4X4 Ski Car Needed

[cptsideways]

Allroad is a good bit of kit, though certain ones have "issues" in the engine department.

Any scooby with a turbo will NOT be economical, go for a later 3.0 instead, great cars with loads of room & a good ride too.

Also consider the Volvo options, better built than VW stuff too.

That or a proper tonker 4wd would do the job but generally they are not much fun to drive as dailys.

[plg101]

catso said:

I had an Allroad 3.0tdi auto for a couple of months last summer and (despite it being a diesel) I really liked it, never tried it in snow but Quattro and air suspension should mean it would do well, it had a huge boot and according to the trip computer it was doing mid twenties MPG, which is probably not great for a diesel but it did pull like a train and didn't even sound too 'diesely', not sure I'd pay £40k for one though.

Edited by catso on Tuesday 26th January 21:44

Interesting - I wonder why the big gap in MPG from the A6 3.0tdi to the Allroad? (I see 30's and even 42mpg+ on a run) in an A6 3.0 (55plate)

[Mars]

The Forester is excellent. I had one as a courtesy car while my Legacy was being serviced. They'd "motorsported" it to around 240bhp. It sounded fruity and went like st off a shovel.

One of those with the auto box please.

Alternatively, consider the Legacy. As an everyday car it's excellent. In snow, it's excellent. We drive down to France for our Summer hols and it just eats up the miles. It has all the toys too (leather, satnav, electric moving and heating seats, massive sunroof, climate control, crap stereo - the only negative for me).

It takes 17 inch wheels with 45 profile tyres. I'm sure you can put 16 inchers on it with a bit more sidewall but you can definitely get winter tyres for the standard wheels.

Or Legacy Outback if you fancy a bit more under-car clearance and slightly higher profile tyres as standard.

The 3-litre flat-6 Legacy engine is wonderful but not cheap to run. Very low 20's are normal mpg if you have a leaden foot like me.

Alternatively the 2.5 litre is nice compomise. Personally I don't compromise though.

Edited by Mars on Tuesday 26th January 22:08

[GravelBen]

Mars said:

crap stereo - the only negative for me).

Out of interest, what brand stereo do UK Legacies get? Higher-spec NZ models have a Macintosh unit which seems to get very good reviews from the press, but I've never heard them myself - no real complaints about the Alpine stereo in my 2002 Legacy though.


My vote also goes to a Subaru by the way - my 280 bhp Legacy GTB averages around 25-27mpg and 30+ is easy enough to achieve on the open road, which I think is quite reasonable for that combination of performance, handling and load-hauling.

Edited by GravelBen on Wednesday 27th January 09:46

[Chris_]

I would consider an XC90. I was really impressed with how it coped in the snow here even with fairly worn standard tyres. Look on YouTube for the Top Gear clip of the XC90 being tested to see how well it goes with snow tyres despite it not being a hard-core off-roader. I have done over 80,000 miles in ours without a single reliability issue, averaging 32 mpg, huge boot, 7 seats if needed, comfortable, being high up gives you the visibility and ease of getting in and out and does not seem to attract too much "anti 4x4" attention, and if everything goes pear-shaped you know that it is built like a brick out house. There are also some great deals to be had on them at the moment. Cheers

[Snoop Bagg]

205jsy said:

Something like this?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1452614.htm

Seems perfect for what you need.

Edit - didnt realise you already suggested one.

Edited by 205jsy on Tuesday 26th January 17:10

tt has his foglights on!

[MattW]

Thanks or all the replies guys, a couple of questions though:

- Is a Subaru Forester really that thirsty? I thought that as it was ‘just’ a 2ltr turbo it would be reasonably economical, say around 30+ mpg on a long run?

- Does anyone have any experience of the Freelander with the TD4 engine, I presume the 1.8 petrol should be avoided?

[Pablo16v]

If you're not a badge snob then the Skoda Octavia Scout might be worth considering. Jeremy C seems to like it anyway.....
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/jeremy_cl...

[Highway Star]

Another one for the Octavia Scout, or indeed the Octavia 4x4. I'm picking one up this very weekend, though I was buying at the bottom of your budget range, it seems to tick all your requirements.

[garybezz]

duncansaunders said:

XC70 diesel.

