Advice on 4x4's

[firman]

Ok so having decided to stick a fresh years ticket on the Jag and sell it on I really want to replace it with something more rugged. Currently the options are Land Rover Dicovery, Mitsubishi Shogun (not a Pajero as the insurance difference is HUGE) or a Jeep Cherokee & Isuzu Bighorn.

Will be looking for a diesel as will be doing some trips to Scotland and Wales so just wondering what experience people have with the above cars and what to look out for? Budget will be around £1500, so far looking at things like this


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1997-JEEP-CHEREKEE-DIESE...

Thanks in advance

Jamie

[Melvin Udall]

The Bighorns are brill. Massive, superb offroad, comfortable as fook.

[v8will]

Melvin Udall said:

The Bighorns are brill. Massive, superb offroad, comfortable as fook.

Indeed, The Bighorn/Trooper is underrated. Pretty much bombproof in 3.1 diesel form and very comfortable. The earliest ones do look very cheap inside but that wouldn't put me off. We ran 4 of these consecutively during the 1990's and they where all very reliable and excellent for long distance towing. Our last one was actually a Maltese import and to be honest I wish I'd kept it. I wouldn't touch a later 3.0 with a bargepole though

The Disco will have its fans but to be honest at I never much liked the 200 or 300 Tdi engines or the driving position, it always seemed a bit cramped and access to the rear is nothing special either. £1500 will get something probably in need of welding... I did actually fancy one with a V8 at a point but aside from making a nice noise it had no other redeeming features.

The Jeep was always a little small for me, my cousin had a diesel one back about 10 years ago and IIRC it gave him alot of bother, The 4.0 is apparently bombproof and supposedly quite good fun

Sorry, I have no experience of the Mitsu so can't comment on that.

[al1991]

My mum and her partner were, at one point, running a '95 300TDI Disco and a '97 Trooper 3.1 along side each other.

Both were massively costly in terms of repairs, the Disco had a constant stream of niggles and the Trooper was off the road for a long time (I can't for the life of me remember what for now!).

I believe Troopers are meant to be more reliable in general though, they were certainly as popular with the farmer types near us as utility Landies.

Drive wise, the Trooper was better for towing. The Disco edged the Trooper in the mud/snow and had better ground clearance. The Disco seemed more prone to rust than the Trooper (which we still have BTW, the Disco long since gone). Most Discos of that era have a diff lock too, which is useful. The LT and R380 gear boxes are made out of chocolate and the rear arches and back door rust.

I preferred the Discovery 1 as a place to sit, with the middle console raised up instead of the long gear lever arrangement of the Isuzu.

Not sure about the others on your list.

[v8will]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

had 3.1, got a 3.0.

the latter is :
a) misunderstood and has nay-sayers
b) better

ask if you want to know more.

I really did want to like the 3.0 but any experience I had directly or indirectly of the later Troopers has not been good. You've been lucky.

[v8will]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

I am only on my silly Touchpad thing now, but can expand more tomorrow from a a computer.


ask more and I will fill you in tomorr.

Sure, go for it

[Snowboy]

May I offer another suggestion.

A 3L Toyota Hilux Surf.
£1500 should get you fairly nice one if you have time to search around.

[firman]

Snowboy said:

May I offer another suggestion.

A 3L Toyota Hilux Surf.
£1500 should get you fairly nice one if you have time to search around.

Cheers will add it to the list.

How can imports be so much more expensive for insurance?

[alfa pint]

I drove a Hilux Surf for a month as a courtesy car when a previous B was being welded back up again.

Probably the worse car I've ever driven.

Sub 80mph flat out. Averaging 18mpg on the 3 litre diesel, with automatic. Bland toyota interior. Had an air canister right in the middle of the boot for the air suspension. If you used the air suspension, it did flatten the cornering out, but also made it downright dangerous to try and brake quickly - the car wouldn't dive properly at the front and would just lock up.

I've driven a few 4 x 4s over the years and none of them suit the sort of driving I do - I'm more likely to get something like an X type if I want the extra traction than a real off roader. I did like the Shogun (my b-i-l has just bought a V6 turbo one too!), wasn't a massive fan of the disco due to reliability, like the trooper. The other alternatives to look at are the daihatsus. The sportrack is a 1.6 petrol and a decent, more usuable alternative to a suzuki. The fourtrak is an immensely capable offroad car, vastly underated and not that bad on the road. Unlike the hilux surf!

[B.J.W]

Hello Firman.

You didn't mention in your opening post how much 'off road' driving you will be doing in addition to normal road driving. The initial short list would all be present in my list of usual suspects if I was after a large 4x4. However, I would ask myself the question (which I have done previously) how much offroad driving will I actually be doing and therefore, how much do I really need a large 4x4. £1500 gets you a lot of metal, but the compromise will be agricultural on road manners and plenty of big bills. If I had to choose I'd probably go for the most basic Trooper I could find - they are generally reliable and less likely to spit a big bill at you. However, I wouldn't fancy the drive up to Scotland or Wales in one.

