I ended up grabbing the ping 3w since it is relatively cheap and gets me there. I figured that I will get a top level one when needed, but I am a long way from needing that!
Without looking at the OP's profile:
One reason to buy a 3WD is to spare a Driver. 3WDs are fairly good replacements if you have no driver, at a third of their costs.
I disagree, would buy a 3WD myself at that stage in the game