Reliable, cheap 4WD for less than 3k

[Nick England]

I'm kicking around ideas for buying a 4WD as we're possibly moving further out to the sticks.

My immediate thought is a 4.0 XJ Cherokee. I had one in when I lived abroad. Didn't care about MPG as the petrol was cheap. However, my wife reminds me it always needing something doing to it. I did own it for 20 years though, and overall it was bloody brilliant. Wish I'd have brought it back to the UK, but it was too expensive to ship it / drive back.

Alternatives here? Not sure. Would like to lug stuff around, and we have kids, so I'd like something reasonably sized, but not massive.

For that budget, I'm ruling out Land Cruisers. I'm also ruling out Land Rovers, based on mates abroad having them and they were always breaking down.

At the end of the day, I want something cheap to buy and run.

Thoughts?

Cheers,

Nick

[Skyrocket21]

3k unfortunately is quite a low budget, car prices have gone up about 1k, so you'd have to consider something old or high mileage.

One option is the Nissan X Trail, there is a completely updated version which looks like this, the older version has the driver display in the middle, they use a renault diesel engine. The ones for 3k have done around 150k plus.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202232...

.The Subaru Forrester is a good option, however it's likely to be smaller and I believe it uses a boxer diesel engine.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202262...

For more spaceand good reliability and higher mileage the Honda CRV with the very good 2.2 diesel engine, these engines can do the miles, they are quite big inside, they don't have permanent 4x4 it kicks in when needed:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203063...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112150...

[Nick England]

Good choices there.. Agree on the prices of 2nd hand cars though.

[The Mad Monk]

Nick England said:

I'm kicking around ideas for buying a 4WD as we're possibly moving further out to the sticks.

My immediate thought is a 4.0 XJ Cherokee. I had one in when I lived abroad. Didn't care about MPG as the petrol was cheap. However, my wife reminds me it always needing something doing to it. I did own it for 20 years though, and overall it was bloody brilliant. Wish I'd have brought it back to the UK, but it was too expensive to ship it / drive back.

Alternatives here? Not sure. Would like to lug stuff around, and we have kids, so I'd like something reasonably sized, but not massive.

For that budget, I'm ruling out Land Cruisers. I'm also ruling out Land Rovers, based on mates abroad having them and they were always breaking down.

At the end of the day, I want something cheap to buy and run.

Thoughts?

Cheers,

Nick

Toyota Rav4?

https://tinyurl.com/2rsh9ry6

[PushedDover]

The Mad Monk said:

Toyota Rav4?

https://tinyurl.com/2rsh9ry6

We are about to chop the OH's in (at circa £8k according to WBAC etc) as the Tesla arrives. I have to say it is non glamorous, but cavernous !
She's been nailing it up and down the A1 the las 2 years racking up 400miles a week.
Doesnt pull the heartstrings but a work horse, and pulls her horse box and huge horse just fine.

[MustangGT]

If there is no need to do serious off-roading then consider a soft roader such as a Skoda Octavia 4x4. Plenty of room, diesel are economic but 4wd available for snow and mud.

[Walter Sobchak]

I think wanting to spend £3k will automatically rule out Landcruisers for you, although you might find a very leggy Colorado which wouldn’t be a terrible purchase as long as the chassis wasn’t rotten!.

Should get a Shogun for £3k, check the fuel filler pipe isn’t corroded as the rust goes into the tank and eventually kills the diesel pump which is about an £800 repair IIRC.

RAV4 and CRV are also good picks.

[CharlieAlphaMike]

I'm thinking of selling my Jeep Cherokee KK 2.8CRD soon. I'm the 2nd owner and with less than 60K on the clock, the condition is as you might expect for such low mileage. I'm afraid you'd have to up your budget though Let me know if you're interested.

[V8mate]

The 1998-2005 Suzuki Grand Vitara had the 'proper' 4x4 knobs and sticks.

I ran a 5-door 2.5V6 petrol one for a while and it was a comfy and reliable thing.

Can't find any for sale at the moment though

[P675]

Lexus RX300s are cheap as chips.

[150bhp]

Dacia Duster 4x4

[Smint]

Original (up to 2008) Foresters are more roomy than you might think, boot more useful than most due to square shape of rear and narrow doors etc, no Diesel option in the square shape but now and again an LPG converted comes up for sale, assuming you have LPG pumps in your new area.
Consider any age of Subaru Outback.
Check underneath for rust.
Subaru Diesels best avoided unless bought so cheap you can afford to scrap the car if the crank gives up.

For bigger 4x4's consider Hyundai Terracan, Kia Sorento, Terrano/Maverick.

[MustangGT]

150bhp said:

Dacia Duster 4x4

Good call car wise, but likely to be out of budget. My 60k 2014 is till worth £5k trade in.

[Alex_225]

I bought a Shogun Sport for £2,500 last year. Ok, so it's unrefined and thirsty but seems to be extremely reliable so far, decent amount of space and very practical. Plus it has 4WD and low range so from what I'm seeing very capable as an off-roader.

I'm in the process of doing a couple of bits to mine before doing some light off-roading.