Winter Car

[RS Grant]

My parents are moving to a new house which is quite isolated and given they both have RWD cars currently they want to buy something cheap now to cope with snow/ice this year in case they get hit with a bad winter.


Core Criteria:

£3500 budget
4WD/AWD
Car or SUV or Pickup
Manual Gearbox
Reliable
Petrol or Diesel

Nice-To-Haves:

Leather Interior
Heated Seats
Xenon Headlights
Cruise Control
Estate/Hatch Practicality


The manufacturer isn't a consideration and whatever is bought will get a set of winter tyres put on it to maximise its ability in colder weather.

I had initially thought of a c2005-2007 Subaru Legacy, but they seem quite thin on the ground these days?! Not sure what kind, if any, of the small-SUV (Rav4/CRV-type thing) are like in dodgy weather and what others are a waste of time.


Cheers,
Grant

[krisdelta]

On the somewhat simple side of a winter hack, Panda 4x4? All of your must-haves covered.

[Nickp82]

If it's purely for snow use a Suzuki Jimny is a good bet for not getting stuck.

[ZX10R NIN]

RS Grant said:

My parents are moving to a new house which is quite isolated and given they both have RWD cars currently they want to buy something cheap now to cope with snow/ice this year in case they get hit with a bad winter.


Core Criteria:

£3500 budget
4WD/AWD
Car or SUV or Pickup
Manual Gearbox
Reliable
Petrol or Diesel

Nice-To-Haves:

Leather Interior
Heated Seats
Xenon Headlights
Cruise Control
Estate/Hatch Practicality


The manufacturer isn't a consideration and whatever is bought will get a set of winter tyres put on it to maximise its ability in colder weather.

I had initially thought of a c2005-2007 Subaru Legacy, but they seem quite thin on the ground these days?! Not sure what kind, if any, of the small-SUV (Rav4/CRV-type thing) are like in dodgy weather and what others are a waste of time.


Cheers,
Grant

This car ticks all the boxes:

Mazda CX-7

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

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

Or if you can live with an Auto there's this:

Subaru Tribeca

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

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

[A900ss]

Or a set of steel wheels and winter tyres for one of their current cars...

RWD works fine in snow with winters.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Suzuki SX4 is a good shout. (4 grip version)

I love mine & it's been epic in snow & ice

[Pica-Pica]

A900ss said:

Or a set of steel wheels and winter tyres for one of their current cars...

RWD works fine in snow with winters.

FWD plus winters v 4WD on standard


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7l2cMlNRX_A

[Scobblelotcher]

Pica-Pica said:

A900ss said:

Or a set of steel wheels and winter tyres for one of their current cars...

RWD works fine in snow with winters.

FWD plus winters v 4WD on standard


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7l2cMlNRX_A

However..... put the AWD car on winter tires and it will wipe the floor with fwd/rwd cars.

Seriously I’d vote for an unmodified Impreza wagon. Lots of them around, cheap as chips and very reliable.

[tonyb1968]

Scobblelotcher said:

However..... put the AWD car on winter tires and it will wipe the floor with fwd/rwd cars.

Seriously I’d vote for an unmodified Impreza wagon. Lots of them around, cheap as chips and very reliable.

As a person who has used winter tyres on both fwd and awd, the difference is no where near as big as you would think, there is a great vid on car wow about winter tyres, fwd Kuga v AWD Kuga, watch and learn but a set of winter tyres are far cheaper than a 3.5k car + tax + insurance + winter tyres.

[Scobblelotcher]

tonyb1968 said:

Scobblelotcher said:

However..... put the AWD car on winter tires and it will wipe the floor with fwd/rwd cars.

Seriously I’d vote for an unmodified Impreza wagon. Lots of them around, cheap as chips and very reliable.

As a person who has used winter tyres on both fwd and awd, the difference is no where near as big as you would think, there is a great vid on car wow about winter tyres, fwd Kuga v AWD Kuga, watch and learn but a set of winter tyres are far cheaper than a 3.5k car + tax + insurance + winter tyres.

I’ve also extensively used both and the AWD car is far better in my experience (most of my cars haven’t been AWD). A well setup AWD is obviously going to have a traction advantage in poor conditions all things being equal.

There’s no argument from me about costs.

[InitialDave]

Does it have to be manual? I had an older Grand Cherokee (WJ) with the quadradrive system (clever hydraulic clutched differentials front and rear, and similar in the centre), and on winter tyres it was absolutely excellent in snow. I had the V8, but they did a diesel one as well, unfortunately only automatics though.

[bearman68]

If it's for the road,I would be tempted by a normally FWD car, with auto 4WD. In my expereince it's quite easy to lose the back end of a normal 4x4 as you can't keep them in 4WD on the road.
Or buy an AWD

[RS Grant]

Thanks very much for the replies, I had initially thought that a wee Panda 4x4 might be exactly the ticket for them buzzing in and out of the local village/town and there looks to be a cracker for sale at a local garage too.. however, my dad is currently doing a couple of trips to Manchester (from NE Scotland) every 6 weeks until at least the middle of next year and needs something which is comfortable and can sit on the motorway at motorway speeds for a few hours at a time. In addition to this, he's not a small guy and I don't think he'd go for something smaller than say VW Jetta/Skoda Octavia size cars as he'd feel a bit claustrophobic.

