the wife has give me the go ahead

[John-B]

so i've been thinking long and hard and done a bit of searching,

I will basically tell you guys what i require of it and let me know what you think

It will be mainly used for getting to and from my permissions across the steep and in winter snow covered penines, it will be required to do a little bit off road and when i say of road I mean driving on wet grass fields and NOT ploughed fields etc etc, also I would like a bit of room inside for all my carp fishing gear, fuel economy would be another contributing factor the higher mpg the better for me, finally safety and comfort for both me, my wife and children on days out.

Sooooooooo at the moment I have narrowed it down to 2 possibilities, Number 1 being a nissan X trail and number 2 a discovery TD5 budget will probably be a maximum of 5k with a 1500/2k trade in on the old car.

your thoughts and advice please.

 

Regards,

 

JB

[artschool]

i have been looking myself but have been put off by the road tax costs of new discos.

[al4x]

if its just those two its hard, the xtrail will be better on road and give better mpg and be more reliable, but off road they are a bit tragic, on that I'd have the td5

[John-B]

if its just those two its hard, the xtrail will be better on road and give better mpg and be more reliable, but off road they are a bit tragic, on that I'd have the td5

 

that was similar to what I have heard, but like I say only off road will be wet soft grass (disused playing fields) and also steep gravel and pot holed driveways which will be bad in winter.

[Salop Matt]

How about a Suzuki Vitara ?

[John-B]

How about a Suzuki Vitara ?

 

nah, they look gay LOL

[TJ91]

nah, they look gay LOL

 

 

 

i prefer the look of the disco

havent owned or drove either but have been rearseat passenger plenty of times... xtrail was comfiest

Edited November 8, 2010 by TJ91

[vampire]

Fontera/trooper,my frontera is brilliant as the whole top hatch comes off to make ideal shooting out of platform,not so good on fuel though,but what ever you get have a look at a decent set of tyres,makes all the difference

[Bradders]

I have a 2005 x-trail sport (2.2dci) and it does me fine for both on-road and off road no problems. The only thing is, depending in which model you get you might struggle to get decent off road or all terrain tyres. My x-trail came with 215/60 R17 and trying to find all terrains to fit 17" wheels was impossible. Some x-trail's were also supplied with 215/65 R16's and you can at least get General Tire AT/2's in that size, I ended up getting a set of 16" wheels from my local dealer to put on the x-trail in the end so I could fit the AT/2's. These made a massive improvement to its off road capability. My permissions consist of steep grassy banks and very muddy/sticky paths/tracks and the x-trail copes well. Ground clearence is ok. Fuel consumption is 30ish round town and 35+ on a run.

 

When going off road and where the terrain looks a bit iffy (sticky/very wet etc) I tend to manually engage the 4x4 lock as a precaution. The 2 wheel drive and 4x4 (auto) modes are preferences and the vehicle will "over ride" what ever you set anyway. Engaging 4x4 lock does give some user control, although saying that it will disenagage 4x4 lock if the vehicle speed is what it considered excessive for lock or if traction is detected as "normal".

 

That said I would not change my x-trail for anything else, its a good all rounder that's comfortable on the road and is as capable off road as most 4x4's in its class.

 

To be honest, I have seen most 4x4's get stuck but this mainly due to driver error or having out and out road tyres fitted.

 

Hope this helps.....

Carl.

[tom_0787]

toyota hilux surf, Gen 2. Fuel consumption around 26mpg. Awsome trucks.

[billytheghillie]

l200 animal, about 30mpg and great on and off road, plus loads of room for the missus and kids! get one you wont regret it

[chrispti]

Shogun sport

 

Can get a decent fully loaded one for 5k, tax doesn't change to the higher price untill 2006 onwards

[richie223]

l200 animal, about 30mpg and great on and off road, plus loads of room for the missus and kids! get one you wont regret it

indeed the l200 is the way to go

[shaun4860]

I have a 2005 x-trail sport (2.2dci) and it does me fine for both on-road and off road no problems. The only thing is, depending in which model you get you might struggle to get decent off road or all terrain tyres. My x-trail came with 215/60 R17 and trying to find all terrains to fit 17" wheels was impossible. Some x-trail's were also supplied with 215/65 R16's and you can at least get General Tire AT/2's in that size, I ended up getting a set of 16" wheels from my local dealer to put on the x-trail in the end so I could fit the AT/2's. These made a massive improvement to its off road capability. My permissions consist of steep grassy banks and very muddy/sticky paths/tracks and the x-trail copes well. Ground clearence is ok. Fuel consumption is 30ish round town and 35+ on a run.

