malkiserow Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Been offered a Suzuki Vitara P reg 2 litre petrol AUTOMATIC Full towing kit (used for caravan) owned by an old-boy not used off road but are they any good for general shooting purposes... ie getting kit to pigeon shooting areas ? Oh.... what is the going rate? cheers Malk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russuk Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 (edited) They get some very favourable comments on here, very capable and more than a mild 4x4. A friend has one and it's a cracking tool, take the back seats out, put some decent mud shoes on, bish bash bosh. Not uncommon to put a lift kit in either. However, people who buy their 4x4's for the way they look and what sort of kudos it will get them will slag them off. But then again they're probably out buying new handbags. Edited October 2, 2008 by russuk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted October 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 my biggest concern was it being an automatic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Automatic in a 4x4 is no major handicap. My 4x4 is an auto, but you can select 2nd gear and it has high/low ratio as well. I go off road and never had any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckytrigger Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 People call them a "hairdressers car" but they are often the ones who have never owned them. I used to own a 1.6 swb 'Vit' and can honestly say it was very capable off road and if you remove the rear seats which is an easy ten minute job you will have plenty of room for all your decoying kit. They arnt very quick and do around 35mpg if your lucky but are a good cheap shooting waggon. When buying look out for rust especially in the sills!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusk2dawn Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 my biggest concern was it being an automatic... Despite what my friend Cranfield says, You could be in major poo with an auto in serious offroad conditions also I wouldnt touch it if it were LWB. It depends ultimately on your usage of course, fine for the occasional foray across grass fields but beyond that you takes your chance. D2D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR1960 Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 (edited) The Vitara 2.0l LWB is fine for most off-road situations that you are likely to encounter whilst shooting. One of the guys in my 4x4 club consistently won trials against out and out off-roaders in, an admittedly modified, but nevertheless road legal, LWB Vitara. I wouldn't let the auto box worry you too much, might be a problem if you were doing serious off-roading but you won't be, similarly the LWB is still only equivalent to a SWB Landie so although there is a greater liklihood of bellying out due to the larger ramp breakover angle, you shouldn't need to worry much. The most important thing is get some decent tyres. Don't get poxy all terrains you'll be struggling in puddles (just like any other 4x4) get some decent mud terrains like Grizzly Claws. Don't let people put you off by telling you you shouldn't drive those on road either i have been driving various suzuki 4x4s on Grizzlys for years with no ill effects. Take the opportunity to go up two sizes of tyre as well as this will give you a bit more ground clearance without having to modify the gearing, suspension or bodywork. If you want a bit more out of it have a look at my old mate Dave Jones' website www.bits4vits.com he sells his own designs of parts to cheaply modify Vitaras which are hugely popular. In case you're wondering i founded and run a Suzuki biased off-road club, www.norfolkrhinos.co.uk ,have written a monthly article about suzuki 4x4s for 4x4 Mart Magazine for many years and had a book published a couple of years ago about modifying suzuki 4x4s (there's plenty on ebay if you're interested) so i guess i know a bit about them. As for price depends a lot on condition, area etc but I definitely wouldn't pay more than a grand and i'd probably want to be a lot nearer £500 if not less for a P reg, but then i'm tight. If you've got any more questions feel free to ask. Edited October 3, 2008 by JR1960 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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