Recommend me a 4x4

dr.fuzzenstein

Right, my turn.:)
I know next to nothing about 4x4's, I'm looking for something that is not too tractorish, good on snow and ice, diesel, sub 2 litres, will do at least 40 mpg, be reliable and not look like a glorified bus.
Any recommendations or am I mad?
Oh, and not cost over E5k just to make it interesting.:cool:

Eric Cartman

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Right, my turn.:)
I know next to nothing about 4x4's, I'm looking for something that is not too tractorish, good on snow and ice, diesel, sub 2 litres, will do at least 40 mpg, be reliable and not look like a glorified bus.
Any recommendations or am I mad?
Oh, and not cost over E5k just to make it interesting.:cool:

ahahahahhahaha your living in a dream world here mate , a pajero pinin or suzuki jimny are your only options really and neither of them will do 40mpg and are underpowered

Skuxx

Not much point getting a sub 2l 4x4, grand vitaras are the only 2l 4x4s afaik, much bigger choice if you went for 2.5 litre!

dr.fuzzenstein

I thought as much, get anything decent sized and minimum is 2.5 litres, will kill me on tax and petrol and is not practical for my daily 120 km commute.
Anything smaller will be a ridiculous tin box that will be completely hateful to drive.

JMSE

Hiluxsurf 3.0 litre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pull landrovers out of trouble when the going gets too tough for them.

Cant believe I'm saying this but may a subaru forrester?

For Forks Sake

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

-not too tractorish,
-good on snow and ice,
-diesel,
-sub 2 litres,
-will do at least 40 mpg,
-be reliable - not look like a glorified bus.
-not cost over E5k just to make it interesting.:cool:

-Chris-

I don't believe such a car exists!

-Corkie-

-Chris- wrote: »

I don't believe such a car exists!

Was thinking the same. First thing I thought of was the older model LC but they are fairly thirsty..:)

_Conrad_

first of all you'd be better to go in the 4x4 and tractors section, and second you may have to compromise a bit... the set of criteria are kind of unrealistic. You can get vitaras and daihatsu rockys etc with 1.6 engines but they're petrol. the vitaras in particular are cracking little 4x4s for what they are but not a lot of power and won't do anywhere near 40mpg

Eric Cartman

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2386621 2.5 , 28mpg

dr.fuzzenstein

JMSE wrote: »

Cant believe I'm saying this but may a subaru forrester?

Now there's an idea, had on of these before and it was completely unstoppable and I mean driving in the Bavarian Alps, delivering bread at 6 am through waist high drifts of snow, I used to try and get it stuck, can't be done, greatest car in the snow I ever owned.

Absurdum

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Honda/HR-V/1.6-4WD-/13125283784015/advert?channel=CARS
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mazda/Tribute/2.04WD-5/201132203884428/advert?channel=CARS
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/Rav4/GX-4X4-L/201106201173482/advert?channel=CARS
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Nissan/X-Trail/SPORT-4X/201125203013219/advert?channel=CARS

and so on, most won't do 40mpg but who cares really

and get some winter tyres too

dr.fuzzenstein

Eric Cartman wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2386621 2.5 , 28mpg

Nah, too blurry.:D;)
Good one though

colm_mcm

Some sort of 1.9 tdi quattro style yoke is the only thing I can think of

Octavia, a4, a6 kinda thing

coolbeans

Closest to what you want is a Grand Vitara.

Dardania

Toyota RAV4 get's close:

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/specs/summary.aspx?model=947&page=3

http://www.carzone.ie/search/results?searchsource=finder&nParam=4294910986%2B200285%2B200301&channel=CARS&cacheBuster=1313224044515595#nParam=4294910986%2B200285%2B200301%2B200590%2B102456&sortby=p_VehiclePriceEUR|0&channel=CARS&currency=EUROS&searchResultsView=THUMBNAIL&maxrows=30

bijapos

I think if you don't need it for farm, construction work or for towing and if ground clearance is not an issue then your best bet is to go for a standard car with 4WD.

Most car 4x4 systems are designed with snow and ice in mind and for European markets where snow is relatively common. Because of their size and weight they will be more economical than a full size 4x4.

Whatever you do budget for 4 proper winter tyres (not all season ones). A 4x4 with summer or all season tyres isn't much use, in fact a RWD with winter tyres would be better than that.

redman

bijapos wrote: »

Whatever you do budget for 4 proper winter tyres (not all season ones). A 4x4 with summer or all season tyres isn't much use, in fact a RWD with winter tyres would be better than that.

