Help me choose a 4x4

[brough74]

Hi i need a new car up th 25k in value, not bothered about age etc but it needs to have -

Four wheel drive (for farm tracks and lanes)
A large boot for 2 medium size dogs, (ridgebacks)
Decent on road performance
Decent ride hieght for snow and floods
Able to park in normal car parks, ie not too high or wide
Prefer manual but i can live with an auto


Ive looked at anything from qashqai to rangerover sports but i cant decide, so im looking for ideas.

[mattman]

1 vote for the XC90 - new model due out soon (i think) so should be able to get a decent deal.

We also looked at Shogun's and Toureg's at the time, but the 7 seat option is actually quite handy for adhoc kid hauling duty and the boot is huge when the rear seats are folded

[okie592]

Saab 9-3 turbo x estate
Audi a6 allroad

[wiliferus]

If you're not worried about badge snobbery, on that budget you'll get a nearly new Nissan Pathfinder. Great bit of kit.
Good deals to be had too as a new model has, or is just about to be released.

[ajb85]

I've always found the Hyundai Santa Fe a decent thing and great value, too. Plenty of change out of 25k!

[lexusboy]

New Rav 4 out soon

[brough74]

Not bothered about badge etc or age of car, currently have a golf with 350 litre of boot space which is a bit small for the dogs. Also need more ground clearence as it catches now and again.

[rhinochopig]

x-trail will fit those criteria. Bland things, but they'll take two dogs (we carry two labs in ours regularly) good mpg as you can switch from 2WD-Auto-Locked centre diff. Nice enough interior and small enough to fit in car-parks.

[schmalex]

OP. Have a read up about XC-90 4WD system failures. They are not an isolated occurance.

My money would be heading towards a Touareg 3.0 TDv6, Nissan Pathfinder or Disco3

[worsy]

brough74 said:

Hi i need a new car up th 25k in value, not bothered about age etc but it needs to have -

Four wheel drive (for farm tracks and lanes)
A large boot for 2 medium size dogs, (ridgebacks)
Decent on road performance
Decent ride hieght for snow and floods
Able to park in normal car parks, ie not too high or wide
Prefer manual but i can live with an auto


Ive looked at anything from qashqai to rangerover sports but i cant decide, so im looking for ideas.

1. 4x4 are usually four wheel drive
2. Discounts something like a Panda
3. Discounts a proper landie
4. Discounts any car based 4x4
5. Discounts a Landcruiser, Q7
6. Not an X5, ML or Cayenne

So

Forester
Disco
Freelander
Rav4
Toe rag
XC90

any more?

[Snowboy]

Disco 3 gets my vote.
For that money maybe even a disco 4.

[mattman]

schmalex said:

OP. Have a read up about XC-90 4WD system failures. They are not an isolated occurance.

My money would be heading towards a Touareg 3.0 TDv6, Nissan Pathfinder or Disco3

zzzzz - typically affects the older models that haven't had the £100 upgrade, buy wisely and this is not an issue

Touareg if you want reliability, couple of guys in the office have disco's and although they are brilliant all rounders they seem to have more than their fair share of problems. Land rover isn't known for its reliability after all nor is a ML of similar vintage

we also looked at the pathfinder but found the rear seats set really low, so not overly comfortable for adults - perhaps that was just me.

any large 4x4 is a big, heavy complex thing that will cost more than the average saloon to keep going. there are horror stories for every car you've listed and as usual, the forums tend to highlight the negatives rather than the positives. Just make sure you go in with your eyes open, buy on condition and history, some higher miler cars may actually be a better bet than a low mileage car as they've had preventative/warranty work done.
Remember a lot of these are aimed at families and therefore the interiors tend to get thrashed, some of these components can get very expensive (i.e. £300 to fix a XC90 CD changer) so again check everything fully before you buy.
If in doubt, get a indie inspection

and good luck!

[Hereward]

okie592 said:

Audi a6 allroad

Seconded.

[schmalex]

mattman said:

schmalex said:

OP. Have a read up about XC-90 4WD system failures. They are not an isolated occurance.

My money would be heading towards a Touareg 3.0 TDv6, Nissan Pathfinder or Disco3

zzzzz - typically affects the older models that haven't had the £100 upgrade, buy wisely and this is not an issue

Touareg if you want reliability, couple of guys in the office have disco's and although they are brilliant all rounders they seem to have more than their fair share of problems. Land rover isn't known for its reliability after all nor is a ML of similar vintage

we also looked at the pathfinder but found the rear seats set really low, so not overly comfortable for adults - perhaps that was just me.

any large 4x4 is a big, heavy complex thing that will cost more than the average saloon to keep going. there are horror stories for every car you've listed and as usual, the forums tend to highlight the negatives rather than the positives. Just make sure you go in with your eyes open, buy on condition and history, some higher miler cars may actually be a better bet than a low mileage car as they've had preventative/warranty work done.
Remember a lot of these are aimed at families and therefore the interiors tend to get thrashed, some of these components can get very expensive (i.e. £300 to fix a XC90 CD changer) so again check everything fully before you buy.
If in doubt, get a indie inspection

and good luck!

matman is right. They do need the upgrade. OP, also beware that VAG derived 4x4's (Touareg / Q7 / Cayenne) can suffer from the prop shaft UJ failing. VW ask for somewhere in the region of £2k for the fix (a replacement prop shaft), but the UJ can be refurbished for about £250 by an indy - I know this from experience (and lots of phoning around for quotes!) on our Touareg

[margerison]

If you drive mostly on-road - get an X5, if you drive mostly off-road get a Disco 3 or 4.

[fjord]

Hereward said:

okie592 said:

Audi a6 allroad

Seconded.

Arent they as reliable as a Somalian washing machine?

I vote Disco3.

[Sixpackpert]

Shogun?

[eltax91]

Disco4

[thismonkeyhere]

Landcruiser.

[Deerfoot]

Octavia Scout. You'll have enough change for a really nice holiday.