Which 4x4 winter hack for under £2k?

[anonymous-user]

[redacted]

[Pericoloso]

Panda.
Top Gear were impressed with it when they raced it up a greasy hill years ago.

[STURBO]

SX4 4x4 worth a look too.

Light and cheap too.

[caelite]

Would strongly recommend these. Drive fairly well once you are used to them, very old school in their interior and ride. Will get you literally anywhere. Cheap to run and reliable.

[Toed64]

The little Shogun rots REALLY badly...I wouldn't buy one.

My choices for a cheapy 4 wheel drive would be:

Subaru Forester turbo (petrol) or Outback 3litre (had both and they are excellent - Outback H6 more reliable).

Fiat Panda 4x4 - £1500 buys a good one - don't pay the stupid premiums some ask (2 in our driveway - extraordinary and endearing - 45mpg petrol).

Toyota 4Runner (old but seriously tough and dependable - we've run them for towing, horse and dog duties for the last 12 years).

Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 DiD (big and comfortable - rot badly - on our 2nd one now for heavy towing...maybe the 4Runner can retire some day).

[caelite]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

It's a Jimny, one of the ones you mentioned in your OP as seeming promising.

Mine is on the stock steels wrapped in General Grabber AT3s, tyres are highly rated among owners for being softer than most more heavy duty AT tyres (good for the lighter jimny). And also having 3pmsf snow grip ratings. I also have Suzuki Ignis Recaros in mine which make a world of difference as the stock seats leave a lot to be desired.

Big modifying community around them if you are into that for your winter hack.

[troika]

Forester. Extremely capable and reliable. Will drive much better than a Jimny or Pinin. Unless you are going proper off roading, it’s all you’ll ever need.

[Mammasaid]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

1. Stick on bullet holes, just because.
2. seats have covers on them, to protect them from all the grot.

[Timbuktu]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I would strongly suggest an extended test drive if seriously considering one, they may look good on paper and have a large following but in reality they are woefully underpowered. Plus they are RWD most of the time unless on slippery surfaces, so even when it's raining you have to stay in 2WD and the open rear diff will leave you struggling for grip on a wet muddy hilly lane.

They can seriously struggle on proper hills and have you crawling up in 1st gear without the power to get in to second (you mention hiking) and don't have enough power to overtake.

I say this to balance opinion as you will usually hear nothing but praise for these little Jimnys but I wonder how much is from owners trying to justify their car and how much is from want to be owners with a misguided understanding of how practical they really are.

I'm sure they have their uses in specific circumstances but for what you want there is surely a better option!

[anonymous-user]

LR Freelander, cheap enough to throw away If anything goes wrong, loads of spares, cheap to run.

We have one and its great, no issues and its on 98k now (we've probably done 6k).

[anonymous-user]

Yes, but the latter facelift isn't "as" bad, plus avoid the 1.8 K series and the latter 2.0 TD4 is pretty good (in terms of reliability when compared against the K series).

Although I have had two K series cars and never had an issue.

Mine is a 2006, so the very last MK1.

[Fermit TKASS]

What about some Japanese reliability?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Sarah had a RAV when I met her, and it was utterly dependable.

[cbmotorsport]

Fermit TKASS said:

What about some Japanese reliability?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Sarah had a RAV when I met her, and it was utterly dependable.

Plus one for a Rav4. I've got one for a shooting wagon. It's shod with AT tyres and goes everywhere without a fuss. Toyota bullet proof build, will do galactic mileage, don't rust, strong interiors.

Not got mine stuck in 2 years of muddy fields, woodland tracks and some considerable mud, and it was fabulous in the snow.

[caelite]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

And yet mine rattles along most of the Scottish west coasts country lanes at the national speed limit without much bother. The later VVT iterations will do an indicated 90 (true 85ish) on the flat, and easily maintain 65 up every motorway hill I've tried. Don't get me wrong, if you are 4 up, at speed you need to use 4th gear and hold the revs around 4k to maintain 60-65, but it still does it comfortably. And speeds in excess of 70-75 you get absolutely battered by crosswinds. These things are designed to hold 60mph, and once you get there they feel like they will comfortably do it to the ends of the earth.

The only case where your statement about struggling to get into 2nd is true is when you try to treat it like a Defender and stick a 2.5ton plant trailer on the back of it. I speak from experience when I say, they are not great for that. They will comfortably keep ahead of the wagons with a 400-600kg utility trailer in tow though.

The back end will step out in the snow if you thrash it, but what car wont? In the rain you need to be properly harsh with it to induce a drift.

[kieranblenk]

How about a Daihatsu Terios or Suzuki Ignis 4GRIP? Both are cheap, sturdy and should be able to wade through the snow fairly well.

[ZX10R NIN]

Jeep Cherokee

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Ford Maverick

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Nissan Terano

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Rexton

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Kia Sportage

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Frontera

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[kieranblenk]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

The newer Terios (06 plate onwards) is a Yaris underneath I believe, the older one is typical Daihatsu but that's no bad thing - they're very tough and reliable.

[Sa Calobra]

At under 2k I'd worry about reliability of said car. Cars like the Jimny aren't cheap especially in winter time. A half decent 04 one is over 2k by a bit....


Look at Subaru Forester's but again you would need to spend a bit more.

TBH buy 4 winter tyres.

[caelite]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

It's a bit of a rabbit hole question that. There are ATs, like all seasons, which are well made and winter rated, achieving 3PMSF grip ratings (BFG KO2, General AT3, Yokohama GO15 to bane a few). There are also ATs, like all seasons, which are just summer tyres with extra rain sips (Toyo AT).

Personally I think it depends on your circumstance. If you want a versatile, tyre that is puncture resistant and will perform exceptionally well on gravel, grass, light mud etc, but sacrifices a little on road grip and dynamics, go for an AT. If you want absolute optimal snow grip, go for a winter.

Another plus for ATs is they are truck tyres designed for heavy land rovers, pickups etc. When put on something as light as a Jimny or Rav they can last forever. I've personally experienced a Jimny on HTs with 110k miles on them.

[Sa Calobra]

I've ran normal load on my Forester and at a few psi drop I'm seeing sidewall wear. Next tyres will be high load.