Not the case in my S6 quattro on SP3's I was able to drive throughout last year in dublin suburb and city snow. Often getting past stuck Land Rover 4x4 and ordinary RWD. But I do agree it would be unbeatable with Winter tyres

Thatnastyboy

I know they're a 2.2 with slightly higher tax than a 2lt,


http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2405129
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2427621

I had a loan of one of these for a while, and i was not expecting much of it, but my god i was surprised, they have plenty of power, except for outlandish turbo lag, the one i had was top spec with the huge sunroof sunroof, electric heated leather seats etc.

They handle well and are not too wavy on the road, they're more like a big car than a jeep but id have one over any Korean shite any day.

It wasnt too bad on diesel either, Ive no idea of mpg but with the 6 speed box, 120kmh on the motorway was only around 2k rpm iirc.

*Edit, also, if you are that way inclined, I put a trailer with a good load (3.5t + trailer) onto it and it pulled it no problem.

DoneDL

39 MPG according to Parkers.

Tropheus

redman wrote: »

Not the case in my S6 quattro on SP3's I was able to drive throughout last year in dublin suburb and city snow. Often getting past stuck Land Rover 4x4 and ordinary RWD. But I do agree it would be unbeatable with Winter tyres

My Allroad was the same and wasn't on winter tyres. There wasn't anything last winter threw at it that it couldn't handle. It even managed to two two vans up a hill that were stuck in our estate.

The Audi Quattro system is unbeatable in my opinion. An A4 Quattro would fit the bill, but unfortunately they're like hen's teeth so you'd probably have to go to the UK to get one.

Absurdum

Thatnastyboy wrote: »

I know they're a 2.2 with slightly higher tax than a 2lt,


http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2405129
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2427621

I had a loan of one of these for a while, and i was not expecting much of it, but my god i was surprised, they have plenty of power, except for outlandish turbo lag, the one i had was top spec with the huge sunroof sunroof, electric heated leather seats etc.

They handle well and are not too wavy on the road, they're more like a big car than a jeep but id have one over any Korean shite any day.

It wasnt too bad on diesel either, Ive no idea of mpg but with the 6 speed box, 120kmh on the motorway was only around 2k rpm iirc.

*Edit, also, if you are that way inclined, I put a trailer with a good load (3.5t + trailer) onto it and it pulled it no problem.

+1, I had one of these too, never an ounce of trouble with it, I'd go for a 2004 on diesel model though, 136bhp Vs 112bhp (I think), more economical and less turbo failure issues. Make sure it's not a 2wd of course!

Barr

The older type Santa Fe would tick most of them boxes.

Monty.

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Right, my turn.:)
I know next to nothing about 4x4's, I'm looking for something that is not too tractorish, good on snow and ice, diesel, sub 2 litres, will do at least 40 mpg, be reliable and not look like a glorified bus.
Any recommendations or am I mad?
Oh, and not cost over E5k just to make it interesting.:cool:

Given the budget . . .

Import a 1.2 petrol 4x4 Fiat Panda from the UK, very good reliability, low road tax, and it will do at least 60mpg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAg4DdXAp7Y

Alternatively an older freelander might fit the bill, they can be a bit risky reliabilty wise, buy carefully with full service history

Theanswers

redman wrote: »

Not the case in my S6 quattro on SP3's I was able to drive throughout last year in dublin suburb and city snow. Often getting past stuck Land Rover 4x4 and ordinary RWD. But I do agree it would be unbeatable with Winter tyres

No offence but the problem with the Land Rover has to have been the driver/ or poor tyres as in bald because they are a better 4x4 car.

I'm not doubting the quattro is good but I do know that it would not have driven through the snow which I drove my old Range Rover p38 threw last Christmas.

Mountain Pass in Donegal, 2ft of snow. The road was closed... The jeep was more like a plough than anything else.

But for average snow driving the quottro would be very good.

OP, in regards to your question. Get an old 4x4 such as mine tax it comm for the 3 months of Christmas. Use your other car the rest of the year.

They are pretty cheap and easy to fix if anything goes wrong.

Ps, the RR was on Summer tyres.

exador

Freelander with the BMW 2.0 diesel engine ...no idea of MPG

LCruiser Kid

Buy a landcruiser and be done with it :cool:

Nissan doctor

Buy 4 snow tyres for your current car and the car will be able for all but the most severe snow fall with competent driving.



Buying a 4x4 for a 120km a day commute so that IF we get a couple of days/weeks of snow a year you won't get stuck is ridiculous.

dr.fuzzenstein

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Buy 4 snow tyres for your current car and the car will be able for all but the most severe snow fall with competent driving.

