I hear ya, but take into consideration what the options were then. In the late 70's, anything new from the big 3 would have been equally problematic or more than likely, considerably worse. The K-Jetronic fuel system treated me very well on my 76 Fox, 77 Rabbit and numerous 80s VWs, but I've seen the horror show they are capable of. Every time I bring up Fox nostalgia to my father-in-law he starts grimacing.

Anyway, it obviously can't hold a candle to the reliability engineered into a modern car new car and it was the first and somewhat experimental generation of a lot of new Audi/VW/Bosch technology (and had lots more things to break than a '68 Bonneville), so the praise I offer for it is largely the context of it's era of production.

Did I mention that mine saw it's demise in a nasty T-bone accident? The entire car bent around the impact beams in the doors, preserving the integrity of the passenger compartment. I was sad to see it go, but it absolutely saved my ass.

Non-car people who owned Audi Foxes (1st gen Audi 80's) love to tell horror stories of what terrible cars they were and you can often find them, along with their VW Dasher counterparts, on the "worst car" lists of cut-rate automotive journalists and bargain-bin coffee table books.

I however, would like to vouch for the character, the gusto, the better-than-average-for-it's-day reliability, and the shockingly good winter weather prowess of this wonderful little, dramatically underestimated car. An unbaffled fuel tank that would cause it to run out of gas on extended highway ramp corners, a visibly off-center semi-independent rear beam suspension and dubious handling at full passenger capacity it may have had, but really, look at what else the world had to offer those days.

I dunno. I think domestic trucks of the era would probably hold up better in the rust belt (okay, they definitely did), but the 22R is one of the toughest motors I have ever seen. When I was a kid I drove one for over an hour is the summer heat with nothing but vapor in the cooling system.

Not an experienced off-roader but I'd put my money on the capability statement being accurate. That said, retro-car looks, dynamics, mystique, and even smell are a big part of this gearhead's disease. I'd still take an early 70's Bronco over a new Jeep or Land Cruiser any day (provided I don't have to put my young children in it that is, because that's just crazy talk).

I had a number of XJ Cherokees and on a number of occasions drove Explorers. While I don't really believe an Explorer is significantly more rollover-prone than the boxy, high center of gravity, double-live axle Cherokee, it always felt twitchier and just a little too nimble at freeway speeds for it's own good.

Just my take, though.

Hope you get the spare swapped out lickitey-split. 13" on one side and 14" on the other probably makes for unhappy spider gears.

Very nice car. unfortunately I have existing automotive vices to contend with or else I'd think on it.