 

When going off road and where the terrain looks a bit iffy (sticky/very wet etc) I tend to manually engage the 4x4 lock as a precaution. The 2 wheel drive and 4x4 (auto) modes are preferences and the vehicle will "over ride" what ever you set anyway. Engaging 4x4 lock does give some user control, although saying that it will disenagage 4x4 lock if the vehicle speed is what it considered excessive for lock or if traction is detected as "normal".

 

That said I would not change my x-trail for anything else, its a good all rounder that's comfortable on the road and is as capable off road as most 4x4's in its class.

 

To be honest, I have seen most 4x4's get stuck but this mainly due to driver error or having out and out road tyres fitted.

 

Hope this helps.....

Carl.

 

 

I had 2 x-trails and would agree with all the above

 

however the older pre 53 reg 112bhp ones were a lot better on fuel.....high 30's around the doors and 45ish on a run taking it easy....

 

shaun

[ebygum32]

What about isuzu 3.0 not a 3.1 mate swears by them

[HDAV]

If you need a family wagon that copes with grass and gravel you could do alot worse than a Subaru Forrester or Mitsubishi outlander:

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...age/1?logcode=p

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...244er?logcode=p

 

Thirsty but practical for snow and ice with good tyres comfy family wagons.

 

OR with decent tyres... http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...244er?logcode=p

Edited November 8, 2010 by HDAV

[scarecrow243]

Hi go for an older disco 1 2.5tdi 30mpg from my 1992 seven seater plenty of room and comfy plus easy to work on not too many electronic faults like the td5

[paddywack12]

Hi go for an older disco 1 2.5tdi 30mpg from my 1992 seven seater plenty of room and comfy plus easy to work on not too many electronic faults like the td5

was just gonna say the same, got to be discovery all day long

[John-B]

was just gonna say the same, got to be discovery all day long

 

don't they rot and rust and corrode like crazy though???

[paddywack12]

don't they rot and rust and corrode like crazy though???

No more than any other motor.

I brought a 94 disco commercial for a grand and it sailed thro the MOT. You still see loads of older Discos about depends on how they have been looked after.

The money you are looking to spend you should be able to pick up something half decent and still have change.

 

The choice is yours but if you go for the x-trail...... mine is a short back and sides

[leeds chimp]

<!--quoteo(post=1230090:date=Nov 8 2010, 04:17 PM:name=salop sniper)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (salop sniper @ Nov 8 2010, 04:17 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1230090"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->How about a Suzuki Vitara ?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

 

nah, they look gay LOL

 

I have a grand vitara and not been stuck yet..only do the fields and odd bit of green laneing tho...but we are looking at the X Trail next when comes to change the car

[Birdy]

....only off road will be wet soft grass (disused playing fields...)

 

Contrary to a popular misconception, wet grass is about the most challenging and difficult to overcome terrain for most off-road vehicles/drivers. A Land Rover Experience driver once told me that on a course.

 

Underestimate that surface at your peril!!

 

Ade

[al4x]

don't they rot and rust and corrode like crazy though???

 

 

they sure do and in nasty places like the rear arch inners etc so cheap they are for a reason usually, as for grass being the worst surface i'd go with that when its muddy on top and hard underneath it can be slippery as hell, thought I'd got a mates L200 stuck on a small muddy slope last night. Got back up it but only just, that said it was on road tyres but still

[scolopax]

Well I am on my second Subaru Forrester so that is my recommendation, will do everything you want it to and in comfort. Mine have been ultra reliable, only minus point TBH is fuel consumption at about 28-30 mpg petrol, but they can certainly shift when you put the pedal to the metal.

[rubble without a cause]

Oh! So many choices?? :unsure: Both are good cars, both have pro's and cons. I went for the Disco TD% and have not expericenced any of the faults that everyone reports. I also know quite a few people who have them and they also have not experienced the problems reported. Parts are cheap and all garages can fix them, unless its the electricarry bit.

 

X trail is good also. My advice is try them both to see what suits you best