As such, I am going to throw another car into the mix. A car that offers bomb proof reliability, plenty of kit, practicality, comfort for long runs and (dare I say it). £1500 will get you behind the wheel of a decent car which will be a whole lot easier to live with on a daily basis than a hulking great japanese 4x4. The only thing is, there is no diesel. However, I would wager that the petrol lump in this car is just as 'economical' as the diesel lumps in the big 4x4's.

The vehicle in question is a Subaru Legacy AWD estate.

Am I speaking from experience? The answer to this is yes, I ran a Subaru Forester for 18 months. It was used as a stable and shooting hack and with it's part worn H/T's it never got stuck in the mud. I've found a private example for sale with 58,000 miles on the clock (you could even throw in an offer on the roof box).

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

Let me know what you think....

Edited by B.J.W on Monday 19th September 10:05

[Snowboy]

alfa pint said:

I drove a Hilux Surf for a month as a courtesy car when a previous B was being welded back up again.

Probably the worse car I've ever driven.

Sub 80mph flat out. Averaging 18mpg on the 3 litre diesel, with automatic. Bland toyota interior. Had an air canister right in the middle of the boot for the air suspension. If you used the air suspension, it did flatten the cornering out, but also made it downright dangerous to try and brake quickly - the car wouldn't dive properly at the front and would just lock up.

Do you recall what year it was?

My hilux (3L 3rd gen Auto) can easily cruise at 95 (on the autobahn).
The boot is flat with no air canister.
I get mid 20s on the MPG – can get more or less depending on driving style and load.
I also find it pretty solid in handling.

I had a 2.4 2nd gen beforehand.
A bit less power, but still a great drive at well over 70.
And, still a flat boot with no air canister.

I can only presume the one you tried had been messed about with so wasn't giving you a fair look at a standard model.
If it's been adjusted for serious off roading people sometimes remove the anti roll bars, that makes it handle as you describe.

[alfa pint]

Snowboy said:

alfa pint said:

I drove a Hilux Surf for a month as a courtesy car when a previous B was being welded back up again.

Probably the worse car I've ever driven.

Sub 80mph flat out. Averaging 18mpg on the 3 litre diesel, with automatic. Bland toyota interior. Had an air canister right in the middle of the boot for the air suspension. If you used the air suspension, it did flatten the cornering out, but also made it downright dangerous to try and brake quickly - the car wouldn't dive properly at the front and would just lock up.

Do you recall what year it was?

My hilux (3L 3rd gen Auto) can easily cruise at 95 (on the autobahn).
The boot is flat with no air canister.
I get mid 20s on the MPG – can get more or less depending on driving style and load.
I also find it pretty solid in handling.

I had a 2.4 2nd gen beforehand.
A bit less power, but still a great drive at well over 70.
And, still a flat boot with no air canister.

I can only presume the one you tried had been messed about with so wasn't giving you a fair look at a standard model.
If it's been adjusted for serious off roading people sometimes remove the anti roll bars, that makes it handle as you describe.

It was a 1990 or a 1991 from vague memory. The handling was good to ok, it was the braking that was scary! Not sure if the auto box was responsible for such a huge power drain, with the knock on effect to fuel economy.

[firman]

Thanks for all the tips guys, as good as the Trooper/Bighorn looks it seems the Shogun offers the best selection in my budget and if I find the right U.K car insurance is pennies.

[richardxjr]

Isn't the Vauxhall Monterey a re-badged Trooper?



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

[Melvin Udall]

richardxjr said:

Isn't the Vauxhall Monterey a re-badged Trooper?



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

Yup.

[firman]

Melvin Udall said:

richardxjr said:

Isn't the Vauxhall Monterey a re-badged Trooper?



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

Yup.

Yes, so it seems. Another valid option thanks.

[johnxjsc1985]

I had a citation years ago now have a shogun warrior SWB.The jeeps are gut but the Diesels are bit under powered.Never liked the Disco's.
The Shoguns are usually bomb proof as I would suggest are the Izusu Trooper.If you want good off road capability and comfort go for one of these two they are great value for money.

[Elroy Blue]

There's a nice Landcruiser going for a grand here.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

[johnxjsc1985]

Elroy Blue said:

There's a nice Landcruiser going for a grand here.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

I dont like White.

[cptsideways]

If your interested some friend are wanting rid of their Isuzu swb (import one I think) needs some tyres & possibly a service & a bit of minor fettling but it's cheap! Still in use & all working at the moment too, they have it quite a few years.