How often do you use 4x4?

[wildfowler.250]

As title really? How often do you use 4 wheel drive? I've managed for years,(somehow) with a small Renault Clio. Back seats down for dog box and boot space was sufficient. I could get across stubble fields and up and down the A9 in pretty horrible conditions.

 

Needing a new motor now as the car is starting to show a few issues. I do a high mileage at the moment, maybe 500 miles some weeks. So MPG is a big factor. I have been half looking at the skodas. Octavia, Octavia 4x4, scout and the yeti.

 

The Octavia ticks boxes on mpg and fuel.

 

The 4x4 doesn't have bad mpg, maybe 50? But at a 1.5k more and lower fuel consumption, do I need it?

 

The scout is raised slightly and reinforced undeneath. A colleague said this made any maintenance work on their scout more expensive and longer to do.

 

The yeti, not fab MPG, but a handy size for city parking ect.

 

 

At most I'm 90% using it for myself, maybe 2 people,

 

 

If anyone can help narrow down the choices that would be great!

[Dead-Eyed Duck]

I have a Yeti 2L diesel, and it has averaged 52mpg over the past 8,000 miles.

 

Before this I also had a Yeti as a company car, and did 120,000 miles in 2.5 years in it. Because of this I bought one new when I retired. I don't do the mileage now that I used to, but this one has done over 70,000 with no major issues.

 

I don't use the 4 x 4 system all that much, but it is very reassuring when I do have to use it.

 

It is a great car around town, and the higher driving position makes things easier.

 

In my time I also had a 4 x 4 Octavia, and had no problems in it. Of the two I prefer the Yeti, but everyone to their own.

 

Is a 4 x 4 really necessary - it all depends on what you want to do with it. To my shame I admit that I once had a Prius as a company car, and again over 120,000 miles in 3 years that gave me no problems. I drove over grassy/stubble fields in it and it coped well. My mate managed to shoot over 500 rabbits out of the window of the Prius. He called it the whispering death, as on battery mode it was amazingly quiet.

 

If you want to get over ambitious and silly then you will get stuck. I was once a passenger in a Disco, and the mutley who was driving managed to get us slightly bogged in a wet patch at 2.00 in the morning. Quote from him when we ground to a halt - "I'll burn ourselves out of this and go for it..." He did - we ended up to the sills in glutinous mud.

Edited June 17, 2017 by Dead-Eyed Duck

[Red-dot]

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

3AM walks are no fun.

Edited June 17, 2017 by Red-dot

[ditchman]

once or twice/week....(i go thro boggy areas...even in summer)..............what i value the most is the ground clearance when it is dry and badly hard rutted....then diff lock when it is wet...........

[sako751sg]

In the winter every time im out either feeding or shooting,would be totally lost with out it.

[bullet1747]

I have a company 4x4 so every day

[Davyo]

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

3AM walks are no fun.

+1 however I still managed to get stuck lol.4x4 in my opinion is vital piece of equipment.When I stopped shooting it went,if I ever decided to start again a 4x4 would be purchased before any guns. Edited June 17, 2017 by Davyo

[Walker570]

I don't have any choice. I drive a Landie.

On your Cleo experience, I once owned it's predecessor the Renault 5 and that little motor went places that a Landie couldn't squeeze through. At the time I had a shoot on the mountain above the Cider mill at Crickhowell and there was no where on that shoot that little car would not go, laden with bales of straw and wheat. the back suspension went a bit funny and my Renault agent found that the rubber suspension joints had parted. Renault never ever thought they would need replacing and they had to cut the suspension to replace it.

The best part of your life you may not need that extra grip but take it from me when you find you do need it, it is well worth having.

I also have a Jaguar X type with permanent all wheel drive. Cracking car.

[wildfowler.250]

I have a Yeti 2L diesel, and it has averaged 52mpg over the past 8,000 miles.

 

Before this I also had a Yeti as a company car, and did 120,000 miles in 2.5 years in it. Because of this I bought one new when I retired. I don't do the mileage now that I used to, but this one has done over 70,000 with no major issues.

 

I don't use the 4 x 4 system all that much, but it is very reassuring when I do have to use it.

