4x4 for light of road driving

[craig1982]

Seems a bit mad.  At the moment I have a 2020 Jimny which is still worth £24000 according to all of the we buy your car sites. I use the Jimny for short journeys plus driving my permissions, which are usually wet grass, rutted tracks etc. I would like to sell the Jimny and spend approx. £10000 on a similar but slightly bigger 4X4. 

On the list of possibilities could be.

Freelander 2.

Suzuki Grand Vitara.

Skoda Yeti 

or any other vehicles that would fit the bill, Disco 4 would be too big. Defender too expensive.

Any Ideas ?

Edited September 6, 2022 by craig1982

[toontastic]

Dacia Dusters seem to be quite popular 

[Wylye]

I think the Freelander 2 is probably one of Land Rovers better efforts. Ten grand would buy you a decent one and it would be head and shoulders above the other two on your list.

[miki]

Buy a cheap Jimmy specifically for driving you permissions etc. There are a few about ... Ed (Edinburgh Rifles) has one for sale ...

[wymberley]

X Trail?

[old'un]

6 minutes ago, toontastic said:

Dacia Dusters seem to be quite popular 

Yep, when I was looking for a new motor I looked at the Dacia Duster, not a bad motor for the money and gets some good press, only thing I found when I was looking was there were not many 4x4s about,

but noticed these for sale the other day...https://www.motorpoint.co.uk/car-search/dacia/duster?BodyType=4x4

[chesterse]

Another one for the Freelander 2, I’ve had one for twelve years and it has been brilliant.

[martinj]

My wife has a Suzuki Grand Vitara which she uses on our shoot and dog training sessions. My vehicle of choice is a Freelander 2 which gets stuffed full of nets, poles, ammunition etc. and driven up bumpy tracks and round field boundaries.

Both do the job well and I'd recommend both, I'd take into account the size of vehicle you need, the Freelander 2 needs to be larger for all my kit plus family holidays. All the Vitara is used for is carting a dog cage and a couple of spaniels around. 

Last time I checked, the 1600 petrol Vitara did about 32MPG and the FL 2 displays around 34MPG. I think the Disco and Defender are heavier on Diesel which is why I chose the FL 2 in the first place.

[Weihrauch17]

Subaru Forrester.

[adzyvilla]

Subaru forester or XV

[Lloyd90]

Nissan X-Trail but the T31 model not the newer T32 model. 
 

Should get one for about £10k… that’s not too bad, decent daily driver and good for exactly what you want with the right tyres. 

[30-6]

I was in the same position as you. Bought a new Jimmy which I kept for over 13 years for family and shooting use, and sold it with only 40k on the clock. Took it everywhere and loved it. Another grandchild, so a 5 door and bigger boot was needed. Now got a 19 plate Duster 4x4 which I bought new, and love it. Haven't done as much in it as I the Jimmy off road due to COVID restrictions, but can't imagine any problems.

[Tallguy]

You won’t get a Skoda Yeti for 10k. They are amazing cars that hold their value well. The Freelander is your best bet at that budget. 

[Krico woodcock]

 Skoda yeti 150 4x4.. I have said previously here I have a commercial yeti.  Was marketed here (Ireland) called a "yeti sherpa"..No back seats. But  they are hard enough found,  especially the 150 4x4 version.have a fibreglass tray made to slide in to the back.  And have a fibreglass dog box that I  lift in and out as needed. Plenty of room for any shooting man. Goes most places.  Plenty of power.  I've had 3 different types of pajeros in the past. This is by far better than any of them. Economically,  and way cheaper to maintain. For me its the ultimate shooting vehicle.  

[Madhatter2132]

I picked up a 62 plate petrol yeti a couple of months back for 7k less than 100k miles on it with a full service history and a recent oil change on the haldec system. Fuel economy is alright on it, low 40's on a run but I don't work far enough from home to even get a modern diesel warm so has to be petrol.

 

We needed a bit more space than a 3 door grand Vitara and it does the job very well even in summer road tyres. I had an Octavia scout for a few years with the same 4x4 system and know it works really well but I'd still prefer a manual transfer case personally 

[NoBodyImportant]

I’m so jealous you guys can have a Jimmy.  I want one so bad.  But my government says they can’t pass a Crash test to sell in the USA.  We can have motorcycles though.  Explain that one. 

[craig1982]

Traded the Jimny for a Freelander 2.  manual gear box. 35000 miles.

[chesterse]

17 minutes ago, craig1982 said:

Traded the Jimny for a Freelander 2.  manual gear box. 35000 miles.

You did well to find one with that low mileage. Mine is above 120,000 and been a brilliant motor.

[mgsontour]

A £10k Honda CRV would be decent choice

[Dave-G]

I have this for listed for sale on FB marketplace but its likely way too old for you and I have no idea where you are:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/463708205697952/?hoisted=false&ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A8a709740-740d-4505-9f6a-445dbf373aee

[fern01]

A SWB Shogun is a good compromise. Comfortable on motorways yet very capable off road

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by fern01

[cardigun]

Not Cheap, but I bought a Skoda Karoq, which had been a demonstrator back in March 2019, which is  the diesel  4x4.  It has lots of Haldex clutches scattered around the transmission, and when put in "Off Road" scuttles across country wonderfully.  It also has far too many "we're here to help" you gadgets which double guess you all the time.  I either turn them all off, and do my own thing, or leave them all on and let the car decide, which it is surprisingly good at.

[Aled]

On 06/09/2022 at 16:17, toontastic said:

Dacia Dusters seem to be quite popular 

Another vote here for a Dacia Duster 4x4 i've had one for a few years. 

[Walker570]

I couldn't find my original post so as it is allied to that I will update here and add my view.   I could not find a good Fiat Cross 4x4 within easy reach so looked for an alternative and had good reviews from friends and users so looked for a Dacia Duster and I believe I may have found one.  One owner 50 thou, diesel as advised as the Renault petrol engine is not recommended. Looks like it has never been on the grass verge even so it is in for a shock. I'm disappointed because I looked forward to one of those nifty lottle Fiats but I think this Duster will do all I need to do light off roading farm tracks, grass on golf courses and stubble or grass on the farm.  I did not realise how big they are with loads of room in the back and a quick measure showed that a plastic plastering/cement tray will fit spot on in the boot area.  The passenger seating position is also tidy for shooting from at tree rat feeders.   Watch this space.

[McSpredder]

We have one of those Dacia Dustcarts, bought s/h four years ago.   People who love Alfa and BMW will tell you the Dacia is horridible, but it does everything we need, no plans to change it in the foreseeable future.   It’s the vehicle I drive most of the time, because “er indoors” usually grabs the Panda 4x4.   Can’t beat the Panda for narrow country lanes or for shopping trips, but the Dacia is better for long road journeys.  

Older models have a more upright windscreen, which I prefer.   Rear visibility is not great for reversing – I wouldn’t like to be without parking sensors.   Driving seat is fine for me, with a 2.5 inch thick cushion, but a bit too low otherwise

New shape (post-2018) have better seats, but I found their windscreen pillars more of a hindrance at roundabouts.     

Diesel  2109 litres for 22999 miles = 49.5mpg in our ownership.    Rated to tow 1500kg, but I only have a 750kg un-braked trailer.  

Original tyres (Continental Cross Contact LX) must be very hard compound, only half-worn at 40k miles, but skittish on ice.   (Panda 4x4 came with winter tyres as standard, and is much better in slippery conditions).

 

Only thing that has gone wrong so far was the fuel gauge.   I blame that on PW, because it happened the very next day after somebody mentioned the same thing on this forum.   Said to result from filling the tank right up to the brim.   I refused to spend £200++ on new tank sensor, so I carried a gallon can in the back and re-set the trip mileage whenever I filled up.   Anyway, it now seems to have cured itself, and reads correctly (but I still keep the can in the back, and still zero the mileage).