A what car for winter time
Discussion
Tl:dr below 
I'm returning to the UK for good in late Dec and toying with the idea of leaving my 645 in storage until spring time, at which time I have plans for it. Truth be told I was more attracted to the idea of having some back to basics motoring, having enjoyed living in the wilds of Africa with a basic 4x4 this past year. My initial idea was buy the cheapest, small hatchback I could find for a few hundred quid, that would take winter abuse, then throw it away in the spring time.
However I suffer from upgraditis and have started thinking about cheap but interesting options such as 172/182s (a car that my mum of all people ran as a daily and on winter tyres was like a tank in the Scottish highland snow drifts) and now a Subaru of some description with its 4 wheel drive capabilities. Only thing I know for sure is I want cheap (£1-2k max but less is better) and disposable. I don't care if it's tatty and rough; I'm determined not to keep it for long (although I do tend to fall in love with cars very easily
). So what would PH recommend?
Tl:dr - recommend me a cheap, basic but interesting winter hack for as little outlay as possible.
I'm returning to the UK for good in late Dec and toying with the idea of leaving my 645 in storage until spring time, at which time I have plans for it. Truth be told I was more attracted to the idea of having some back to basics motoring, having enjoyed living in the wilds of Africa with a basic 4x4 this past year. My initial idea was buy the cheapest, small hatchback I could find for a few hundred quid, that would take winter abuse, then throw it away in the spring time. However I suffer from upgraditis and have started thinking about cheap but interesting options such as 172/182s (a car that my mum of all people ran as a daily and on winter tyres was like a tank in the Scottish highland snow drifts) and now a Subaru of some description with its 4 wheel drive capabilities. Only thing I know for sure is I want cheap (£1-2k max but less is better) and disposable. I don't care if it's tatty and rough; I'm determined not to keep it for long (although I do tend to fall in love with cars very easily
). So what would PH recommend?Tl:dr - recommend me a cheap, basic but interesting winter hack for as little outlay as possible.
Not necessarily; I'll be based in Surrey so I wanted something that'll take the wet and salty winter weather abuse more than anything (had my BMW resprayed before I left the UK hence I'm keen to leave it tucked up). Any major snow fall and I'll be staying off the roads unless it's an emergency.
Legnum vr4
Cheap - tick
Four wheel drive - tick (and active yaw control too
)
Disposable and tatty - possibly
Mpg - well it'll get a few, not much but low 20s at best
Should be something a bit different and practical too. Although if I was in your position I would be looking at a subaru of some form, impreza or forester which has already been suggested. Cheap, reliable, practical, four wheel drive, not too bad on fuel. That is of course unless you really like the idea of a 4x4
Cheap - tick
Four wheel drive - tick (and active yaw control too
)Disposable and tatty - possibly
Mpg - well it'll get a few, not much but low 20s at best
Should be something a bit different and practical too. Although if I was in your position I would be looking at a subaru of some form, impreza or forester which has already been suggested. Cheap, reliable, practical, four wheel drive, not too bad on fuel. That is of course unless you really like the idea of a 4x4
parabolica said:
Was going to try and stay away from jeeps tbh but I'm willing to consider everything. My original idea for a small hatch was low weight + snow tyres + decent mpg = cheapest possible? Whereas larger jeeps are going to be more costly to run... But I'll consider it 
Lol jeep and decent mileage should never be used in the same sentence, i get 18 around town and 24 on a long run however i only paid £1000 for the jeep and it sailed thru its mot The Big G said:
Legnum vr4
Cheap - tick
Four wheel drive - tick (and active yaw control too)
Disposable and tatty - possibly
Mpg - well it'll get a few, not much but low 20s at best
Should be something a bit different and practical too. Although if I was in your position I would be looking at a subaru of some form, impreza or forester which has already been suggested. Cheap, reliable, practical, four wheel drive, not too bad on fuel. That is of course unless you really like the idea of a 4x4
I did spend most of last weekend looking at Galants and Imprezas in the classifieds. My original intentions were either a puma or a focus... Puma mainly as I've always wanted one and if I was going to get rid after a few months, rusty arches wouldn't be such an issue. Cheap - tick
Four wheel drive - tick (and active yaw control too
)Disposable and tatty - possibly
Mpg - well it'll get a few, not much but low 20s at best
Should be something a bit different and practical too. Although if I was in your position I would be looking at a subaru of some form, impreza or forester which has already been suggested. Cheap, reliable, practical, four wheel drive, not too bad on fuel. That is of course unless you really like the idea of a 4x4
parabolica said:
I did spend most of last weekend looking at Galants and Imprezas in the classifieds. My original intentions were either a puma or a focus... Puma mainly as I've always wanted one
Well, that could be your answer. I find a car is bought as much with the heart as the head. It has to meet both for me.As for galants/legnums - rust is something to look for as well as a impeccable service history with regular AYC fluid changes. This comes round every 4500 miles or six months so there should be plenty of stamps in the book and a huge pile of receipts. Uk spec service schedule recommends AYC fluid changes every six months, Japanese is every 2 years (I believe but don't take as gospel!)so watch out as most are imports. Apart from that , mine has been reliable excluding a few age related failures, a new radiator, couple of bushes and gators etc.
lots of info about them all online, good luck with your search.
