Which 4x4 on a budget of £10k ??

[IceBoy]

Hi All,

Another what car thread, so apologies for that!

Having moved to the countryside, I've started to look at 4x4's as the weather becomes colder, wetter and slippery over the coming months. Whether I get a new car or not is another matter, cash flow is a little tight at the moment!!

So if I have £10k where would my money be best spent, I would prefer:

1. Cheap to run and maintain
2. Excellent comfort and toys
3. I'm a bit of a badge snob (sorry)
4. Good turn of speed would be a bonus

So I have been looking at:

1. Range Rovers - Full fat and sport
2. BMW X5 3.0d
3. Mercedes ML 320/350 cdi
4. Audi Q5 2.0 TDI - strangely as these are cheaper to run but come in at £12-13k
5. Volvo XC90 D5

Am I asking for trouble with the Ranage Rovers of that vintage which will be the 3.0TD, I think the 3.6 TDV8 are £14-15k??

Are BMW X5's just old hat?

What have I missed out from my list, Ideal would be 35mpg on a run and not go bang!

IceBoy

[TurboHatchback]

IceBoy said:

Having moved to the countryside, I've started to look at 4x4's as the weather becomes colder, wetter and slippery over the coming months.

I would say that unless there is snow or water 2ft+ deep then 4x4s are not what you want in those conditions, if fact they are the worst type of vehicle to have. Their weight and high center of gravity mean they simply won't stop, turn or obey the helm very well at all. I don't know about the Q5 but the others will really struggle to see 35mpg under any situation. An AWD car would be faster, safer, more economical and generally much more suitable unless you plan to do some fairly gnarly off-roading (though only the Range Rover and too a lesser extent the ML would be able to do that anyway).

How about:

• Audi A4/A6 Quattro
• A Subaru of some description

[TLandCruiser]

I had a Subaru outback and I was quite impressed with what she could do, I'm biased so will obviously point you towards a land cruiser

[lavaJava]

I run a Subaru Forester - AWD, *plenty* of poke from the 2.5l turbo, and mostly a 'sleeper' (compared to it's hooli-sibling the Impreza). You should be able to find a decent one well within your budget with money left over for a set of winter tyres and a decent bork fund (oh and petrol money - I'm getting around 24mpg with a reasonable heavy foot).

[vtecyo]

TLandCruiser said:

I had a Subaru outback and I was quite impressed with what she could do, I'm biased so will obviously point you towards a land cruiser

X2.

My stepdad has one as his "posh farm vehicle" (read shooting / pub rub) to run alongside his absolutely battered farm Hilux. It's a bit agricultural but it's unbelievably comfortable and quiet.

[surveyor]

We have a Range Rover that's a late 3.0td6. It's a bit of an oddball as it's post facelift, in a short gap before they stuck a V8 in it.

Its done 120k and not cost a fortune to repair yet. Your fuel consumption of 35 mpg is not reachable unless you go for a soft-roader.

We've also had an X5, and the Range Rover is much nicer place to be - and so far is more reliable.

They are great, but you need to find one that's been looked after, and understand the risk....

[skyrover]

TurboHatchback said:

I would say that unless there is snow or water 2ft+ deep then 4x4s are not what you want in those conditions, if fact they are the worst type of vehicle to have. Their weight and high center of gravity mean they simply won't stop, turn or obey the helm very well at all. I don't know about the Q5 but the others will really struggle to see 35mpg under any situation. An AWD car would be faster, safer, more economical and generally much more suitable unless you plan to do some fairly gnarly off-roading (though only the Range Rover and too a lesser extent the ML would be able to do that anyway).

How about:

• Audi A4/A6 Quattro
• A Subaru of some description

The height helps on country lane as you can see over hedgerows and thus blind corners are not so much of an issue.

On the safety issue, no, the 4x4 will come out better in an accident 9 times out of 10

[TurboHatchback]

skyrover said:

The height helps on country lane as you can see over hedgerows and thus blind corners are not so much of an issue.

On the safety issue, no, the 4x4 will come out better in an accident 9 times out of 10

Yes generally a large 4x4 will do well in an accident but a normal AWD car is safer in slippery conditions as it's more controllable and less likely to end up in an accident in the first place. When it's snowy and icy look at all the cars in ditches and hedges and note how many of them are X5s, Range Rovers etc who obviously thought their vehicle possessed some special exemption from the laws of physics.

Don't get me wrong, I like proper 4x4s and have owned many but arguing that they are the rational answer to any UK road conditions is just incorrect.

[Ali_T]

Mazda CX7 2.2D. Try one.

[pat_y]

I am considering something similar to the OP, originally i was set on a 2006 ish Cayenne 4.5S, but horror stories about cylinder linings failing from a few sources have killed that idea.
I came to the conclusion that a VW Touareg around 2007 (facelifted), with the 3.0TDI V6 motor in 'Altitude' spec is the one to go for. Looks good, motor has some go to it, good 'toys' as standard, lots of room amd apprently very comfy.
Should be quite good fun with a re-map.