 

It is a great car around town, and the higher driving position makes things easier.

 

In my time I also had a 4 x 4 Octavia, and had no problems in it. Of the two I prefer the Yeti, but everyone to their own.

 

Is a 4 x 4 really necessary - it all depends on what you want to do with it. To my shame I admit that I once had a Prius as a company car, and again over 120,000 miles in 3 years that gave me no problems. I drove over grassy/stubble fields in it and it coped well. My mate managed to shoot over 500 rabbits out of the window of the Prius. He called it the whispering death, as on battery mode it was amazingly quiet.

 

If you want to get over ambitious and silly then you will get stuck. I was once a passenger in a Disco, and the mutley who was driving managed to get us slightly bogged in a wet patch at 2.00 in the morning. Quote from him when we ground to a halt - "I'll burn ourselves out of this and go for it..." He did - we ended up to the sills in glutinous mud.

Thanks for that. 52mpg would be very reasonable in the yeti! Better than 35mpg you get is most "jeeps" or pickups

[wildfowler.250]

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

3AM walks are no fun.

 

Very true!

 

once or twice/week....(i go thro boggy areas...even in summer)..............what i value the most is the ground clearance when it is dry and badly hard rutted....then diff lock when it is wet...........

 

Cheers for that, hadn't actually thought about rutted tracks. Been so used to driving with one wheel along the top of the rut because the last car was so small.

 

In the winter every time im out either feeding or shooting,would be totally lost with out it.

 

Thanks! Are you just switching to 4WD whenever you're off-road then or you just couldn't get without it?

 

I have a company 4x4 so every day

 

Do you use the actual 4WD system often or is it permanently on?

 

+1 however I still managed to get stuck lol.4x4 in my opinion is vital piece of equipment.When I stopped shooting it went,if I ever decided to start again a 4x4 would be purchased before any guns.

I don't have any choice. I drive a Landie.On your Cleo experience, I once owned it's predecessor the Renault 5 and that little motor went places that a Landie couldn't squeeze through. At the time I had a shoot on the mountain above the Cider mill at Crickhowell and there was no where on that shoot that little car would not go, laden with bales of straw and wheat. the back suspension went a bit funny and my Renault agent found that the rubber suspension joints had parted. Renault never ever thought they would need replacing and they had to cut the suspension to replace it.The best part of your life you may not need that extra grip but take it from me when you find you do need it, it is well worth having.I also have a Jaguar X type with permanent all wheel drive. Cracking car.

Cheers for that! Is funny what you can get bye with though. Verdict seems to be, better to have it and use it rarely than not at all. I'll just accept the hit of the slightly lower MPG

[sako751sg]

Im permanent 4WD but can say i wouldnt get to feed any of the ponds without it anytime after September unless extremely dry conditions.

Likewise with the pheasant feeders and winter deer shooting,would absolutely be stuck.

[rovercoupe]

Sometimes its not the 4wd that makes it, in the last month I have used the winch to lift large steels up to get a dolly underneath, pulled a caravan out of a field, front tow balled it down a track, had so much timber on the roof rack I have lost count, had a set of wheels in th back and the high loading height is soo much better than a car for ligging those items in and out, collected a rotovator, and much more but the list gets a bit long!

 

Its been in low range once in that time.

[B391]

Personally i love 4x4's but they tend to be heavier and worse on fuel. I now drive AWD's so they are usually in 2wd until it gets slippy then the AWD starts seemlessly and you have all 4 wheels looking after you. Cars with the Haldex 5 system such as the VW/Skoda/Audi/Freelander are all very capable and I would not now drive without at least an AWD vehicle.

 

Tyres are also very important for grip, sporty tyres and any 4x4 or AWD won't get you very far so I choose good quality tyres with proven capability. They are not agressive but have competent off road ability for all but the gloopiest conditions. Also very good in slippery or snowy conditions.

[kyska]

In the winter every time im out either feeding or shooting,would be totally lost with out it.

Me too, we farm, trying to pull trailers full of sheep out of wet fields.

 

That's a different paradigm though.

 

From experience I select 4x4 going off road no matter what, once you're stuck, you're stuck.

