Colc08 Posted January 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 Thanks for your replies chaps. It needs to be on the smaller size due to parking. With the Mrs car on the drive the astra esate only just gets on so although a pick up would be preferred its not an option unfortunately. I'm now thinking SWB Nissan Terrano comercial. Pre March 06 ( after that the tax is £495 per 12 months!!! ) From what I can gather they are pretty reliable old buses with room for dog and a few sacks of wheat in the back without folded down seats restricting me. Possibly comfortableish on road and capable for what off road i need it for (mainly slippy, slightly rutty grass track and stubble fields) Rav4 will be a little too limited I think although not doubting thier reliability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrowningDJC Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 Something japanese, a good clean example of a shogun would do you well, and the terranos are very good also but i would go for the 2.7td. Anything toyota, and the little suzukis are very capable and reliable also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TW1990 Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 What about a Toyota Land cruiser? They do a swb version in which the seats can be taken out very easy. And would not Terrano commercial be cheaper tax as it is classed as commercial vehicle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colc08 Posted January 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 What about a Toyota Land cruiser? They do a swb version in which the seats can be taken out very easy. And would not Terrano commercial be cheaper tax as it is classed as commercial vehicle? Yes your correct. When you look online it states the TAX figures etc. but having just got off the phone to a dealer that has one he has confirmed what you are suggesting. Which is a bonus! I'll have a look at SWB Land Cruiser, I didn't know they did one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TW1990 Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 Yeah is a big bonus. There not that common but has just the same engine which is used in the lwb and the hulix. Very reliable. We have used a H reg one for 10 years only thing which has been needed to fix/change was a new battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 I would say any car that was not made on ether a Friday or a Monday as the saying goes cars made on Friday all of the workers are thinking about the weekend and all of the Monday cars they are fed up having to be back at work for another week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studley Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 Cant believe no-one has mentioned a car with a green oval, my 98 discovery is the es (leather seat, bum warmers, air con, electric everything, abs, airbags etc) model cost less than £2K is a proper off roader and comfortably does 70mph at 33mpg. Running it as a student so beg borrow and steal budget. Needed some welding and i had the cambelt done as a precaution. Can take 6 mates to the pub in it, took lots of research to find one without too much rust but can be fixed with a haynes manual and some forum help online. Spares market is ridiculous, i think you could make one from scratch with the spares on ebay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arley Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 Had a disco td5 XS for 9 years loved it. Got a disco 3 early days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elby Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 How seriously do you want to go off road? I`ve got a Honda CRV mk2 which has a modest off road ability coupled with legendary reliablity and longevity. I got a mk1 cos it has the double sunroof for lamping. Gotta say having owned most 4x4's the Honda is really impressive, goes places bigger 4x4's won't cos it's so light. I'm a keeper and use it for all my duties. Only thing I find a bit of a bind is loading sacks of grain in the back and not being able to tow a decent size trailer. Looking for a pickup now but will miss the Honda's comfort and economy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 I just bought an Xtrail to replace my Terrano. I gave it a great deal of thought and the deciding factors were mpg and the fact that it is hard to find a Terrano that doesn't have a cream interior. MPG is very good but I think I want another Terrano really. At 25 mpg I did always think twice on going somewhere, so I did the right thing really. If mpg isn't too much of an issue I would recommend the Terrano in 2.7TD. Solid, reliable, go anywhere and what few common problems they do have are easily and cheaply fixed. Droplinks are common fault, less than a tenner each for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 I am thinking of getting a small 4x4 to replace my astra estate. Just makes sense as dont do many miles and what my car is geting used/abused for i'd be better off with a small 4x4 to knock around it. Ideally a commercial 2 seater type so i can use the load space for my dog box and sacks of wheat without folding the back seats down. How small is small ? Most of the vehicles mentioned I would term as Big apart from the Diesel Vitara. Was very close to purchasing a swb 3.2 shogun today but pulled out at the last minute due to my gut feeling and some nasty write ups on them. I'm not saying they are all bad and any motor can have its problems and all though horroe stories on the internet can make anything look bad it just didn't fill me with confidence at all. If you looking at something with that sized engine you are looking realistically at sub 25 MPG ? Do you really want that? In your experiences what is the most reliable small 4x4 on the road? Its just for doing my 20 mile road trip to work and back, taking the dogs out in and going around doing my birds at the shoot. If its for occasional off road use but mainly used as a utility vehicle then the 2.0 TD Vitara would fit the bill admirably.. the diesel unit is punchy and it has a proper low ratio 4wd. Perhaps only Honda have produced a better diesel unit in recent years in the CRV and although these are extremely frugal and brilliant to drive, are adequate but not great off road.. Over the last twenty years I've had a Terrano that was fraught with problems even though it was only just run in with 50k on the clock...Gear box oil leaks, timing chains that sound like a skeleton in a biscuit tin, warped discs and dodgy valve system on the split circuit brakes that made it pull badly to the side under breaking.... not to mention dodgy injectors and the ubiquitous leaky door seals that they are renowned for. I've also had a 3.2 Trooper which suffered a myriad of Electrical problems , a Mitzi double cab that drank fuel like Dave Allen used to drink Gin and a 2.2 CRV that was just brilliant until it got really sloppy. The wife has had 2 Vitaras, I Jimny and perhaps the best of the lot a little Daihatsu Terios which was an admirable small 4x4 and never let her down and well worth considering as it was very capable off road. I wouldn't discount a Subaru ( like the Forester ) Legendary reliability and a brilliant all rounder. I currently drive an impreza estate and I wish I had bought one years ago Based on my experiences of owning all of the above the Vitara would be ideal, if you wanted a commercial you could