Exploring more of the world, selling up but onto what?

[stedaley]

Having had a Fiesta ST the past year and it being a brilliant car but it's attracting the wrong people(broken into and attempted theft twice) and needs change so I'm looking into something that will let me get abit more adventurous with exploring.

Hotels cost and the amount of driving I'd have to do anyway to explore the likes of wales/Scotland/Ireland over the next twelve months would be larger than I'd like if I did it in the ST.

So the thought has crossed my mind to try and find something I can go camping in, sleep in, (roof tent is an idea) but still manage the daily grind and have some poke to it. Now estates come to mind as well as SUVs, with A6 and Octavia popping up as well as the Skoda yeti. I would still like to enjoy driving it, (hard to compare to the ST but as close to fun as I could get)

Requirements
Handle 2 people 6ft plus
4wd
Economical (ish)
Fun to drive
Pokey.


I know I'm asking alot or Is this just a wild fantasy to think that I can fit this all in one car, I mean a land rover / range rover sport /rs6 would be perfect, but I can't remember where I put the £60k plus i was keeping for a rainy day...

Any thoughts? 10-20k price range?

[matthias73]

Buy an original x5 v8 and spend the other 15k wafting around Europe

[Dusty964]

Buy whatever you like for 5 grand and spend the rest on hotels.

[racingmule]

I've seen a few mpv's with the rear seats taken out and used for travelling and overnighting in. Ford Galaxy comes to mind. Advantage over an estate is more head room. Otherwise a Passat estate has a huge rear. The most stylish estate to rough it in around Europe would have to be the Mercedes CLS shooting brake.

[red_slr]

E class has a very nice square boot and quite high roof due to low floor. The Passat is quite wide but a bit more narrow.

I have had both!

S Max or similar, do they not do one with the 2.5T from the ST?

[caelite]

Discovery 4? LR Disco sets the standard in comfortable 'proper' 4x4s, parts are readily available and there is a massive modding community around them in the UK so you won't struggle to sort bits like roof tents, and every large rural town has some kind of LR 'specialist'.

I've seen overlander setups with internal sleeping arrangements in these as well, might be worth looking in to, as I said the modding community is massive so there is no shortage of options for them.

Never driven one of the newer ones but the old 4 and 5 cylinder 1s and 2s could handle a solid 30mpg which is pretty much the standard for big brutes like these.

Or there's always a Defender if you hate yourself and your traveling companion, although they have the added bonus of very quickly becoming appreciating classics.

Edited by caelite on Friday 5th May 07:12

[Willy Nilly]

I'll be going to Austria on my CBR600F again this year, not sure why you would need a specialist overland adventurer car to go to Scotland. Any car with an MOT, tax and insurance would do.

[DoubleD]

I doubt that you can sleep in a CBR600F

[davek_964]

You only live once. Buy a 4WD Porsche 996, chuck a tent in the boot and camp in a field.

[24 Lemons]

I would have thought that your ST would be perfect. Reliable, great handing and fairly good mpg. The cost of changing and making sure that whatever you bought was reliable and had a good service would probably outweigh the benefits in cost.

Just throw a tent in the back and go for it. You will only end up on a nice piece of road in a barge wishing you were in the ST.

[LasseV]

Why 4wd? It just makes things more difficult for you.

Edit: Tent and a gt car is my answer.

[Monkeylegend]

Volvo, Saab, E Class estate, back seats down, mattress in the back and Bob's your aunt.

[steve-5snwi]

If you can tolerate its looks how about the Mini Countryman JCW.

[alfie2244]

Skoda Superb estate 4x4

[ZX10R NIN]

If you're willing to drop the 4x4 part then I'd say get yourself a Mondeo with the 2.0T with 240bhp & get it mapped, it's a good steer with a huge boot with enough space to fit a tent etc whilst still leaving you some room should you get caught short on your travels.



2010 Titanium X Sport 200bhp 41k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2015 Titanium with X Pack 240bhp 5k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2010 VXR 325bhp 73k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2008 Mercedes E63 (economy is thrown out of the window to be replaced by stupid grins) AMG 515bhp 69k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
If it has to be 4WD then I'd say take a look at the VXR Insignia but it'll need to be mapped to get the best from the engine.

2014 Insignia VXR Supersport 325bhp 59k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...


2009 Passat R36 4x4 300bhp 98k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2007 Audi S6 (yes economy will be a dirty word with this car) 51k 430bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2010 A6 3.0 Supercharged S Line 290bhp 81k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Saturday 6th May 08:22

[Ahbefive]

I agree with the "just buy a tent" sentiments.

[LasseV]

Ahbefive said:

I agree with the "just buy a tent" sentiments.

Yup, sleeping in a tent is much more comfortable than sleeping in a car.

[stedaley]

LasseV said:

Yup, sleeping in a tent is much more comfortable than sleeping in a car.

Which gt car would you say?

I have thought about it and am still open to ideas!

I just have a few friends who do this around oz quite alot! But the tent idea is there too!

Edited by stedaley on Saturday 6th May 22:46

[stedaley]

24 Lemons said:

I would have thought that your ST would be perfect. Reliable, great handing and fairly good mpg. The cost of changing and making sure that whatever you bought was reliable and had a good service would probably outweigh the benefits in cost.

Just throw a tent in the back and go for it. You will only end up on a nice piece of road in a barge wishing you were in the ST.

I know

But I'm worrying about the car more than I need to, with 5 being broken into in the past month round here... Something less sort after is what I'm thinking but keeping as much of the fun as possible!

[Trabi601]

This is where the big Japanese MPVs come in - big enough to convert into compact campers, small enough to use every day.

The Nissan Elgrand can be had with the 350Z V6 petrol and the Toyota Alphard can be had with the Lexus V6 from the RX300.

Not economical, but fit LPG and you get cost equivalency of 40-50 mpg.

We're off to Germany in our Alphard V6 on Thursday.