What are the Mazda CX-7 like in snowy/icy weather? They are lumped in amongst the Toyota Rav4/Honda CRV sector I assume, which I know very little about and even less about their poor weather performance. However they definitely do tick all the boxes though so I'll send a couple of examples over to them to look at via email shortly.

Automatics are a no-go unfortunately; a few years ago my mum borrowed my dads car but on her way home from work she was pulling up to a roundabout and looked for the clutch pedal, instead found the brake pedal and then shortly afterwards a VW Eos buried in the boot... which has knocked her confidence and put her off automatics completely.

There is a Subaru Legacy SpecB for sale fairly locally which they seem interested in given the size, nice spec, AWD, manual gearbox etc.. however my only concern is whether the ride height of a car, in this case a Legacy (specially the SpecB) may be a little bit too low. They'll not be tackling any huge snow drifts or attempting to climb into or out of ditches, but I think a certain amount of ground clearance would be handy for them to have.

• ETA* ...I don't want to turn this into a winter/all weather/summer tyre on FWD/AWD/RWD debate. I'm aware of the benefits of winter tyres over summer tyres, that's why whatever they buy will get winters fitted and in my humble opinion a car with 4WD/AWD and winter tyres will be better than a FWD car with winters given that neither are on big low profile/wide wheels at the time.

Cheers,
Grant

Edited by RS Grant on Monday 18th September 12:25

[ZX10R NIN]

The CX-7 will be as good as all the other soft roaders the biggest factor on their performance in the snow will be the tyres that are fitted.

[MorganP104]

How about a Skoda Octavia Scout?

Early ones are ludicrously cheap now - you get a lot of 4x4 estate for your money.

As an added bonus, because the Scout doesn't have massive wheels (unlike many SUVs/pick up trucks), fitting a nice set of winter tyres won't break the bank.

[Barkychoc]

Subaru Legacy. Or for a bit more ground clearance the Outback which is the identical car just on longer suspension.
Do not think Impreza. These are as far removed from the bad boy car as it's possible to get. Lovely smooth and quiet car.
Do not be put off by mileage if evidence of maintenance is there.
A bit of an appetite for brakes - pads, discs and calipers.

Spec is decent without going mad, model designations have changed but the estate (sports tourer) with leather is a nice thing.
I had autos but if manual is preferred fair enough. 2.5 petrol more economical than 2.0.
3 trim levels, Cloth, Leather and Leather with Satnav with corresponding increases in other kit.
Leather seats very comfortable - if there are long journeys to be done they are much better than the cloth.

Plenty on Autotrader. Low mileage hard to find.

Major service due at 60k with belts needed.
3.0 petrol no belts chain driven flat 6 but with a bit of a thirst.
2.5 Best compromise and more economical than 2.0 but don't discount the 2.0 if you find a good one.

Ignore the diesel. Early ones (which is all you will find at this price) have a very chequered history with engines going pop.

I've had 2 - a 2.0 and 2.5 petrol sports tourer. 2.5 better but harder to find. Outback smallest engine is 2.5.

Edited by Barkychoc on Monday 18th September 14:05

[cbmotorsport]

Subaru Forester, Grand Vitara, Rav4, Nissan XTrail - any permanent 4wd equipped car with the right tyres on will cope with all but the most arctic of situations.

I've got a Rav4 shed. It's on A/T tyres, and has gone anywhere I've pointed it thus far. Snow and thick mud has not been a problem.

Unless they're moving to the highlands, the chances of them needing it for more than a couple of days a year are slim.

Edited by cbmotorsport on Monday 18th September 14:08

[jamiebae]

A900ss said:

Or a set of steel wheels and winter tyres for one of their current cars...

RWD works fine in snow with winters.

Everyone says that, but actually if you go to a BMW or Mercedes dealer in Switzerland 80%+ of the bigger (natively RWD) cars they sell have 4WD. The only people buying RWD 3ers and C Class are fleets over here.

To the OP, in similar circumstances but with a lower budget I've run a Forester and a CRV in the past, both were good enough and I'd happily buy either again. I'd probably spend less though, a family member recently bought a really nice CRV for £2k which would do the job perfectly.

[Integroo]

jamiebae said:

A900ss said:

Or a set of steel wheels and winter tyres for one of their current cars...

RWD works fine in snow with winters.

Everyone says that, but actually if you go to a BMW or Mercedes dealer in Switzerland 80%+ of the bigger (natively RWD) cars they sell have 4WD. The only people buying RWD 3ers and C Class are fleets over here.

To the OP, in similar circumstances but with a lower budget I've run a Forester and a CRV in the past, both were good enough and I'd happily buy either again. I'd probably spend less though, a family member recently bought a really nice CRV for £2k which would do the job perfectly.

To be fair, there is a difference between what cars people buy and what cars people need, and also the situation where you are buying a second car just for winter than buying one car for all year round.

[loskie]

I bought a 99000 m 52 plate 2.0l NA Forester 3 years ago for £1400. Used as a second car initially, lease car went back now my sole car. Drive lengthy journeys with no worries, use for rally marshalling.
I had intended to do another lease but as image isn't an issue have happily used this as couldn't find a cheap lease deal.
I would say you could get a good Forester for your budget.