4 x 4 advice

[gmm243]

Evening all,

This has prob be done to death but I have about 5/6k to spend on a new car.I was looking for something along the line of an X-trail (old style) or similar.This will be used as my daily car and also for shooting and towing my boat but nothing really madly off road-mostly forest roads or farm lanes.

My father has an old style X-trail,not sure of the age, and it pretty much does what I want but there may well be alternatives I haven't thought of. Any good/bad points to look out for?

All ideas/advice welcome.

Thanks.

[scarecrow243]

Hi forget about the xtrail bad for rust and abs problems and a nightmare when trying to change sensors  jap motors are some of the best 4x4 you can get

[Yellow Bear]

Subaru Forester?

[Dave at kelton]

I had three trails, two from new and one second hand. New ones did 100k no problems. Second hand diesel ejectors went at around 85k and I got rid of it. All were fine for what you have described. If you are not concerned about clearance I would definitely look at suburb forester or legacy. Had the latter and still going great at 150k. Moved it on as I needed more ground clearance.

[washerboy]

Wouldn't a big estate car or  2 litre tdi car tow your trailer? 

Do you need a 4 x4? 

 

Edited July 25, 2020 by washerboy

[gmm243]

I don't suppose I need a 4x4 exactly but need something with a fair bit of clearance.Presently I have a Hyundai 140 estate which had great boot space and passenger space but no clearance. Some of the farms I shoot have lanes that only tractors use so the middle is fairly raised so need the clearance for this sort of ground.

[billytheghillie]

suzuki vitara, jimny

[marsh man]

I have been very happy with my 2.2 litre Honda CR-V for the last three years and touch wood up to now haven't been stuck , last season wherever the shoot bus went I followed and never felt uneasy in the wet conditions we had .

[malmick]

2 hours ago, gmm243 said:

nothing really madly off road-mostly forest roads or farm lanes.

Depends on what they are like really. My V70 that I've had from new since 2002 has seen some pretty interesting places in UK and abroad. There's places I wouldn't go with it that I wouldn't hesitate to tackle with either my Terrano 2 or the wife's Freelander 2.

I'd also do the same in @billytheghillie 's suzis 👍

[washerboy]

Yeti? 

Very basic inside unless you go for the monticarlo addition I think they call it 

[gmm243]

Funny I did have a look at the CRV and the Terrano but could not make my mind up about either. Not sure the Jimny is big enough for what I want.I am sounding pickier than I mean to but really appreciate all the advice. I think one of the problems is that I am only looking online and have not had a chance to sit in any of them bar the x-trail.

Maybe there is too much choice!!

[Bigbob]

There's a couple of niggly things starting to go wrong with mine but i just go back to the garage i got it from and say i want another not a mitsubishi or a auto and it must have a cab on the back for the dogs for 5K plus this they probably get one at a auction service it  mot it sort anything wrong  with it put a couple of hundred quid on it then sell it to me , But then if anything goes wrong with it i just take it back they fix it and i only ever pay for the parts 

[Stimo22]

Problem with Suzuki Jimmy is the seats don’t fold flat so you have to remove them. I Have had a couple of Grand Vitara one for over ten years. Not to big and nice drive

[GingerCat]

Had an x trail and it was pretty good. Currently have a koleos that is an x trail under a Renault dress and its also pretty good. Both are a little basic inside but go pretty much anywhere. Both did about 42-45mpg .

Jdog is on his 3rd  honda and he shoots off round the fields with no issues. 

Mums had 2 also and she like them too. You can find them both in autotrader for reasonable money if you look about. 

Rav 4 is pretty good, again reasonable money if you look about. All will do what you want. 

 

[scarecrow243]

my own motor is a 2002 jeep cherokee  / liberty  3.7 litre v6 auto  towing weight 3.5 ton  very comfy and plenty of room and ground clearance

[wymberley]

18 hours ago, scarecrow243 said:

Hi forget about the xtrail bad for rust and abs problems and a nightmare when trying to change sensors  jap motors are some of the best 4x4 you can get

I've had 3 and no such problems. The problem I did have which is why I eventually sold the last one was purely down to my usage as I didn't go anywhere very often and couple that with crawling around the farm, the DPF didn't like it. Should have kept the second one which was petrol. Or what I really should have done was to do what I wanted and got a Yeti when they first came out.

[adzyvilla]

Get a forester. 

[B725]

You would be able to find a nice tidy Freelander 2 for that buget.

[Centrepin]

Some good advice the Hondas are bomb proof and take some real hammer and tend to run for ever with little or no maintenance. 

Suzuki's too small to tow, Honda might be too.

Terranos where good in their day but I think the last rolled off the line in 2005.

Never had much to do with the Subs, but they have a good reputation.

I get almost everywhere with a Volvo XC70, AWD and enormous inside, will tow almost anything. Totally reliable but expensive if they go wrong. Reasonably cheap to run.

You could go with a Range Rover, anything but the sport of Evoque. They will tow anything, will go anywhere are affordable despite what folk think. Like the Volvo can be expensive when they go wrong but luxury motoring on/off road and towing for the price of a Jimny.

[gmm243]

Thank you all for taking the time to come back to me.

Decisions decisions!!

I have seen a Subaru Forester for around 6k.56,000 miles on the clock. Needs a towbar fitted,has a dog guard fitted but I usually transport them in a trailer.From the photos the boot looks big enough and clearance is better than my old car.Have still a hankering of something a bit bigger or higher but this could be a good cross over for work,transporting kids and shooting/fishing.

My present car has just had a new turbo and dpf fitted - I was told that this due to only driving low miles most days and not getting the engine hot enough to burn off the carbon.I presume this will be the case with all diesels. The turbo went when a pipe blocked and it seized. Add in new pads and discs and 4 new tyres recently I have had my fill of cars.

[London Best]

Pads, discs, tyres are all consumables on all vehicles.

[robbiep]

We've got a 2012 Subaru Forester (2.0 petrol, manual) with 102,000 miles on the clock that is now my shoot wagon. 

What did my wife replace it with ? A 2018 Subaru Forester, 2.0 petrol, manual gearbox.

The old one averages about 30mpg - but it's only doing 4-5k a year now, so it doesn't matter. I've got my BMW diesel for commuting, etc.

Newer ones are better on the economy - 6 speed box as opposed to 5 speed. 

Don't even think about an auto. The CVT gearbox is hateful

[Pistol p]

Volvo XC90.

[oowee]

CRV not great on ground clearance. I had a 2011 traction system is impressive and lots of torque but clearance pretty hopeless. Lovely car though. I would look at a Freelander. 

[silver fox 1]

 Hi Subaru Forrester  are very capable vehicles  depending on ground clearance.  I’ve always used Landrover ‘s myself  and pretty much the main reason for this is because I know my way around them like the back of my  hand So any repairs I am able to do myself.  The last couple of years I have been running a Ford Ranger wild track  I must say that I am very impressed with it I like the fact that the double cab interior has plenty of room and the dogs can go in the back  which keeps the interior reasonable doesn’t end up smelling like an old dog kennel, Another plus point is any rabbits foxes i Shoot  can go in the back and then it’s just a hosepipe to wash it out when you get home,  I put a scaffold board across the back and we sit in the back rabbit shooting,  The only thing I did do was put some mud tires on it for extra traction