel and communications systems, we aimed our noses east and readied ourselves for four days of discovery.

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Knowledge is key
There’s a great deal of preparation that must come before an off-road trip of any consequence. Knowing where to go and how to get there is a great start, but having an understanding of the demands that lie ahead is another. As a bare minimum, we recommend the following.

Do your research: Talk to four-wheel drive clubs and learn from the experiences of others. If you’ve never driven in the desert before, get some practice on sand first. It’s a tricky task that can waylay even the most experienced off-roader. It’s also important to know where you’ll need permits and what you can and can’t take with you. And to make sure your vehicle is in tip-top condition.

The Munga-Thirri National Park (the Simpson Desert’s proper title) is closed between December 1 and March 15 each year, and takes a minimum of three days to cross. Seasoned travellers say May to October is the best time to make the crossing to avoid the higher daytime temperatures. Permits are required throughout the park, while a separate Desert Parks Pass is required for entry and camping in some areas.

Simpson Softroader Mazda 007

It’s recommended a vehicle with four-wheel drive (and preferably low range), high ground clearance and suitable suspension geometry is selected. Self-sufficiency is absolutely essential. You’ll need to securely carry your own food and water, and your own fuel. It’s recommended you carry a minimum of seven litres of water per person, per day – and enough food and water to last an additional week, just in case.

There are no service stations out here and the Simpson’s soft sand will increase fuel consumption considerably. Calculate your vehicle’s usual off-road fuel use, add another 60 per cent and you should have ample. The shortest distance across the Simpson (the French Line) is 438km.

Sand flags measuring 300x290mm in size and of a fluorescent colour must be fitted a minimum of 3500mm from the ground. You should carry a UHF radio tuned to channel 10 to communicate with other vehicles approaching the dunes. It’s also recommended you buy an ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter) and hire or buy a HF radio or satellite phone for emergency use before you go.

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Remember, like most places, the Simpson Desert is affected by fire restrictions at certain times of the year. It’s also a good idea to watch the weather report as wet weather can make the desert impassable.

More than 70 per cent of Australia is classified as desert, and the Simpson is just one of the many worth exploring.

Who’d have thunk it
Believe it or not, the Simpson Desert was named after the bloke who owned the washing machine company of the same name. Go figure. It’s the largest parallel sand dune desert in the world and the fourth largest desert by area in Australia. With more than 1200 red, sandy dunes from end to end, the Simpson covers an area of 176,500 square kilometres – an area larger than Uruguay, or half the size of Germany.

Owing to the prevailing winds, the Simpson’s dunes are easiest crossed from west to east. That said, the dunes at the eastern end are larger in size, with Nappanerica (or Big Red) measuring more than 40 metres high. In places, the dunes’ ridge line can run unbroken for up to 200km.

The Simpson Desert spans the edges of South Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland, and includes the corner of the three states known as Poeppel Corner. Because it intersects three time zones, the location celebrates New Year’s Eve three times!

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You might think there’s nothing out here but sand. But the desert is alive with plants and animals, especially after rain. Good vehicle protection and lighting are especially necessary around dusk and dawn, as are decent recovery points and equipment should the worst happen. Make sure your vehicle is running at its best, and get all fluid and consumable parts (like brake pads) replaced before you go.

And don’t forget a paper map or road atlas in case that high-tech nav machine goes on the fritz.

No place for a soft-roader
The Simpson is usually the domain of ‘real’ four-wheel drives like the Land Rover Discovery, Nissan Patrol or Toyota LandCruiser. The Mazda CX-3 and CX-5 are quite capable within their own right, but with an urban focus are best suited to trips on unsealed or snow-covered roads, and not the Australian Outback.

But it’s great to live in a country so vast that ‘firsts’ can still be achieved, and in this case Middleton and I are attempting to be the first to cross the Simpson by soft-roader. Geoff will take the reins of the CX-5 Maxx Sport AWD SKYACTIV-D (diesel) and I’ll pilot the smaller CX-3 sTouring AWD SKYACTIV-D. We’ve also enlisted the assistance of a BT-50 as our recovery and support vehicle.

