THE first Toyota Jamaica 4×4 Experience event for 2015 was a resounding success as twenty-five vehicles showed up to take the trek from Liguanea, St Andrew to Reggae Falls, St Thomas last Sunday.

“The next one will be soon because people were already asking for another during this one,” Tracy-Ann Fletcher, assistant marketing manager, Toyota Jamaica, told Auto.

The 9:30 am start saw the group of 4×4 Toyota head into Papine and the upper reaches of the island. The route took the mix of vehicles ranging from the humble RAV4 to the mighty LandCruiser 70 Series piloted by Toyota Jamaica Managing Director, Tom Connor. Nestled amongst the variety of machines was the young trio of Khaleel Williams and Kristopher Thompson in the 1995 Toyota LandCruiser owned by driver Daniel Gordon. Gordon inherited his love of off-roading from his father and purchased the vehicle a year ago.

“This is my first time doing this TJ 4×4 Club and it was an enjoyable Sunday out,” he said.

The two-hour-plus drive carried the convoy to literally where the pavement ends, snaking up through Gordon Town, down into the coffee territory that is Mavis Bank, then past Cedar Valley before ending at the picturesque Reggae Falls. Despite its length, the journey threw plenty of challenges, more than most SUV drivers would see in their life, but enough to keep things interesting.

“Given the demand, we could make this a quarterly event,” Fletcher said.