4x4s - Can anyone recommend a good make for family use in really rural area?

[BellaLasagne]

Title says it all. We live in the sticks - hills, mud, ice, rain, narrow country lanes so are convinced we need a 4x4. Can anyone recommend a good reliable, economical (ha!) make that starts every time?

I don't actually need to go off-road very often - the occasional venture into a field would be the most excpected of it.

Surely it has to be Land Rover, the original hard working 4x4 ?

VOLVO VOLVO VOLVO VOLVO VOLVO VOLVO VOLVO VOLVO

XC70

or if you need 7 seats

XC90

There are loads of car bods on here who'll be able to advise. hub2dee is prob your best bet.

Do you need much ground clearance ?

in last week's Sunday Times, the BMW X5 came out best against the VW Toureg and Passat and the Audi A6 quattro. They were testing in the Alps in snowy conditions - icy 24% gradients

geartronic gears

depends how much you want to spend. i was looking at the mazda tribute awhile back and i couldn't quite believe how cheap it was. you can pick up one up new for about 15K!

Ah, forgot to mention budget. £8k tops, prefer £6k.

Need a bit of bottom clearance but would just like to be higher up on horrid roads and be able to go into 4WD when conditions bad (quite often).

Have been looking at Mitsubishi Shogun, Isuzu Troopers, LR, Jeep Cherokee, Ford Explorer anyone?

One of my friends has the Jeep

but it does roll rather a lot {in his DW opinion}

And is expensive for petrol and parts

but that may be just theirs

It is about 8 years old.

Don't know about others, sorry

Hub2dee will help

Have a look at the whatcar site, it's brilliant on comapring cars - I use it an awful lot for my job.

Nissan Xtrail?

I have a Toyota Rav 4, the older style. It's fab - super reliable, spacious. I wouldn't have any other 4X4 not exactly brill if you're going to do lots of off roading though

How about a Subaru Forester?

Very very reliable, economical (as long as you don't get the turbo) and has AWD (all wheel drive). Less huge than some of the others.

Some here

well as it happens I am selling my Land Rover Discovery V8iES (top of the range) LPG converted (£0.32 pl) It has 7 seats (2 fold out in the boot for when required. 6 play CD, leather interior, full SH (either dealership or specialist approved LR garage (friend of dh who only does LR), upgraded suspension so no wishy washy rolling, etc etc etc. £7k

you don't need a 4 x 4 - the biggest hazard in the sticks is narrow lanes and they are a nightmare for that IMO

BellaLasagne where do you live?

No, really, I know nothing about 4X4s.

Except my dad runs an older BMW525ixT which gives you ordinary looking estate car, leather, auto, air con, BM reliability and permanent 4X4. That could be one option. Few years old, 100K plus miles shouldn't cost you more than 4K and should be reliable.

If you need ground clearance for fields, but want ordinary looking (ie. not 4X4 beast), Kanga's XC70 is great. There, said it Kanga. You be nice to me now.

If you want 4X4 the whole shebang, Landies can be had as cheap as you like, just play budget vs. age. And same for Range Rovers, depending if you want the bulk.

I think you need my m8 jazzybee.

Hang on...

I want a XC70

hub2dee

Enid they are great [smug]

Enid, they are so great, and Kanga is sooooo generous, she is giving her much stroked car away as part of her automotive eroticisation deprogramming therapy (search 'car buffs' in title).

I am first in the queue though.

I may reject it if the wheels aren't shiny enough or the paint has been rubbed off the bonnet.

OK - Requirements are for a 4X4, which will mostly be driven on road, be reliable and economical and cost between £6-8k:

Nissan 2.2 Diesel X-Trail is ideal, but costs at least £10k - If you can stretch to that much, close your eyes and go for it.

Of the rest:
Subaru Forrester - Excellent car. Very comfortable, capable, stylish, and very very reliable. Downside in the petrol costs. You'll struggle to better 22mpg from the 2.5 litre engine.

Toyota RAV4 - another good car (I bought one for my sis-in-law), available in the price range, economical and reliable. But... Not great off-road, interior a bit plasticy for my tastes.

Older, Bigger cars:

Mitsubushi Shogun/Pajero (Pajero is Japanese market import): Very good, capable, rugged, economical and reliable. You should be able to get a later 2.8 turbo diesel - but, they are big, and heavy, which usually means bigger bills - Tyres, fuel etc.

Jeep Grand Cherokee: older shape model for this price. Good image, OK off road, course diesel available to better economy, reliability so so.

Oddball:

Toyota Hilux Surf: Mostly available as an import. You should be able to get a post '96 3.0 turbodiesel. Good power, very reliable, very rugged and good offroad 28ish mpg, and I think looks great if you can find one without the two-tone paint option.

My Choice? If I could stretch the budget, Nissan X-Trail. If not, Subaru Forrester.

hub2dee

Told ya'll: He's the best.

Amazing knowledge you old toad.

What I should do is pimp his brains out for £1 per piece of detailed super advice, and if you don't think it's worth it you don't pay.

jazzybee, I owe you one MN pound. BellaLasagne, you owe me one MN pound. Bella: get your money's worth and ask all the questions you need to. Any model. Any spec. Any year. He's your man. If at the end you think his advice is crap, reclaim the virtual MN pound.

jazzybee: what are you going to do with the pound ????

Hub2Dee.... £1 hmmmm can I get a carwash for that ?

Maybe I'll save up