In addition to the sand flag and stickers, both the CX-3 and the CX-5 are accessorised only with a UHF radio, a pair of driving lights and all-terrain BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A K02 Baja Champion tyres. They are otherwise identical to the examples found on Mazda’s showroom floor.

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Apart from their popularity (the mid-size CX-5 remains the nation’s top-selling SUV bar none, while the CX-3 is the second-best-selling compact SUV), the primary reason for selecting Mazda in tackling this expedition was its all-wheel drive system.

Both the CX-3 and CX-5 are equipped with i-ACTIV AWD (introduced with the CX-5 in 2013), an on-demand set-up that drives the front wheels until such time as wheel slip is detected at the rear. At this point, an electromagnetically activated variable clutch mechanism sends only the amount of drive required to the rear wheels.

It’s a system that benefits packaging (the engine can be mounted transversely rather than longitudinally) and fuel economy considerably, as well as reducing wear on those parts not required in everyday running (as can be the case with permanent all-wheel drive arrangements). It’s also considerably lighter (the CX-5’s AWD arrangement is 38kg lighter than the system used in the CX-7 it replaced).

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What’s more, the i-ACTIV AWD system takes inputs from the cars’ ambient temperature sensor, windscreen wipers and inclinometer, which it combines with the level of force input and position of the steering wheel, throttle and brake pedal position and individual wheel speeds (some 27 channels of data analysed 200 times per second) to ‘anticipate’ how best to distribute drive front-to-rear.

Unlike similar systems that wait until the front wheels spin before engaging drive to the rear, Mazda says its system is essentially ‘predictive’ and should prevent wheel spin from occurring in the first place. It can ‘split’ torque as much as 50:50 (front:rear) if it’s determined more power is needed at the rear wheels.

It’s anticipated Mazda’s i-ACTIV AWD system may soon be further aided by a torque vectoring function it calls G-Vectoring Control. Watch this space…

Dune o’clock
After travelling almost 2500km from motoring.com.au headquarters in Melbourne via Burra, Coober Pedy, Finke and Mount Dare (a circuitous route necessary due to recent flooding) we spend an evening at Dalhousie Springs preparing our soft-roaders for combat – and soak ourselves in the famed hot-water pond.

Before heading for the desert we carry out a cursory inspection of the underbody and engine bay, drop the tyre pressures and strap our swags and camera gear tight. Recent heavy rain and the substantial traffic that winter brings to these parts had made the track in and out of Dalhousie Springs rather choppy. Large rocks had been pulled from the earth and on to the track, making progress in the CX-3 slow going.

The track heading in to the Simpson Desert Regional Reserve was likewise gibber-strewn and heavily rutted, adding time to our trip and slowing the CX-3 to a jog. Careful wheel placement was required to prevent damage to the little Mazda’s undercarriage, a point that didn’t faze the CX-5 which made easier progress over challenging terrain. The smaller of the two CX models ground clearance registers just 155mm against 210mm for the CX-5.

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It’s an unusual concept for first-time visitors to these parts, but the sand dunes really do take some getting to. From Dalhousie Springs to dune number one is a distance of approximately 45km, and with hard going, the first sight of sand is welcome.

Following the French Line the dunes build in size from west to east, and the gentler west-facing gradient encourages steady progress through the latter stages of day one. We head south at Wonga Junction for the less-travelled Rig Road, making an impromptu stop (we ran out of daylight) just east of the abandoned Mokari Oil Well.

Night draws quickly at this time of year and as the shadows of the dunes stretch further at each rise, we decide to make camp beneath the full moon as the dingoes howl their doleful refrain. With campfire set and swags pitched, the cool of the desert night brings a restful quiet to the day’s end.

The dips are getting bigger
We’d somehow pitched camp at what in the light of morning seemed a dividing line in the dunes’ severity. Day two began immediately with more challenging grades and unsympathetic falls, the CX-3 and CX-5 judiciously and frequently utilising their four-wheel drive systems to confront the sea of sand that lies ahead.