Edited June 17, 2017 by kyska

[mossy835]

in all the years iv been shooting, dont see the need for a 4x4, iv only got stuck 2 times when i had the van. and the farmers just pulled me out.lots of people have 4x4 and never go off road,wasit of money.

[Wb123]

My shooting is all walkable, the disco is used to pull the horse box. The better half has used the difflock a couple of times in damp rough fields when towing.

[bullet1747]

Very true!

 

Cheers for that, hadn't actually thought about rutted tracks. Been so used to driving with one wheel along the top of the rut because the last car was so small.

 

Thanks! Are you just switching to 4WD whenever you're off-road then or you just couldn't get without it?

Do you use the actual 4WD system often or is it permanently on?

 

 

 

Cheers for that! Is funny what you can get bye with though. Verdict seems to be, better to have it and use it rarely than not at all. I'll just accept the hit of the slightly lower MPG

 

 

 

 

It's not permanent in 4x4 but do use it few times a week

I'm due to get the 3.2 ranger limited soon don't know what these are like , you guys could advise on that

[kennett]

in all the years iv been shooting, dont see the need for a 4x4, iv only got stuck 2 times when i had the van. and the farmers just pulled me out.lots of people have 4x4 and never go off road,wasit of money.

Bit of a sweeping generalisation. What about when we go lamping in the winter/early spring. Or tow the beaters cart, or tow 2t of water to the pens after a good August downpour or feed round when the mule is out of action?

[wascal]

The disco is the daily hack , luckily work is close so mpg isn't too bad

 

It goes off road twice a week shooting during the winter

 

In the summer retrieving gliders out of fields and launching my boat .

 

Tyres make a huge difference , road tyres will just spin on just damp grass

[Tactical_Brown]

I was in this dilemma a few months ago, I ended up going for a navara np300 so I could keep the dogs isolated from the cabin. Even now some of the land I go on 4x4 is needed. I am so glad I went for a truck than a car for the reason just stated.

 

All The Best

 

TB

[itchy trigger]

Cars with the Haldex 5 system such as the VW/Skoda/Audi/Freelander are all very capable and I would not now drive without at least an AWD vehicle.

 

really?

 

had the VW Tiguan 4motion with haldex system 2 offside wheels on tarmac, 2 nearside wheels on soft verge just spinning had to be pushed off, waste of time, not good in the snow either

[Dead-Eyed Duck]

Cars with the Haldex 5 system such as the VW/Skoda/Audi/Freelander are all very capable and I would not now drive without at least an AWD vehicle.

 

really?

 

had the VW Tiguan 4motion with haldex system 2 offside wheels on tarmac, 2 nearside wheels on soft verge just spinning had to be pushed off, waste of time, not good in the snow either

 

Waste of time? As I said previously you have to bear in mind the limitations of the system and what you want to do with it.. My Yeti's have all had road tyres and you have to drive sensibly within the limits of the vehicle. I have had no problems driving down roads with heavy snow, but you have to be aware of what you are up to.

 

I had two Subaru Foresters, and their AWD system was superb. However, they were equipped with road tyres and I had a couple of interesting moments until I realised the drawbacks of road tyres.

Edited June 18, 2017 by Dead-Eyed Duck

[itchy trigger]

no point in going any further with this, the 2 offside wheels on tarmac and still had to be pushed off, haldex does not work, it is not four wheel drive, would not happen in my shogun

[viking]

once or twice/week....(i go thro boggy areas...even in summer)..............what i value the most is the ground clearance when it is dry and badly hard rutted....then diff lock when it is wet...........

going through boggy areas, is that when you go see fat sarah

[Salop Matt]

Gotta say I love my little Jimny. A great lamping vehicle for two of us shooting bunny`s from.

I use the 4X4 all winter on shoots i go to shooting and beating, also good for getting corn to feeders etc in the winter if your careful. Its a shame it doesn't have a diff lock but still it does me very well.

 

As others have said a 2 am discovery that your stuck is a right PITA especially 40mile from home

 

I wouldn't want to be without my Jimny now or other 4x4. What is good about the small Jimny is they are easier to recover than something heavy like a defender/disco/ L200 pick-up type!

 

ATB

 

Matt