Buying a 4x4 for a 120km a day commute so that IF we get a couple of days/weeks of snow a year you won't get stuck is ridiculous.

True enough, but our second car (the one to be replaced) is an MX5 with RWD and utterly useless, I know we could winter tyres on it and stick 50 kg's in the boot, but that would completely spoil in for the motorway bit.
We live on a hill, with 8 km of twisty, turny, ice covered roads that don't get cleared in the winter and can be pretty dicey, but the rest of the journey is 50km of motorway and for that (I'm trying to convince her) a big 4x4 is just not practical.
I've asked a few of the farmers and they seem to favour the usual Pajeros, Landcruisers, even Daihatsus, but according to the guy in the Pajero, the one thing that never, ever got stuck is his wife's Ford Ka!
And I myself have been driving various forms of Focus and even a Transit Connect in the snow here and never got stuck.
We're on a very tight budget, her 00 MX5 isn't worth a fortune and I'm trying to steer her to a Focus. That with winter tyres should get her up and down our hill no problem.

P.S.
Really love the Panda 4x4! Don't think she'll go for it.:D
RAV4 also looks like a contender.

Absurdum

you do realise that if you get rid of the MX5 and buy a 4x4, we'll have a mild, snow-free winter followed by a cracking summer next year? Don't do it

Eric Cartman

Absurdum wrote: »

you do realise that if you get rid of the MX5 and buy a 4x4, we'll have a mild, snow-free winter followed by a cracking summer next year? Don't do it

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2295422 problem solved

Nissan doctor

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

True enough, but our second car (the one to be replaced) is an MX5 with RWD and utterly useless, I know we could winter tyres on it and stick 50 kg's in the boot, but that would completely spoil in for the motorway bit.
We live on a hill, with 8 km of twisty, turny, ice covered roads that don't get cleared in the winter and can be pretty dicey, but the rest of the journey is 50km of motorway and for that (I'm trying to convince her) a big 4x4 is just not practical.
I've asked a few of the farmers and they seem to favour the usual Pajeros, Landcruisers, even Daihatsus, but according to the guy in the Pajero, the one thing that never, ever got stuck is his wife's Ford Ka!
And I myself have been driving various forms of Focus and even a Transit Connect in the snow here and never got stuck.
We're on a very tight budget, her 00 MX5 isn't worth a fortune and I'm trying to steer her to a Focus. That with winter tyres should get her up and down our hill no problem.

P.S.
Really love the Panda 4x4! Don't think she'll go for it.:D
RAV4 also looks like a contender.

Ok maybe a very light rwd car like the mx5 wouldn't be great but IMO unless you live in the mountains you still don't need a 4x4. I have very steep hills to and from my house and even though my RWD car was a bit ropey any FWD car I was driving had no problems at all.

In most instances its the drivers that get the cars stuck in snow/ice, not the car. If you buy a fwd car which has modern driver aids like ESP and/or EBD then any driver should have no problem as with those you can just keep you foot flat on the accelerator if you like and the electronics will control everything else. The wifes Toyota IQ has these and I was able to take it down roads where front bumper was plowing through the snow without a problem.

johnos1984

Suzuki Jimny

Nissan doctor

johnos1984 wrote: »

Suzuki Jimny

Just don't use the steering wheel or you'll need new wing mirrors!:P

johnos1984

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Just don't use the steering wheel or you'll need new wing mirrors!:P

Great off road though

langdang

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Just don't use the steering wheel or you'll need new wing mirrors!:P

Never had that problem in my rental jimny, and I had that thing squealing around Greek roads! Great craic

Edit - DrFuzz - the Honda CRVs are grand and cheap (2L petrol SUV, couldn't give em away!), simple and reliable and should handle what our new style of winters would throw at them handy enough. I know it doesn't tick many of your original boxes, but they are cheap. The interior of the first gen ones is no better than old foresters tho - functional is the most positive way of describing them!

Nissan doctor

What about the 06ish on Daihatsu terrios? 1.3 or 1.5 petrol engines so cheap enough to run and tax, decent on the road, reliable(built in Japan not europe) and a proper off road capable 4x4 chassis?

Nissan doctor

langdang wrote: »

Never had that problem in my rental jimny, and I had that thing squealing around Greek roads! Great craic

I had one in Greece once too, try doing a sharp left-right swerve to avoid a moped then an oncoming car and see what happens:eek::(:mad: