which 10yr old 4x4 for commute & occasional towing duties

[canonbeck]

Howdy all - this is my first post here so please go easy on me(!)

I'm currently in the market for a large 4x4 for a short school run & daily commute (24 mile round trip on A roads) but more importantly, to pull our large twin axle caravan (1800kgs) on occasional jaunts around the UK and into France. Would like to keep the outlay to less than 10K if possible.

On the short list so far are the VW Touareg's, the 2.5tdi and the 30.tdi, Range Rover Sport TDV6, Disco 3 TDV6, FFRR TD6 (don't think I can stretch to the TDV8) and the Volvo XC90 D5.

I'm aware of the running costs associated with these large vehicles but having never had a big SUV before, I'm worried about which is likely to be the better choice in terms of reliability at 10 years old with likely over 100k on the clock.

I was initially keen on the VW's but I now realise that parts are expensive and specialists are few. So I'm now thinking the Landrovers might be a better bet with lots of cheap parts and expertise - but I don't really know for sure so I need all the help I can get(!)

Any / all advice much appreciated.

Cheers

[Disco_Biscuit]

Tbh the Volvo would probably be most reliable, anything to do with Land Rover/ Range will be plagued with electrical or suspension faults.

VW can still bring some eye watering bills

[Jerry Can]

Nissan X trail?

[richs2891]

I would add Mitsubishi Shogun, Nissan Patrol, Toyota land cruiser and Kia Sorento to that list as well. And have a look at the Cayenne but they can have seriously big bills if stuff goes wrong -

I've towed with a lwb auto shogun, auto Sorento, and Porsche cayenne, all pretty good tow cars and easily do the commute

Edited by richs2891 on Friday 2nd January 15:15

[Clivey]

As a Discovery owner, if you want reliability, get a Land Cruiser.

My D2 has cost me c£3k in the last year or so (most of that preventive maintenance). Still love it though!

[canonbeck]

I was suspecting that your answers would be mostly japanesse but thanks anyway - don't fancy my chances of talking my wife into driving any of those though but I'll give it whirl!

[Kaelic]

Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 3.0 Litre Merc Diesel!

Apparently bullet proof. Have just gotten one so will be able to report back my findings!

[rallycross]

Tourag 3.0 ( avoid the 2.5 Tdi version it's a noisy old engine) or the Grand Cherokee diesel if you are prepared to put up with the vague steering and comedy body roll ( great value and robust).

[Shwar25]

The 2.5TDi in the Touareg isn't an engine I would recomend.

The 3.0TDi is newer tech and better reliability.

[TLandCruiser]

Land cruiser

Mine has gone everywhere and I won't ever sell it!

[Impasse]

As a Range Rover owner you might want to ignore pub talk.

[RobinBanks]

Impasse said:

As a Range Rover owner you might want to ignore pub talk.

Yeah, I've done ok with them.

[loskie]

Legacy Outback. Not sure of he towing capacity though.

[canonbeck]

Ooh. I'd not considered the jeep before now. What makes it reliable? I'd have thought being American would make my it more expensive to run!

[RobinBanks]

canonbeck said:

Ooh. I'd not considered the jeep before now. What makes it reliable? I'd have thought being American would make my it more expensive to run!

Why would that make it more expensive to run?
Nothing especially makes them reliable or unreliable. I'd say they're about on par with their other competitors (and they share quite a bit with the Mercedes ML of the period).

[Cooper Green]

Personally after owning two of these motors I would recommend a BMW X5. These vehicles are readily available and cheap to buy, I have had two 4.4 v8s which are relatively bomb proof, will pull tree stumps, and will keep up with most traffic at motorway plus speeds,( but are heavy on fuel, brakes and tyres) and my wife's aunt runs a 3.0 diesel. not a bad word to say about any of them over and above the dreaded consumables.
Full of kit, luxury, and space our 118,000 miler at 12 years old still runs like a dream and still looks like a fresh model.
A great all rounder.

[cptsideways]

That is not an especially heavy trailer, a 530d auto will cope with that fine with weight to spare & an X5 is no better in the towing dept. Just a thought as it will be a lot less costly than running a 4x4 most of the year.

[jfdi]

I was looking for similar last year and end up with a 04 plate Merc ML 270 diesel, well within budget, nice interior (relative to other 4x4 of the same age) and I couldn't find any major common borkage issues on the internet. Only common issue i did find was swirl flaps on the inlet manifold, but not a major expense if they do fail.

Been very please with it, upto 30mpg on a run, mid to low 20s round town and when towing our 1500kg caravan.

[Fleckers]

Shogun

[Gaspode]

If you want reliability and good towing capacity, how about a Honda CRV? The 2nd generation cars should be within budget and have a towing capacity of 1500kg, and being Hondas have bulletproof reliability. British-built, too!