Our course soon swung south again as we trekked between the dunes along the Rig Road to Walkandi Junction. The clay-based Rig Road was so-named for its ability to better support the rigs (trucks) used to supply early oil exploration in these parts, but is today less-travelled as the absence of traffic shows.

We follow the pad marks of dingoes for mile after mile, spotting camel tracks at some intervals and a lonely grave at another. The slower pace dictated by the topography of the steepening sand allows time to immerse our gaze on the overwhelming variety of plant and bird life rains have brought to this usually arid place, pausing only to navigate the next dune, and ensure via radio we wouldn’t inadvertently meet an oncoming traveller.

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From Walkandi we again bisect the dunes, this time heading northward to Lone Gum. This towering tree appears inexplicably between the spinifex and salt bush, a plaque noting both its mystery and significance to passing travellers. The genus is peculiar to these parts, some assuming the Box Eucalypt was sown by indigenous nomads long before European folk arrived. We reach the landmark as nightfall ascends and decide to retire near Burraburrinna Well, the camp oven simmering on hot coals as a full moon rises over the dunes.

Our four-legged canine friends become more curious overnight, attempting to join me in my swag and carrying with them items we’d neglected to properly pack away. When camping in the outback it’s imperative to secure your food and shoes lest the dingoes decide to help themselves.

Scratch and dent fail
Considering their stature in relation to vehicles more typical of these parts, the CX-3 and CX-5 had so far made the journey unscathed. Fellow travellers had been surprised at our progress, and were overwhelmingly encouraging of our efforts. We too had remarked at how well the pint-sized SUVs had progressed, the first two-and-a-half days traversed with only a single use of the snatch strap, and not a scratch or dent to speak of. Then we reached the eastern desert lakes…

Suddenly, as if to say ‘I told you so’, the dunes grew taller and more abrupt. Ground clearance proved an impediment for the smaller CX-3 and by mid-afternoon I’d been ‘recovered’ for a second time.

The CX-3 fought hard the rest of the day, clashing time and again against the soft sand and gnarly lumps of the dunes’ approach as it clambered to the top of the intensifying ranges. A call on the radio let me know I’d torn a plastic cover from beneath the car, perhaps a sign that we were getting in over our heads.

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With the taller dunes come higher crests of soft sand, the red powder compacting in the lower intake of the CX-3 choking the transmission cooler. The repeated clearing of the aperture proved fruitless as the six-speed automatic showed recurring signs of heat stress, eventually inspiring the invention that comes with necessity. Taping our fly nets over the CX-3’s lower intake slowed the ingress of sand, the little SUV responding happily to the clear air our makeshift modification provided and continuing the day without incident.

It’s a point that didn’t mar the CX-5’s progress. The higher-set ride of the larger vehicle had again proved a beneficial ally, but one that didn’t always equate to easy travel. Just as the soft sand and choppy track had slowed the CX-3, the CX-5 had also required repeated attempts at some of the dunes – and a hard-charging approach at the now-muddy lakes they interspersed. Both SUVs now employed their all-wheel drive systems in overtime, and with a quickened pace required to ascend the growing peaks had soon looked a little worse for wear.

Fortunately for us the damage was cosmetic, restricted mostly to underbelly covers and ancillary wheel guard extensions. The fly net filters had saved our pair’s mechanicals, and for the remainder of the crossing the little Mazdas carried on unperturbed.

Big dread
With the larger lakes filling with the run-off of recent rains, we detoured Poeppel Corner for the northern-most QAA Line. The west-east trail traverses heady dunes and wider flat expanses in equal number before abruptly depositing our party at the foot of Big Red.

If the dunes leading us to this point had been a trial then surely this giant final mound is an automotive death sentence. Parked at the base and watching 200 Series LandCruisers and Isuzu D-MAXs try and fail conjures a moment of dread. The gathered audience colludes to curse our attempt, suggesting the Chicken Track around the famous landmark as a safer option.

