Mitsubishi Shogun (or alternative)?

[PaulB81]

Hi all

My Disco (M reg) is finally on its last legs. Its pretty manky inside and out and now needs major welding to make it through the next MOT. Going to have to spend £100 on it right now just got get it drivable as the UJ's have gone.

What I am looking for is a replacement, requirements are:

Budget 4k max (would prefer more like 3k)
Suitable for greenlaning, fairly light offroading but this will be done regularly
Plenty of room for 3 large dogs in the boot
Can fit 4 adults easily
Must be reliable!! Done with constant niggles on the disco for a while.

Dont care about mileage really as it wont be driven massive distances. Its a dog walking, offroading, tip run car only. We have 2 other cars for other duties.

Dont really care about fuel economy as it wont be driven enough to make a difference (big petrol engine would be nice), insurance also not an issue as its a 3rd car and will have very limited mileage.

My first thought is a shogun. Can get one around about MY2000 for that money, they seem quite comparable to the discovery only maybe a bit more comfy and with a few less Landrover electrical gremlins etc

Any advice welcome

[soad]

Toyota Land Cruiser?

[Shaw Tarse]

Pajero ask here http://www.pocuk.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=68
Maybe consider a Jeep Cherokee?

[300bhp/ton]

Curious, but what sort of electrical gremlins did you have? There's really not much electrical on a Series 1 Disco.

Alternatives.. Shogun is certainly one of them, but so is a Patrol or a Landcruiser is you want to stick Jap.

Grand Vitara aren't bad but maybe not quite big enough.

Isuzu Troopers?

Older G-Wagen.

Even a decent Ford Maverick might be worth considering, lot of car for the money (watch for rust though). But a proper 4x4 underneath despite what many think.

Personally I'd probably be on the look out for a V8 Grand Cherokee.

[PaulB81]

Shaw Tarse said:

Pajero ask here http://www.pocuk.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=68
Maybe consider a Jeep Cherokee?

I like the idea of the Jeep but my other half being a life long Landrover owner has an irrational hatred of them.

Landcruiser is an option? Are they any good offroad though as this will be its main job?

[300bhp/ton]

PaulB81 said:

I like the idea of the Jeep but my other half being a life long Landrover owner has an irrational hatred of them.

I'd try and get over it tbh. Not point missing out on a good vehicle threw foolishness.

Why the hate anyway? Without Jeep there would be no LR.

[PaulB81]

Trooper is a good shout too, my other half had one of the previous shape and loved it to bits but they were a much smaller and nimbler vehicle. Is that shape reasonable offroad?

[PaulB81]

300bhp/ton said:

Curious, but what sort of electrical gremlins did you have? There's really not much electrical on a Series 1 Disco.

.

Lights going off when going over a bump Speedo dropping off when turning other things on, battery drained from full after 2 days if not used. There was clearly a bad earth somewhere and a few other niggles. The car has not had an easy life. It is on 240,000 miles and is on its 2nd engine lol

[PaulB81]

Just had a look through the above suggestions on autotrader

Shogun - Seems to be quite a few in budget
Landcruiser - very litte
Trooper - the ones in budget very old

On thing that stands out is the Grand Cherokee. They seem like you get a lot for the money? Is there a catch? How are they reliablility wise? Seem like a bargain and after a quick google, apparently they are pretty capable offroad.

[Shaw Tarse]

Shogun /Cherokee are prone to theft? (so I've been told by the Internet )
Hang on while I find a link to a reliable Jeep.....

[Shaw Tarse]

Looky here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... Whatare you going to do with the spare cash?

[agent006]

PaulB81 said:

On thing that stands out is the Grand Cherokee. They seem like you get a lot for the money? Is there a catch? How are they reliablility wise? Seem like a bargain and after a quick google, apparently they are pretty capable offroad.

Big on the outside, small on the inside was my overriding impression after testing a couple (2000 ish GCs). Very little rear legroom, boot not as big as you'd expect. If you're looking at Shoguns and troopers I'd say these are the next size down, similar to an XC90 or xtrail. I also struggled to find any that had been looked after (same as ML mercs for some reason).

[300bhp/ton]

PaulB81 said:

On thing that stands out is the Grand Cherokee. They seem like you get a lot for the money? Is there a catch? How are they reliablility wise? Seem like a bargain and after a quick google, apparently they are pretty capable offroad.

No real catch except Brits (some) seem to dislike them plus the usual anti American car crap you get. Prices reflect this.

Off road they are great. Often better than a Land Rover (and I'm a Landy man speaking!!!!!!!)

I've currently got a Cherokee - I like it a lot. No probs at all. My Dad also had one and equally no probs.

Some say they are smaller, but not vastly so, they just look less bulky as they are all monoque/unibody instead of ladder chassis with a body tub.

This is my bargain Jeep:





I had/have a 200Tdi Disco before it. The boot is a tab smaller maybe and certainly doesn't have the height of the Disco. But it's still fairly sizable. Rear seats are at least as big as a Focus if not more so. Although I admit rear doors are a tad small due to the rear wheel arch.

Grand Cherokee's are roomier inside and you can get them with a V8, although the 4.0 S6 is lovely

If you want to scare yourself silly have a look at what a Grand can do: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25...

[andy43]

LC have risen in price since I had mine - and 4k now will be 1998 100k+ territory if you want a diesel. Try the petrol if you don't do many miles - they're much cheaper and generally better looked after from what I've seen.
Shogun - again 4k is bottom of the market for a new shape. Had one of those too. Tbh preferred the LC - felt more solid.
Green laning and labradors - Forester?

[300bhp/ton]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

OP, Landcruiser would be pretty cool - Series 80 or 90- but they command strong money.

I quite like Landcruisers but the only one I really want is a proper HD 70 Series.



I don't think these were sold in the UK though. These have leaf springs front and rear and huge axles and chassis.

We did get the light duty variant with IFS but it's just not quite the same

[PaulB81]

So, went out today, looked at 7 cars, ended up buying a 1997 R Reg Pajero with 95k on the clock for 2.6k. Way under budget but the car has a good history (was used as a company car for a bit so had everything done, quite a bit spent). Drove very nice too. Its a LWB 2.8 Turbo Diesel. Its HUGE so no problems fitting the 3 dogs in the back.

Seems to tick the right boxes. Picking it up Wednesday Lets hope it doesnt have any nasty surprises in store. Having looked at 6 Shogun / Pajero's in the same day, this one had the best looking chassis in terms of rust. You can pretty much see the whole chassis just looking under the wheel arches (but I did stick my head underneath as well).

Dealer is providing 3 month warranty and a new MOT before I get it. Last MOT went through with only brakes as an advisory and they were changed at that time.

Hopefully lots of fun to come with it. The damn thing has SO many buttons. God knows what they all do. Its even got a compas, altimimeter and thing that tells you what angle the car is at in the dash. Im a sucker for pointless gadgets

Pics to follow when I get it