part time off road. vehicles. Vehicle recommendations please

[getthegat]

Hi all you part time off roaders.  The last few years have been more than a bit tough for me, consequently I'm looking at down sizing my business and going it alone, which leaves me needing to sell two of my 4 vehicles (not enough space and too much being spent on insurance)and trying to get a "daily " that is about the internal size of my E46 estate, with some modern comforts, pretty good fuel economy, as my work commute is about 8 miles each way at uneconomic speeds, and I would like it to cope with pigeon shooting trips across the fields. I've toyed with a VW Amorak, but too big, too thirsty, to expensive. I've thought about Subaru Forester, but know nothing about them, not a fan of "Landies" and I have between 5 to 10K to spend. By the way, in case you're wondering, the 2 cars I'm keeping are classic 60s VW Beetles. Cheers for any recommendations 

[spurs 14]

I wouldn’t be without my 110 , does everything I want , daily drive as well but works only five mile away , if we go any distance it’s the missus mini 

if I had to go further I think the only other option for me would be the “ Japanese “ pick up with lockable bed cover , don’t hink there’s much to choose between them ! 

[bigroomboy]

Communte of 8 miles? Dont worry about ecconomy then, get a proper offroader!

[ninjaferret]

I've just bought an Amarok and i love it. Had hilux's, land cruisers, landrovers, isuzu's, mitsubishi's, suzuki's and more i've forgotten, and really can't fault the Amarok, up till now...

[Dave-G]

An oldish X-trail would fit that bill just right and won't break the bank.

[getthegat]

54 minutes ago, bigroomboy said:

Communte of 8 miles? Dont worry about ecconomy then, get a proper offroader!

Very tempted. Big off road tyres etc 😀

Just now, Dave-G said:

An oldish X-trail would fit that bill just right and won't break the bank.

Cool. Thanks.

6 minutes ago, ninjaferret said:

I've just bought an Amarok and i love it. Had hilux's, land cruisers, landrovers, isuzu's, mitsubishi's, suzuki's and more i've forgotten, and really can't fault the Amarok, up till now...

I do like them. Is the 2 litre OK or are the V6s the only way to go?

[hod]

I’ve had a 2 litre Amarok for past 3 years. 62 plate. Inside it’s more car than truck, gets a thumbs up from Mrs Hod - Used also as a family car (5 of us) and taken on regular trips up north, absolutely piled with luggage, dogs, bikes, etc etc. 

My daily commute is about 5 miles each way. Gets 30mpg average. Best I got was a 70 mile round trip Edinburgh to the borders, 35mpg. BFG a/t tyres. 
 

Big price jump from 2 litre to the V6 model, and they’ve all gone up over lockdown unfortunately. 

[ninjaferret]

2 hours ago, getthegat said:

Very tempted. Big off road tyres etc 😀

Cool. Thanks.

I do like them. Is the 2 litre OK or are the V6s the only way to go?

Mine is the 2 litre, ave round the doors 30 mpg. A trip back from wales 34.7 mpg loads of power. More car than an agricultural hilux and better mpg.

[islandgun]

Just had a look at Amarok on autotrader, some of the older ones with prodigious miles nearly 300k, also looked at MOT's and none with mention of rust. good reviews......... might well be worth a look

[getthegat]

On 10/02/2022 at 23:28, hod said:

I’ve had a 2 litre Amarok for past 3 years. 62 plate. Inside it’s more car than truck, gets a thumbs up from Mrs Hod - Used also as a family car (5 of us) and taken on regular trips up north, absolutely piled with luggage, dogs, bikes, etc etc. 

My daily commute is about 5 miles each way. Gets 30mpg average. Best I got was a 70 mile round trip Edinburgh to the borders, 35mpg. BFG a/t tyres. 
 

Big price jump from 2 litre to the V6 model, and they’ve all gone up over lockdown unfortunately. 

Blimey that's good.

At the moment it's between Amorak and Xdrive BMW X1, chalk and cheese I know. Could all Chang again tomorrow 

[London Best]

How can two such diverse vehicles be contenders?  
One is a truck/tool and the other is a sporty shopping trolley pretending it has off road capability.

[Wilts#Dave]

On 12/02/2022 at 08:17, getthegat said:

Blimey that's good.

At the moment it's between Amorak and Xdrive BMW X1, chalk and cheese I know. Could all Chang again tomorrow 

I thought you had 5-10k to spend? Won’t get a decent one of either of those for that sort of money! 
A less premium brand will see you get much more for your money, Amaroks for example are almost the most expensive pickup you could choose. 
Nissan x-trail / Honda crv or similar soft roaders sound ideal contenders. 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Wilts#Dave

[Weihrauch17]

I have a 14 Plate Forester petrol auto and love it but it is thirsty, especially since we have had the E10 rubbish forced on us.  My Pigeon Shooting partner has run Vitaras for many years , they are quick great on fuel and great off road.  You wouldn't go wrong with one, just make sure it's AWD some are not.

[Dave-G]

A rare consideration but thinking of older or less able shooters.

Not knowing how tall the OP is that many of the smaller 4WD 4 door cars have short/narrow front doors. I kept knocking my knees on our CR-V but the X-TRAIL's front doors are 5 inches wider. So if you have long legs, or a rear end that shifts ya body bulk forwards be sure to get in and out of it a few times on a test drive - or choose a 2 door car that has wide doors to assist access to the rear seats.

