soft roader for £10k?

[JakeR]

Afternoon Chaps,

I'm coming to the conclusion that I'd like to add a 4x4 to the fleet.

Budget is about £10k, and I'm after something that'll seat 5, but isnt gargantuan.

The car will need to tackle a bit of roughage, but it'll spend most of its time on the road, so road bias is preferable.

I keep coming back to the BMW x3, a 3 liter, in either diesel or petrol flavour (any reason to go, or avoid one or the other?)

anything else I should look at? Maybe a Forester?

thanks in advance...

[missing the VR6]

Might be able to point you in the direction of an Octavia Scout TDI?

[Matt UK]

Dacia Duster

And no, I am not joking

[hornetrider]

Possibly a bit more capable than you want, but... FL2?

[JakeR]

missing the VR6 said:

Might be able to point you in the direction of an Octavia Scout TDI?

does that have any ground clearance? Thats the major thing... a bit of ground clearance to get up the track to one of the shoots I'm going to (amongst other things).

Edited by JakeR on Thursday 2nd August 15:37

[300bhp/ton]

JakeR said:

Afternoon Chaps,

I'm coming to the conclusion that I'd like to add a 4x4 to the fleet.

Budget is about £10k, and I'm after something that'll seat 5, but isnt gargantuan.

The car will need to tackle a bit of roughage, but it'll spend most of its time on the road, so road bias is preferable.

I keep coming back to the BMW x3, a 3 liter, in either diesel or petrol flavour (any reason to go, or avoid one or the other?)

anything else I should look at? Maybe a Forester?

thanks in advance...

Feelander 2 would probably be my pick at this price range. Rav4's look tempting too.

I think two things are vital though. How much of an issue are running costs and do you really want a 4x4?

For me personally I like 4x4's to be and feel like 4x4s. To that extent I'd probably opt for an Impreza, Legacy or maybe a Forrester if I needed AWD. Plenty of other AWD choices too from Volvo, Audi, VW and Jaguar.

If you still want an SUV for the higher driving position but don't really need off road performance then something with a decent motor would be my pick. A V10 Tdi Touareg certainly appeals or maybe even a Dodge Nitro for it's striking looks. I'd also personally rather an older X5 over a newer X3.

[JakeR]

this being PH, and me being me, I'd want a car with a bit of grunt. The Bmws and the Forester (turbo) have got that covered...

[Rich A]

Maybe a RS4? http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4106047.htm

[JakeR]

as I say, ground clearance is the key. RS4s are awesome, but they're lower slung than my Elise!

[Matt UK]

JakeR said:

this being PH, and me being me, I'd want a car with a bit of grunt. The Bmws and the Forester (turbo) have got that covered...

In that case, get a Forester bought, good capable cars.

[jonny996]

you will be amazed at the cayenne you can get for £10K

[Ranger 6]

JakeR said:

this being PH, and me being me, I'd want a car with a bit of grunt. The Bmws and the Forester (turbo) have got that covered...

Well, from an experience with a Forester over the weekend I'd say they're pretty much matched on grunt

If it's a shoot you're going to then the X3 would do fine, but only if on the right tyres. Anything more than gravel tracks and the X3 with road tyres will struggle (6 years and 2 X3s experience ) I use Scorpion M+S on rallies and they're not brilliant but do well up to 70-75ish on gravel.

Make sure you get the 3.0d, the extra torque makes a difference and also watch the tax brackets - £450 a year can be avoided by buying carefully.

[andy-xr]

I really liked the Sportage I had on hire recently, only downside is lack of 4WD. It would seat 5 fairly easily though, and the larger engine is decent enough

It probably wouldnt compete against an X3 etc, but something to throw in as an oddball

[Allaloneatron]

Rich A said:

Maybe a RS4? http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4106047.htm

Ah yes, the classice Soft Roader... Audi RS4.

[Chrisw666]

Allaloneatron said:

Rich A said:

Maybe a RS4? http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4106047.htm

Ah yes, the classice Soft Roader... Audi RS4.

It's four wheel drive and clearly was off road when the pics were taken.

Apart from that it's one of the less well thought out responses to a what car I've seen in a while.

[bakerstreet]

JakeR said:

does that have any ground clearance? Thats the major thing... a bit of ground clearance to get up the track to one of the shoots I'm going to (amongst other things).

Edited by JakeR on Thursday 2nd August 15:37

Ground clearance is one of the main downfalls of all the soft roads, so you should think about your choice carefully if that is an issue.

I'm hoping you have looked at the +/- of soft/hard 4x4s and settled on FL2 type vehicles.

Might be worth sticking with those tyres of vehicles and just spending a few hundred on under-body protection

Crack on!

[toon10]

My better half has just traded her old Rav 4 in for a 57 plate one. Does all the things soft roaders do and is reliable. I'm no 4x4 expert so don't know where it stands on the which is best theme but it's cheap and doesn't leave her stranded in winter like I'm told my 3 series will

[jonny996]

http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=1044X509854&si...

I give you £6K's worth

[muthaducka]

Chrisw666 said:

It's four wheel drive and clearly was off road when the pics were taken.

Apart from that it's one of the less well thought out responses to a what car I've seen in a while.

VW Phaeton with the adjustable ride height - 4wd, seats 5 and you can set the ride height to something silly

I reckon the tourag looks great vfm as an alternative to the x3. I think either petrol or diesel are quite thirsty and as mentioned, I would try and stay pre-2005/6 to avoid the hefty rise in vehicle tax unless the overall deal of another car is better than the hit on higher tax.

[thinfourth2]

Matt UK said:

JakeR said:

this being PH, and me being me, I'd want a car with a bit of grunt. The Bmws and the Forester (turbo) have got that covered...

In that case, get a Forester bought, good capable cars.

2nd that

A forester is a awesome car

Our takes whatever we throw at it