Should be able to pick an X type Jaguar 2.5 or 3 litre V6 which are 4wd for peanuts. 25mpg but comfortable, quick enough for overtaking on Scottish roads, cheap parts as well. Sport isn't too bad on the corners either, it's just that the steering is a bit lifeless.
Bought mine with 62k miles for 2k and it's a perfect winter car for chucking skis or bike into it and heading into the mountains.
Bought mine with 62k miles for 2k and it's a perfect winter car for chucking skis or bike into it and heading into the mountains.
awooga said:
Should be able to pick an X type Jaguar 2.5 or 3 litre V6 which are 4wd for peanuts. 25mpg but comfortable, quick enough for overtaking on Scottish roads, cheap parts as well. Sport isn't too bad on the corners either, it's just that the steering is a bit lifeless.
Bought mine with 62k miles for 2k and it's a perfect winter car for chucking skis or bike into it and heading into the mountains.
Also, they run the same tyre sizes as Fords (surprisingly) and when I had mine I picked up a set of Focus steels that had winters on them for next to nothing, then had the tyres put on the X Type alloysBought mine with 62k miles for 2k and it's a perfect winter car for chucking skis or bike into it and heading into the mountains.
awooga said:
Should be able to pick an X type Jaguar 2.5 or 3 litre V6 which are 4wd for peanuts. 25mpg but comfortable, quick enough for overtaking on Scottish roads, cheap parts as well. Sport isn't too bad on the corners either, it's just that the steering is a bit lifeless.
Bought mine with 62k miles for 2k and it's a perfect winter car for chucking skis or bike into it and heading into the mountains.
Echo that. Mine's auto so I average about 19 but does get driven hard sometimes.Bought mine with 62k miles for 2k and it's a perfect winter car for chucking skis or bike into it and heading into the mountains.
Put the vague steering down to (cheap) winter tyres (mine's a sport too). Kept them on all Summer as could not be bothered to change them.
Have a Subaru Legacy that I bought as a stop-gap until I got back into a Jag but it's too good to throw away so have kept it. Apart from having to put right what was wrong with it when I bought it has not cost me a bean apart from normal service items. Even on summer tyres it never got stuck, even on the many hills around here.
So echo the comment that if you buy a Subaru you may not want to let it go, so may be worth getting one that has not been hammered
I bought a Forester simply as a cheap runabout/milemuncher when I still had an Impreza - that I didnt want to park in some dodgy places. There was no reason for the choice other than it was cheap estate.
After the first winter snow I decided I was never-ever selling it as it was a proper snow taxi that I used to take out for a few hours in the deep snow just for fun - and I only got rid when the milkman wrote it off on my driveway.
Its daily replacement - a newer Forester, which was only recently replaced after 4 years by an Audi Quattro this summer.
If you do have a lot of snow where you , they have asymetrical AWD so the pulling grip is fantastic and sure footed. But you are still restricted by tyre choice when stopping.
Another vote for Subaru here - I had a bugeye WRX Impreza wagon a couple of years ago and it was brilliant in the winter, had loads of miles on it and never went wrong. In fact, I missed it so much after a couple of years in the wilderness (AKA BMW 5-series ownership) that I've just bought another one! 
milu said:
Anyway OP what's the story with the resprayed 6? And what plans?
Purely selfish interest cos I have one!
Not sure yet; wheels need refurb'd or replaced (not conviced yet if a set of CSL alloys would look good on a big, heavy 6); exterior & interior detail/deep clean and replace suspension bushes, check the basics such as brake lines, discs, shocks etc. Basically get it as near perfect as possible and then probably keep it due to how much I've fallen for it. But in the middle of all that I'm moving from Scotland to London (again) and need to sell my Aberdeen home which is going to involve investment so maybe the car plans would take a back seat.Purely selfish interest cos I have one!
Anyway thanks for the suggestions; never been too keen on the Jag X type although I know the 4 wheel drive version was well received - can one be had for under 2k though?
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff