Vauxhall Monterey and frontera
Discussion
Anyone had experience of these?
Looking for a winter hack as looking to take the 200sx off the road over winter to cut costs (and stop rust but that's another story) and a few of these have popped up, both within a £6-700 budget.
Th Monterey is a 3.2 V6 which I assume is a sturdy enough engine?
The front eras are mostly 2.2's and whilst I'm not expecting either to be quick, I want enough grunt to not have my foot welded to the floor constantly.
Anyone have experience of either or any similar cars for the price?
Looking to Spend around £500-700 as for 4 new decent winter tyres I'd be at least £500 so better value for money I feel
Looking for a winter hack as looking to take the 200sx off the road over winter to cut costs (and stop rust but that's another story) and a few of these have popped up, both within a £6-700 budget.
Th Monterey is a 3.2 V6 which I assume is a sturdy enough engine?
The front eras are mostly 2.2's and whilst I'm not expecting either to be quick, I want enough grunt to not have my foot welded to the floor constantly.
Anyone have experience of either or any similar cars for the price?
Looking to Spend around £500-700 as for 4 new decent winter tyres I'd be at least £500 so better value for money I feel
ks) it's related to the Isuzu Trooper.I had a Frontera 2.2 petrol. It was actually ok, although it said ecotec on the engine but it wasn't very eco-nominal. whenever you hit a bump in the road the big wheels and separate chassis made it feel like a big jelly for a few seconds. bit of a lark, and it was blue that's about all I remember.
I owned a diesel Frontera a few years ago and did a Euro trip through France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Austria with no bother. I also drove a Frontera for Vauxhall in 1995 0n an event called the Arctic Super Challenge through Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Even after an 'off' which bent the rear axle, we still won the event.
Crossflow Kid said:
Roo said:
The Monterey is, indeed, a Trooper.
...whereas the Frontera is a very highly polished turd.My dad had one when I was young, back then I thought the flared arches were cool, oh how wrong I was. Thank god a head gasket killed it off.
It's interesting how many people slag the Frontera etc off without ever having owned one. Typical PH mentality 
I had a Frontera for a bit and I paid £800 for it. I wasn't expecting Mustang performance or 5-series luxury, but it handled itself just fine in the snow, rain, ice etc - and the only thing that went wrong was a wiper blade. I actually loved driving it even though the 2.3D engine was horrifically underpowered. There's so much fun to be had in 15mph RWD lazy drifts on the snow.
I sold it (for £1200) to a bloke who wanted to tow a horsebox for cheap and, two years later, I've seen it on the motorway. If you can find a decent example, and are prepared to accept that it's not going to be a Land Rover, then they're very good cars for what you pay for them.
I had a Frontera for a bit and I paid £800 for it. I wasn't expecting Mustang performance or 5-series luxury, but it handled itself just fine in the snow, rain, ice etc - and the only thing that went wrong was a wiper blade. I actually loved driving it even though the 2.3D engine was horrifically underpowered. There's so much fun to be had in 15mph RWD lazy drifts on the snow.
I sold it (for £1200) to a bloke who wanted to tow a horsebox for cheap and, two years later, I've seen it on the motorway. If you can find a decent example, and are prepared to accept that it's not going to be a Land Rover, then they're very good cars for what you pay for them.
MGZRod said:
Else a nice jeep with leather etc would do me fine!
Nack in 2000 I had a Cherokee Orvis (not the Grand) - perfect for what you want. Great in the snow & much better ground clearance than a hatchback with skinny front tyres. I had the diesel one (was brand new) but if you're doing a small mileage, go for the 4.0 which is much tougher by all accounts.MGZRod said:
It's not just for winter, more generally I want something big cheap and reliable that I can't prat about in! A bit of off roaring would be fun!
The Monterey is the one that's caught my eye, must be pretty simple...
Else a nice jeep with leather etc would do me fine!
jeep 4.0 litres it is then The Monterey is the one that's caught my eye, must be pretty simple...
Else a nice jeep with leather etc would do me fine!
MGZRod said:
It's not just for winter, more generally I want something big cheap and reliable that I can't prat about in! A bit of off roaring would be fun!
The Monterey is the one that's caught my eye, must be pretty simple...
Else a nice jeep with leather etc would do me fine!
No 4x4 will really be all that cheap. None are good on fuel and due to the nature of having double the amount of drivetrain components, they will likely need more maintenance and repairs.The Monterey is the one that's caught my eye, must be pretty simple...
Else a nice jeep with leather etc would do me fine!
If you want to off road, I'd avoid the Frontera. We had a 3 door 2.2 petrol sport, and while it looked fab, I really wasn't taken with how it went. It rode far worse than a classic Range Rover and handled worse, despite having IFS vs the Range Rover's live axle.
The 2.2 was completely gutless but also hated to be revved. MPG was 23-26 range.
On the road it's RWD only, no centre diff, but it also has an open rear diff. On leaf ridden country lanes it often struggled far more than you'd think.
Off road was very poor, a low range that isn't low enough, poor engine performance and very limited suspension travel. I'm sure a few mods could improve this, but why bother when there are better options.
The Frontera was replaced with a 1.8i Freelander. The Freelander was easily many times better on or off road vs the Frontera.
If you don't mind the mpg, get yourself a 4.0 litre Jeep Cherokee.
I had a diesel lwb frontera for a couple of years. Never managed to get it stuck or break it, drove backwards through a concrete lamp post and sustained a dent to the steel bumper and drove up and down many beaches. The paint is the softest put onto any car, you could scratch it with a leaf. Understeer in the wet was the most awesome of any 4x4 that I have driven, you could have full lock on the wheel and still be going srtraight ahead. It would drift in 2wd, but you needed handbrake to get it out there first.
In summary: you wont get stuck in snow, will probably manage to entertain yourself going sideways and if you're going to crash go in backwards. What more would you need to know for a winter hack?
In summary: you wont get stuck in snow, will probably manage to entertain yourself going sideways and if you're going to crash go in backwards. What more would you need to know for a winter hack?
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