Which small 4x4 should I buy?

[smifffymoto]

I have an Outback at the moment so naturalley I'm drawn towards a Forester,also my spare wheels will fit.My wife on the other hand is favouring the VW Tiguan 4 motion,the spares should fit but not 100% sure.
Is the Haldex 4x4 system in the same league as the Subaru system or is it better(I think not but want reassurance before I part with my cash as I have no experience with Haldex)

[smifffymoto]

Shameless bump.

[neiljohnson]

Avoid the Tiguan they are dogged with wierd & wonderful electrical gremlins & dont actually drive very well imho Haldex 4x4 is only 4x4 when wheel slip is detected so most of the time its fwd.

[sawman]

is this a trick question?

why would you consider a stumpy vw over a subaru when AWD is in the mix?

[y2blade]

Panda 4x4?
or is that too "small" ?

Edited by y2blade on Friday 1st October 07:33

[smifffymoto]

It's the wife who likes the Tiguan so common sense does'nt come into play.I'm more interested in the mechanics of the 2 4x4 systems,the good and bad.

[neiljohnson]

smifffymoto said:

It's the wife who likes the Tiguan so common sense does'nt come into play.I'm more interested in the mechanics of the 2 4x4 systems,the good and bad.

Subaru good old fasioned permanent 4x4 & very strong

Vw 4x4 on demand computer controlled & over sensative ie have to change all 4 tyres if more than 2mm differance

[FreeLitres]

Just throwing this in the mix - Jag X-Type 2.5 or 3.0

Early cars (pre 2003?) have a permanent AWD system with 60% of torque sent to rear wheels. The 3.0 has the added benefit that it is fast enough to see off most hot hatches (manual 3.0 is 0-60 Mph in 6.6 secs).

[shoestring7]

If its just the added confidence she wants from the 4x4 driving position how about a Ford Kuga or the hi-rise Nissan?

Stick on some wintr tyres next month and tell her its 4wd, i'll sure she'll be none the wiser...


SS7

[cmackay81]

as it always gets asked, may as well be me asking.

how offroady/4x4y do you actually want it.

carpark-spec, pavement spec, grass verge spec, rubble-spec, or actual offroad-spec?

and don't just say snow at winter... please. The amount of people that buy a 4x4 for the few days on winter we have, then find out that a big heavy softroader is actually worse on ice.

[Fume troll]

New Outback? I think all those others will dissapoint you. I'd have said Forester but I don't really like the new model; I guess they inflated it a bit to try and have a bit more difference between it and the Outback, which for me is now the better car.

Cheers,

FT.

[smifffymoto]

Thanks for the replies chaps.Well we test drove a Forester today and what a let down it was,talk about plastic not that fantastic all for 31000 euro.Then went to look at the Tiguan but while we were there a Passat estate Bluemotion caught my eye,a quick test drive and the deal was done,loads of extras and spanking new all for 28000 euro.
If we struggle in the snow with winter tyres I'll buy a Lada Riva for the ski trips.
I really wanted a new Outback but at 40000 euro was to expensive.

Edited by smifffymoto on Friday 1st October 18:39

[Skodaku]

Skoda Yeti.

You know you want to.

Or a Honda CR-V.