But we didn’t come this far to wimp out now. The straight-ahead ascent beckons and with the little SKYACTIV-D in full song we bounced and skipped over the increasing rise, pointing skyward as the wheels spin then bog deeply in the churned-up sand. To date our BF Goodrich rubber had worked well at clearing the sand from its tread and carrying on, but with so many 4WDs roiling the same patch of Big Red recurrently, successful traction eluded us.

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Reversing to the base felt disheartening. The CX-3 had so far proved unstoppable, and giving up now would have made the entire crossing a bust. I wasn’t beaten yet…

As had proved the case in my countless times across the Simpson, a diagonal course over the dunes was often more effective. Spying such a route to Big Red’s southern side I again gun the engine and make my march. The CX-3 runs hard at the gnarly track, all four wheels tearing at the sand as we hit a deeply rutted corner and aim for the highest point of the dune. The engine struggles for a moment as the sand ensnares the wheels before finding a second wind and surging to the red-coloured crown.

We’d made it. The CX-3 and I had climbed Big Red – the hard way – and was met with applause and handshakes from onlookers, leaving only the CX-5 below.

As if to imitate its little brother the CX-5 charges valiantly at Big Red’s steepest path, likewise conquering all but the final 15 metres before burying itself in the sand. My colleague tries again at the precipitous course to no avail before attempting the same diagonal path that had seen the CX-3 to victory only minutes before.

Two, three, four attempts later and the CX-5 takes the hard left-hander midway up and slows to a stop. It’s as if the CX-3 crossing the same point had taken the final layer of usable surface with it. Eventually the CX-5 relents and takes the Chicken Track around Big Red, climbing the easier east-facing track some 20 minutes later to join us at the top.

Done and dusty
Crossing 500km of desert in a pair of low-slung crossovers whose 4WD systems will likely never tackle more than a trip to the snow says a lot for Mazda’s SUVs. The fact they managed the whole trip and had to be recovered only three times speaks volumes.

In crossing the Simpson we covered terrain that challenges even the most serious off-roader – and managed it without a puncture, a broken windscreen or even a dent. Sure, some of the underbody covers are missing, there’s a bit of bush pin-striping and a wheel-arch moulding is now attached with Gaffers tape, but considering the stature of the SUVs involved and the difficulty of this particular crossing, the (lack of) damage is remarkable.

We also can’t praise the tyres highly enough. The square edge of the tread helped us climb out of ruts time and again, while the thick sidewall prevented puncturing from sharp rocks and tree roots at the same time. The tread cleared mud and sand with ease and, despite a little road noise, the rubber was commendable on-road, keeping its cool despite hours at a time on varied surfaces.

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We point out again that this isn’t something you should attempt in your own SUV. In short, it’s not a good idea. We entered the desert with a lot of preparation, a recovery vehicle and with very experienced drivers. To attempt it with anything less would be foolish, and possibly even fatal.

But it does prove how capable Mazda’s i-ACTIV AWD system really is.

We’ve experienced all manner of all-wheel drive systems in similar SUVs before and, usually, they get stuck right when you need them most. Even without a centre differential lock or low-range ratios, Mazda’s system proved flawless.

Drive between axles is as near to intuitive as you could want for, and as the CX-5 proved (well, except for on Big Red) it works as well as many of the systems found in larger four-wheel drives when challenging difficult terrain.

Soft-roaders they might be, but Mazda’s CX-3 and CX-5 are anything but soft.

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Related reading:
>> Mazda CX-3 Review
>> Mazda CX-5 Review
>> Offroad Tips for Beginners
>> Top Six 4WD Tips
>> 4WD Tips: Safe Beach Driving

2016 Mazda CX-3 sTouring AWD SKYACTIV-D pricing and specifications:
Price: $33,390 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 77kW/270Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 134g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP

2016 Mazda CX-5 Maxx Sport AWD SKYACTIV-D pricing and specifications:
Price: $38,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 129kW/420Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 149g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP

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Written byMatt Brogan
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