Possible AWD cars for less than a grand

[MrT8064]

Hi, I'm after something purely for the winter. My Beemer couldn't even get off the drive when it snowed last year, so I'm thinking of getting something AWD... Ideally I want something that doesn't pillage fuel too heavily, but is also capable in the snow. Can't really think of anything other than subarus for shed money!?

The list so far:

Subaru Legacy
Subaru Forester
Subaru impreza

UPDATED WITH PEOPLES SUGGESTIONS:

Winter Tyres - Biggest suggestion by far!
Sand/Concrete/Body in boot

Subaru: Justy, Legacy, Forester, Impreza and Impreza Turbo
VW: Golf V6 4Motion / Any 4Motion
Audi: Anything Quattro (A4/A6)
Fiat: Panda 4x4
Toyota: Rav 4

Volvo: V70 Cross Country (AWD at less than 30mph, can fail at 80k miles)
Jaguar: X Type AWD (Possibly over budget)
Jeep: Cherokee (Probably too thirsty)
Land Rover: Freelander, Discovery, Range Rover (Probably will break down)

Edited by MrT8064 on Sunday 9th December 15:06

Edited by MrT8064 on Sunday 9th December 15:08

[SlowStig]

Subaru Justy, awd, 1.3(which can be upgraded very easily) and looks like a suzuki swift

[rb5er]

Impreza or something quattro

[MrT8064]

SlowStig said:

Subaru Justy, awd, 1.3(which can be upgraded very easily) and looks like a suzuki swift

Not sure I want something that looks like a swift!

Hadn't really thought about Quattro, would anything be in my budget?
Should probably also look at 4Motion

[CaptainSlow]

n/a Impreza is the best option. Lighter than the Forester which helps with the performance in snow.

[MrT8064]

Difficult to find one that hasn't been messed around with. Would I find a non-turbo impreza intolerably slow/boring?

[Scuffers]

Panda 4x4
Old Jeep just about anything (MPG might be an issue though)
Jaguar X type (although probably just over the £1,000 budget)
Audi A4 Quattro ( this one in classifieds for £850 )
VW Golf VR6 ( this one in classifieds for £700)

list goes on....

[CaptainSlow]

MrT8064 said:

Difficult to find one that hasn't been messed around with.

There are a fair few around.

MrT8064 said:

Would I find a non-turbo impreza intolerably slow/boring?

Yes for 364 days of the year when there is no snow. For the other day they are great fun and very capable.

[M3EvoDan]

Isn't the VR6 golf front wheel drive?

Scuffers said:

Panda 4x4
Old Jeep just about anything (MPG might be an issue though)
Jaguar X type (although probably just over the £1,000 budget)
Audi A4 Quattro ( this one in classifieds for £850 )
VW Golf VR6 ( this one in classifieds for £700)

list goes on....

[AHMTHSSN]

Yes, the VR6 is FWD. The MK4 Golf 4-Motion is 4WD.

[89JT]

That A4 looks pretty decent actually! - I'm guessing buying winter tyres for my E34 won't have a big enough impact on grip, or am I wrong? At the moment it is TERRIBLE! - Just put 80KG of concrete in the boot for hobo-grip-imporvement!

[chongwong]

I've found out this.week that Audi's are royally st in the snow, unless they are jeep type vehicles. Even the quatro varients really struggled. I would say that there was a hell of a lot of snow, and our gritter was broken. So by the end of the shift it was all hard packed icy slidey stuff so lots of things were struggling. Surprisingly an old scimitar GTE was brilliant despite being automatic and rear wheel drive, the guy did have winter tyres fitted though. Excuse any spelling derps, as typing on my phone. Also stick some winter tyres on your car and it will do fine if you are careful with the throttle.

Edited by chongwong on Saturday 8th December 13:52

[ImpossiblyDaft]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but have you tried winter tyres? The road I live on has been under more snow, ice and sludge than the one in that Subaru picture for the last couple of weeks (my car earlier in the week - http://i50.tinypic.com/fck9c3.jpg), but a neighbour of mine with an E46 3-series doesn't seem to be having much trouble and there are plenty of RWD BMWs and old Volvos knocking about here.

Edited by ImpossiblyDaft on Saturday 8th December 14:12

[folos]

AHMTHSSN said:

Yes, the VR6 is FWD. The MK4 Golf 4-Motion is 4WD.

Yup, very much doubt you could get one of those for underva grand!

Could get an old range rover? Sure there was one as SOTW not so long ago

[B17NNS]

Cherokee

[EDLT]

folos said:

Could get an old range rover? Sure there was one as SOTW not so long ago

I assumed the OP wants a car that works.

[rallycross]

Try some winter tyres even 2 nd hand ones will make a huge difference for a small cost

[Futuramic]

M3EvoDan said:

Isn't the VR6 golf front wheel drive?

Scuffers said:

Panda 4x4
Old Jeep just about anything (MPG might be an issue though)
Jaguar X type (although probably just over the £1,000 budget)
Audi A4 Quattro ( this one in classifieds for £850 )
VW Golf VR6 ( this one in classifieds for £700)

list goes on....

The VR6 is front wheel drive, the 4Motion has a Haldex clutch so is front wheel drive the majority of the time. It's more of a performance setup than something designed for traction in poor weather.

The Audi in the classified ad is massively overpriced, it's got a short MOT and an interstellar mileage. Add in the fact that there's no mention of service history; probably meaning it is due a belt change and it's the humble 2.6. That variant is not very fast. If it was £400 cheaper it might be a worthwhile proposition. I picked up an E34 with fewer miles and a year's test for less than half that recently.

[Hoofy]

So, what are the following cars like? (All £1000-2000 so slightly over-budget but don't think it's worth setting up a new thread.)







Thinking about (mild) off-road ability (muddy tracks and fields not mountains), fuel costs, running costs and reliability.

[folos]

EDLT said:

I assumed the OP wants a car that works.

'works' is very much open to interpretation :-)