always remove the rear seats or leave them permanently folded. Opinions will be very much appreciated. Well you did ask.! Cheers Col Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 (edited) Depending on ur circumstances/storage i'd do something totally different and buy a we crappy 2wd van and a quad and trailer. Not a big fan of 4x4's despite running them for the years, actually saving 2k a year in fuel running a van instead of my 4x4, Pretty much all the 4x4's are expensive to buy and worse to run and most sit about the 25ishmpg mark (even the jimny's). Also heavy esp if loaded with feed depending how dry ur shoot is u might still struggle to get feed out without making a mess of the fields. With a cheap combi/caddy type van u get the benift of cheap to buy and run, put winter tyres or AT if they come in that size and u may be surprised where they go, when it gets wet u can pull the quad and trailer out of ur shed, quads are great for a multitude of jobs from lamping and almosrt essentialfor keepering nowadays Prob pick up the whole set up for same price u would off bought a 4x4 for, in my opinion a van/quad/trailer set up is far more versatile for same money, but depends on u getting some decent storage for quad and trailer Mike has made some good points above, my l200 double cab was 5ish m long, took a hell of a manouvering into tight bits until u get the hang off them, but at other end the jimny's/terrios have absolutely no room for much gear and dogs and little towing ability. Just a case of hosres for courses, plenty of pluses/minus's for each pick up. Doubt i'll ever go back to only owning a 4x4 now, i do need 1 for work occasionally but can't afford to run it full time, managing with the 2wd not too bad with a bit off thought wot u are doing when parking driving off road and it tows my quad around, great setup, would reccommend it to anyone that can store a bike Edited January 22, 2014 by scotslad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HW682 Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 http://www.reliabilityindex.com/ratings/best/Compact%20SUV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3800lloyd Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 got rav 4 at the moment , had grand vitara before , no trouble with either excellent trucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drone Posted January 24, 2014 Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 Kia sorento, bought mine new in 04, 120+ thousand miles, only problem so far is punctures though, touch wood, haven't had one for a year now, tyres (kuhmo) not too expensive averages 26 mpg (2.5 td) tows up to 3500 Kgs when the mpg drops to about 22 with my 2700 kg rig on the back. Now needs a new battery and it cost £30 to top up the aircon gas. I just put new brake discs on the front as they were getting near MOT failure thickness but the rears are only half worn as you'd expect. Provided you don't do anything too silly it will go where my series 2a landy went so I sold that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daany Posted January 24, 2014 Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 I own a 3 liter van back Terrano 2 very good little truck, good set of tyres and it will go anywhere, not very good on fuel but I don't do many miles as it's just for training dogs and when I'm out with the guns, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pycoed Posted January 24, 2014 Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 40 mile a day back & fore to work, no towing or load carrying involved & yet some people are recommending pickups??? Get a Fiat Panda 4X4 /Terios/JImny/Vitara or something that'll run on veg oil & is SWB. Pajero or the like - I think the 2.7 Terrano's will also run on veg. Buy it at Bookers 80p a litre ( I run a Korando & am very happy with it over the last 3 1/2 years, but I'm not doing 40 work miles a day any longer also they take a bit of finding) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunhills Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 I had a 5 door 2.0ltr petrol Grand Vitara for 61/2yrs used daily to work & offroad at least once a week & it never let me down, returned 30mpg week in week out sold it two months ago as 14yrs old. Very reliable car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colc08 Posted January 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 40 mile a day back & fore to work, no towing or load carrying involved & yet some people are recommending pickups??? Get a Fiat Panda 4X4 /Terios/JImny/Vitara or something that'll run on veg oil & is SWB. Pajero or the like - I think the 2.7 Terrano's will also run on veg. Buy it at Bookers 80p a litre ( I run a Korando & am very happy with it over the last 3 1/2 years, but I'm not doing 40 work miles a day any longer also they take a bit of finding) I am aware of diesels being able to run on veg oil but not too clued up on it. Hoe does it work? Do you literally just tip the veg oil in and run it as you normally would or is there any specific maintainence you need to keep up with? Also is there any difference in milage between diesel and veg oil? - cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Firstly you look a ***** in the cash and carry and secondly it's iffy once it gets cold and thickens up. Then the newer your vehicle generally the less the fuel pumps like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanielchris Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Terrano! I've got 2.7 intercooled commercial! Put Decent tyres on it. Fault less! Terrano! I've got 2.7 intercooled commercial! Put Decent tyres on it. Fault less! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colc08 Posted January 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Terrano! I've got 2.7 intercooled commercial! Put Decent tyres on it. Fault less! Terrano! I've got 2.7 intercooled commercial! Put Decent tyres on it. Fault less! I've pretty much decided thats what I'm going to go for. They do seem few and far between but I've got a couple of months so will be patient and just keep trawling the internet each day and see if anything pops up at a reasonable distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burky Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Suzuki jimmy does it for me took the two rear seats out, left loads of room for everything shooting plus two spingers most reliable 4x4 and cheap to run and it as low and high gear shift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazbev Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Subaru forester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckytrigger Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Ive just replaced my old diesel freelander with a diesel 3 door grand vitara. The 'vit' is better on fuel at a genuine 35+ mpg as opposed to the freelander which really struggled to return 30mpg fitted with mud tires. It also doesnt have annoying electric windows allround that are very prone to failure like my freelander had. The vit is excellent offroad and has the advantage over the freelander in having switchable 4 wheel drive 4 wheel high and low (the low has already been very handy on some of the waterlogged permissions ive been on this week). The seats fold flat giving plenty of room for my shooting gear. All in all its a cracking little motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.