Averages 40mpg in mixed use. High 40s on the motorway.

How the F do them things give such good mpg.
I'm not doubting you as a mate had one and got the same, but seriously WTF ??

[MattW]

Highway Star said:

Another one for the Octavia Scout, or indeed the Octavia 4x4. I'm picking one up this very weekend, though I was buying at the bottom of your budget range, it seems to tick all your requirements.

Certainly would not want spend big money on one but a few thousand I could deal with as I would be buying a work horse. What sort of condition / price are we talking about?

[ProfessorPeach]

Landcruiser/Legacy/Forrester.

[Mark Benson]

We have a '54' plate Legacy, some close friends have a '54' plate Allroad 3.0 Tdi.
Both have 65k mileage or so.
Ours is used to tow livestock and racecar trailers regularly, theirs is a motorway commute car.

Theirs looks tatty inside, bits of trim fallen off, tired in general.
Ours looks like a 2 year old car still, used but not scruffy.

We both get 30mpg even though ours is a 2.5 petrol.

Ours is marginally quicker (though the petrol Allroad would be far quicker than either).

Theirs has been back to the dealer several times in the last coupe of years, several thousands spent rectifying faults just outside the warranty period, ours had new brake discs under the Subaru warranty and that's it.

Can't comment for the Allroad's offroad ability, but the Subaru coped well with our snowy drive (a quarter mile of unsurfaced track and a foot of snow), the permanent AWD really worked well.

Spoke to him about it a while back and they only reason they keep is is that 'she' likes the image....

[duncansaunders]

garybezz said:

duncansaunders said:

XC70 diesel.

Averages 40mpg in mixed use. High 40s on the motorway.

How the F do them things give such good mpg.
I'm not doubting you as a mate had one and got the same, but seriously WTF ??

Because they're not as big / heavy as a "proper" off road 4x4 vehicle. Also only 163hp out of a 2.4 so not too stressed an engine.

Will do less than 25mpg round the village though.

[ProfessorPeach]

Hang on, don't BMW do 4wd estates on the continent?

[Highway Star]

MattW said:

Highway Star said:

Another one for the Octavia Scout, or indeed the Octavia 4x4. I'm picking one up this very weekend, though I was buying at the bottom of your budget range, it seems to tick all your requirements.

Certainly would not want spend big money on one but a few thousand I could deal with as I would be buying a work horse. What sort of condition / price are we talking about?

My one is an 05 reg with average miles for the year in good condition with a full dealer history for the very bottom of the budget range you mentioned over the page.

You can get 2008 Scouts or newer 4x4s with 10k or less mileage for the top end of your £14k budget - there are a couple on the AT at the moment.

Its never going to set the world on fire, but I'm buying it as a workhorse also and guess it is likely cheaper to run/fuel than anything else equivalent (Allroad, XC70, Forester) for the same money.

Edited by Highway Star on Wednesday 27th January 12:08

[lockup]

MattW said:

- Is a Subaru Forester really that thirsty? I thought that as it was ‘just’ a 2ltr turbo it would be reasonably economical, say around 30+ mpg on a long run?

I've got 2.0XT Forester and have recently been paying attention to fuel economy. Best I've seen so far is 29.8mpg (decimal place is important, I was hoping for 30!).

27/28mpg is more typical if I'm taking it easy.

[West4x4]

i say go for the Volvo XC70 the audi all road seams good but a bit more complicated with airsuspension. I'd avoid the ubarus even though they are great because you cant get a diesel unless you get the latest legacy

[garybezz]

duncansaunders said:

Because they're not as big / heavy as a "proper" off road 4x4 vehicle. Also only 163hp out of a 2.4 so not too stressed an engine.

Will do less than 25mpg round the village though.

Hmmm. Ive been thinking of getting rid of my 'proper' 4x4 as I dont need its towing ability any more but am reluctant to give up the (admitedly infrequently used) off road ability. Will have to give the XC70 some consideration

[GravelBen]

Theres a Swedish video test floating around on youtube of a Subaru Outback making an XC70 look pretty silly on a muddy track. Hold on a second, I'll try to find it.

Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De0RstOO_iY

Edited by GravelBen on Wednesday 27th January 12:30