Which diesel 4x4/AWD car
Which diesel 4x4/AWD car
Author
Discussion

veevee

Original Poster:

1,458 posts

181 months

Monday 5th November 2012
quotequote all
Another what car!

Reqs:

4x4 or AWD - essential
Diesel - nearly essential
Estate
Under 4k, pref around 3k.
40mpg would be nice


Have heard mixed things about Audi Quattros and Volvo AWD systems? Octavia 4x4 looks good, but I can't find one. Passat also looks OK, but hard to find too. Golf or A3 are possibles, but could be a bit small. Could also consider a small off/soft-roader, but I'm not a huge fan!

Is there anything that I'm missing, or does anyone have any experience of any of the above?

Cheers!

ManOpener

12,467 posts

199 months

Monday 5th November 2012
quotequote all
Allroad 2.5 TDi Quattro. Cheap, well equipped, nice place to be. Unfortunately a rather agricultural engine but at this price point you don't really have position to complain. Off-roads like a Range Rover, takes corners like an S6- well, as long as the air suspension is in working order. Expect 35mpg, but that's the real-world price you pay for all wheel drive. Utterly classless too. I'd also suggest things like the Subaru Legacy but I don't think there are any half-decent diesels even approaching this kind of budget, and the petrol engines are notoriously thirsty.

CraigyMc

18,369 posts

266 months

Tuesday 6th November 2012
quotequote all
Not helpful to op but the new 320d xdrive should hit all the criteria but cost, from next year.

WeirdNeville

6,049 posts

245 months

Tuesday 6th November 2012
quotequote all
Ignore Mpg and look at Subarus?
Cheaper than diesels, less to go wrong, reliable and rugged.
Legacies or impreza wagons would work.
For example: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
Legacy outback, 2004 2.5 non turbo 92k miles. £3400.
£500 pays for a lot of fuel with a 10mpg differential.
I think you're going to have a hard time finding a reliable £3k 40mpg 4x4, to be honest.

Edited by WeirdNeville on Tuesday 6th November 00:53

Condi

20,368 posts

201 months

Tuesday 6th November 2012
quotequote all
You will get some within your budget. Look on Autotrader etc. They seem to start with the Renault Scenic 4x4, from about £1500 upwards, although by the time you get to £4k you might find other things like Passats and Audi's.

Remove the estate bit and a Panda 4x4 would fit. The new ones are getting quite good reviews.

Get rid of the MPG and you have Disco/Defenders within price.

Either that or up your budget!

PaperCut

640 posts

177 months

Tuesday 6th November 2012
quotequote all
veevee said:
Another what car!

Reqs:

4x4 or AWD - essential
Diesel - nearly essential
Estate
Under 4k, pref around 3k.
40mpg would be nice
Audi A4 1.9 TDi 130 quattro Avant

sjj84

2,396 posts

249 months

Tuesday 6th November 2012
quotequote all
ManOpener said:
Allroad 2.5 TDi Quattro. Cheap, well equipped, nice place to be. Unfortunately a rather agricultural engine but at this price point you don't really have position to complain. Off-roads like a Range Rover, takes corners like an S6- well, as long as the air suspension is in working order. Expect 35mpg, but that's the real-world price you pay for all wheel drive. Utterly classless too. I'd also suggest things like the Subaru Legacy but I don't think there are any half-decent diesels even approaching this kind of budget, and the petrol engines are notoriously thirsty.
These look somewhat of a bargain, but isn't the air suspension a major issue? I fancied one of these last year but a quick bit of searching on here and other forums came up with some alarming costs in relation to the value of the car.

kambites

71,482 posts

251 months

Tuesday 6th November 2012
quotequote all
Did they do the 4x4 diesel Octavia in estate format?

WeirdNeville

6,049 posts

245 months

Tuesday 6th November 2012
quotequote all
sjj84 said:
ManOpener said:
Allroad 2.5 TDi Quattro. Cheap, well equipped, nice place to be. Unfortunately a rather agricultural engine but at this price point you don't really have position to complain. Off-roads like a Range Rover, takes corners like an S6- well, as long as the air suspension is in working order. Expect 35mpg, but that's the real-world price you pay for all wheel drive. Utterly classless too. I'd also suggest things like the Subaru Legacy but I don't think there are any half-decent diesels even approaching this kind of budget, and the petrol engines are notoriously thirsty.
These look somewhat of a bargain, but isn't the air suspension a major issue? I fancied one of these last year but a quick bit of searching on here and other forums came up with some alarming costs in relation to the value of the car.
There can be Serious top end problems with that engine as they get leggy ,requiring rebuilt heads. £2k minimum.
That's the problem, a £3k one will already be shagged, a £6k one is waiting to do your wallet a major dis-service.

The Flying Ox

400 posts

203 months

Tuesday 6th November 2012
quotequote all
At the risk of being shot down in flames, I'm loving the wife's XJ-series Jeep Cherokee Sport. Cheap as chips, properly rugged, and a classic in the eyes of some. We manage about 34mpg going by the display, but I'll reliably informed that this is US mpg, so closer to 40 in old money.

kambites

71,482 posts

251 months

Tuesday 6th November 2012
quotequote all
You might be able to haggle this Octavia down to 4k:

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

billzeebub

3,911 posts

229 months

Tuesday 6th November 2012
quotequote all
Some sort of non-Turbo Subaru wagon, whether Forester, Impreza or Legacy

TooLateForAName

4,929 posts

214 months

Tuesday 6th November 2012
quotequote all
We had an Audi A4 Tdi 110 quattro. (B5? - 1998 vintage). Torsen diff rather than the haldex on golf/passat/octavia/etc and so more reliable/lower cost(doesn't need haldex oil changes).

Never did less than 40mpg - usually near 50mpg.

Allow for new suspension arms on a regular basis, and the timing belt+water pump replacement is a bit of a pain.

I presume the later model is much the same? Easily under £3K and the engines last forever (use the correct oil if you get a PD engine)