[Pablo16v]

My neighbour runs one of these. Maybe 30mpg on a run but they are well under budget and '06 registered ones are in the lower tax bracket. Newer ones are £500.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[lostkiwi]

pat_y said:

I am considering something similar to the OP, originally i was set on a 2006 ish Cayenne 4.5S, but horror stories about cylinder linings failing from a few sources have killed that idea.
I came to the conclusion that a VW Touareg around 2007 (facelifted), with the 3.0TDI V6 motor in 'Altitude' spec is the one to go for. Looks good, motor has some go to it, good 'toys' as standard, lots of room amd apprently very comfy.
Should be quite good fun with a re-map.

Touaregs suffer from propshaft centre bearing issues (as do Cayennes - they are the same under the skin aside from engines), but apart from that they are pretty good (if somewhat large for country lanes!).
My personal recommendation for a comfy reliable 4x4 is the Landcruiser in pretty much any of its variants - and in the 4x4 world they are generally acknowledged as being pretty decent bits of kit. The one I had was very good in all weather and towed/recovered/ferried people from 5 vehicles during one night of heavy snow in the Peak Distract back in 2012. In the severe weather that night it never missed a beat or gave any cause for concern even though we dragged two other large 4x4s out of drifts!

Also consider the Kia Sorrento - great cars fr little money and very good reputation for reliability, as does the Hyundai Santa Fe. Of course not much good if badge snobbery comes into play!

[Soupie69uk]

Nissan Patrol or a Pathfinder if it were my money.

Plus some decent tyres.

[ehonda]

Can you get a Disco 3 in budget? You won't get 35mpg, but neither will any of the others.
I have one and the only thing I'd consider changing it for is a FFRR.

[rouge59]

doogz said:

Most cars aren't the rational answer to that question, but if you lived where I did, there were little shunts regularly, and it was always cars, that couldn't see over hedges/walls. My wife included, in my Impreza, and the people round the corner in her Jag.

And I'd love to see a Forester make it up that road in the snow. Ground clearance was essential. I actually owned an A4 Quattro Sport when I lived there. fking useless in the bad weather.

Edited by doogz on Thursday 15th October 12:25

So a Forester's useless in snow? Oh dear.

http://youtu.be/aSG-pF1LXHI

[lostkiwi]

ehonda said:

Can you get a Disco 3 in budget? You won't get 35mpg, but neither will any of the others.
I have one and the only thing I'd consider changing it for is a FFRR.

Anything made by Land Rover is a bit of a lottery (as a long time Land Rover man). A good D3 can be excellent as can a good L322 but a bad one can be a bigger money pit than almost anything else on the road. D3 turbo changes are time consuming and costly (even if you can find a specialist that can do it without removing the body), egr issues are rife on the L322 as well, and air suspension issues on D3s and RR Sport are fairly commonplace.
When they go well there's nothing quite like them but when they don't....

I took my other half for a Land Rover Experience day at Eastnor (which she loved) and the brand new Range Rover we had broke down (wouldn't restart after posting a suspension issue) half way round the course and had to be replaced with another one. Doesn't inspire confidence given it had only 8k on the clock. Sadly such things are not uncommon as they are otherwise superb.

[Basil Brush]

ehonda said:

Can you get a Disco 3 in budget? You won't get 35mpg, but neither will any of the others.
I have one and the only thing I'd consider changing it for is a FFRR.

My R5 Touareg averages just under 35 and will get to 40 if you stick at 70 on the motorway and still going ok at 170k miles. The 3.0 V6 is a bit thirstier but a better car to drive, although service parts prices are higher and a bit more risk of bigger engine bills.

[kenloen]

Lexus RX400h, 35mpg everywhere, 0-60 in 7.5, everything auto, very comfortable and quiet (actually silent around carparks on battery)... put some winter tyres on it and it won't struggle, saw 1 as a rescue car in Alpe Dhuez last year)

[Willy Nilly]

IceBoy said:

Hi All,

Another what car thread, so apologies for that!

Having moved to the countryside, I've started to look at 4x4's as the weather becomes colder, wetter and slippery over the coming months.

Buy what you like, but you don't need a 4x4.

I was brought up on a dairy farm, have worked up to 35 miles from a tarmac road abroad and have worked on farms all of my life and would rather be stabbed than run a 4x4. The local wideboy here has a RRS, resplendent was dodgy number plate and stupid wheels. Only last winter I saw it embedded in the scenery why he failed to negotiate a slightly frosty bend in the road that my Honda Jazz dealt with without issue. My tractor with its 6ft diameter wheels is spectacularly crap when there is snow on the ground

[surveyor]

rouge59 said:

doogz said:

Most cars aren't the rational answer to that question, but if you lived where I did, there were little shunts regularly, and it was always cars, that couldn't see over hedges/walls. My wife included, in my Impreza, and the people round the corner in her Jag.

And I'd love to see a Forester make it up that road in the snow. Ground clearance was essential. I actually owned an A4 Quattro Sport when I lived there. fking useless in the bad weather.

Edited by doogz on Thursday 15th October 12:25

So a Forester's useless in snow? Oh dear.

http://youtu.be/aSG-pF1LXHI

I don't think it's legal to use studded snow tires in the UK...