It also matters if you are likely to shoot from the car: my NV rig rifle needs a wide door to use it while resting the fore-stock on the door mirror bracket, sitting in the driver seat steering the car at the target with my right arm out the window holding the rifle (also using a roof thermal spotter with internal monitor to locate quarry). The extra large sunroof can also be very useful as a portable semi high seat from the rear floorwell.

I can also carry 3 meter long timber/worktops in the passenger side with seats down.

Edited February 13, 2022 by Dave-G

[islandgun]

4 hours ago, Wilts#Dave said:

I thought you had 5-10k to spend? Won’t get a decent one of either of those for that sort of money! 
A less premium brand will see you get much more for your money, Amaroks for example are almost the most expensive pickup you could choose. 
Nissan x-trail / Honda crv or similar soft roaders sound ideal contenders. 

I was surprised the other day when i decided to take my Crv up a wet/steep grassy bank, the 4wd kicked in and it cruised up. I usually go up it in my old shogun which spins in 2wd

[Stonepark]

11 hours ago, islandgun said:

I was surprised the other day when i decided to take my Crv up a wet/steep grassy bank, the 4wd kicked in and it cruised up. I usually go up it in my old shogun which spins in 2wd

CRV doesn't weight 2.5t....

[islandgun]

35 minutes ago, Stonepark said:

CRV doesn't weight 2.5t....

About 1.5 t with a lot less ground clearance. the bank in question is a bit of a helter skelter ride and it didn't hesitate

[Krico woodcock]

On 10/02/2022 at 21:16, getthegat said:

Hi all you part time off roaders.  The last few years have been more than a bit tough for me, consequently I'm looking at down sizing my business and going it alone, which leaves me needing to sell two of my 4 vehicles (not enough space and too much being spent on insurance)and trying to get a "daily " that is about the internal size of my E46 estate, with some modern comforts, pretty good fuel economy, as my work commute is about 8 miles each way at uneconomic speeds, and I would like it to cope with pigeon shooting trips across the fields. I've toyed with a VW Amorak, but too big, too thirsty, to expensive. I've thought about Subaru Forester, but know nothing about them, not a fan of "Landies" and I have between 5 to 10K to spend. By the way, in case you're wondering, the 2 cars I'm keeping are classic 60s VW Beetles. Cheers for any recommendations 

I have 2017 skoda yeti 2L 4x4. Its 150bhp..  it's also a commercial model. If you can find one of these,  it will tick all your boxes. 

[mgsontour]

On 13/02/2022 at 20:51, islandgun said:

I was surprised the other day when i decided to take my Crv up a wet/steep grassy bank, the 4wd kicked in and it cruised up. I usually go up it in my old shogun which spins in 2wd

Are all the CRV's 4wd?

[islandgun]

8 minutes ago, mgsontour said:

Are all the CRV's 4wd?

I dont think so, some of the newer ones have just 2 wd, its only 4wd when it detects spinning, there are no manually operated buttons.  Like most vehicles the choice of tyres is most important. however as stated I was surprised how well it did, going up the bank

[mgsontour]

6 minutes ago, islandgun said:

I dont think so, some of the newer ones have just 2 wd, its only 4wd when it detects spinning, there are no manually operated buttons.  Like most vehicles the choice of tyres is most important. however as stated I was surprised how well it did, going up the bank

Interesting, I've not long had a 2004 auto 2.0L model and put Geolanders on it and always just pop it into D and give hardly any revs and it goes but have never 'felt nor noticed' the 4wd kick in. I've only heard it spin once and that was before I had the Geo tyres fitted. I asked the question as I'm not a mechanic so dunno how to tell if it's 4wd or not

[islandgun]

10 minutes ago, mgsontour said:

Interesting, I've not long had a 2004 auto 2.0L model and put Geolanders on it and always just pop it into D and give hardly any revs and it goes but have never 'felt nor noticed' the 4wd kick in. I've only heard it spin once and that was before I had the Geo tyres fitted. I asked the question as I'm not a mechanic so dunno how to tell if it's 4wd or not

Just googled it, and apparently there is a 2wd, best have a look underneath at the back and see if there is a box,  Geolander a/t would be my choice of tyre, do you have 17" rims ?, i would think with geolanders, 4wd would hardly ever kick in.... in normal usage

[mgsontour]

30 minutes ago, islandgun said:

Just googled it, and apparently there is a 2wd, best have a look underneath at the back and see if there is a box,  Geolander a/t would be my choice of tyre, do you have 17" rims ?, i would think with geolanders, 4wd would hardly ever kick in.... in normal usage

I got 215/65/16 fitted and they are quiet on main roads, I go up plenty farm tracks and park on soft verges and it never spins. I got a dog box in the back LOL but seriously what kind of box am I looking for?

[islandgun]

19 minutes ago, mgsontour said:

I got 215/65/16 fitted and they are quiet on main roads, I go up plenty farm tracks and park on soft verges and it never spins. I got a dog box in the back LOL but seriously what kind of box am I looking for?

This explains it better than me,  your wheel size gives you a much better choice of tyres than my 18" 

https://m.awdwiki.com/en/honda/

[mgsontour]

22 minutes ago, islandgun said:

This explains it better than me,  your wheel size gives you a much better choice of tyres than my 18" 

https://m.awdwiki.com/en/honda/

Thanks very much for your help and more than happy with my shooting bus and when the going gets tough I jump in the shoot Landy's BUT having said that. . . . what do I buy next?

Me thinks it will have to be a pick-up but like the SUV's as keeps the wife more happy but can't have a Landy nor quad bike for getting pinched as we have a few members of the caravan club members around here.