Another What Car? - Rural living

[babelfish]

I’ve moved to relatively the middle of nowhere, think mile long lane with grass growing up the middle of it before you get to the main lane with 4 miles to the main road where we have a chance of getting supplies.



My current Jag XF Sportbrake is great but I need something more practicable in mud & possible snow. New business also means I’m doing more carrying, so what was a dog transporter now has all sorts thrown in the back.

Also need to do the occasional long trip, and at least 5 seats.

Budget £4k to 6k.

So far I’ve gone from the “I want a pick up”, to the “be sensible get a 4x4 estate”, to the “get the SUV”

Pickup: L200, Navara, Hilux etc.

Got a dog, don’t want it in the back of the pick up. If it’s in the cab it’s taking up a seat.

Estate:
Volvo XC70
Audi A6 All Road
Subaru Outback/Forester

I’m thinking the XC70 or All Road is the sensible option but who whats to be sensible….

SUV:
Discovery 3
Jeep Grand Cherokee

I’ve had a Disco 2, 3 really appeals but would I be better off with the Jeep?

Your thoughts?

[Driversmatter]

In the spirit of PH _ move nearer the main road.

Am I doing this right?

I have no experience of any of the vehicles mentioned but I'd go Forester. Slightly leftfield choice, Boxer engine, very practical and I'll bet you'll have fun driving on the right road.

[Miserablegit]

99% of the time your jag would be fine.
The week it snows you’ll need an SUV. The ruts your car makes in the snow will freeze overnight, more snow settles on it and you end up beaching the car. You need the extra ground clearance. Not sure one of those crossovers will have enough.
Anywhere there is a break in the hedge you’re likely to get a snowdrift from the field which will be fun getting through in a suv - not so much in a crossover
Also if you buy an suv you can guarantee it won’t snow for two years...

[anonymous-user]

We did the same last year and ended up with a RAV4 (2003) Amazing fun, stuck on a set of Toyo open country tyres and it was pretty much unstoppable. Also very refreshing to have a cheap vehicle that we didn't care about too much. My wife and I drove the thing everywhere.

It was replaced earlier this year with a 2013 XC90 which although a far better all rounder is nowhere near as fun. The thing won't even drift in the snow.

Buy a RAV4 the older the better. Ours was an Auto which seemed to work in its favour off road. Totally reliable and felt like an off road go kart.

I'm trying to buy another

£2000 gets you a decent MK2 in petrol guise they just don't go wrong.

Utterly appalling for longer distance driving though.





Not a full fat off roader by any stretch but with the right tyres more than capable for most situations. AVOID the diesels

[21TonyK]

We used to live in a similar location. I used to run an old 4 litre grand cherokee which was great for messing around in.

The most important thing though is to make sure you have decent winter or off road tyres on it.

4x4 is nothing without traction.

[Shuvi McTupya]

I have lived in rural NE scotland for the last 8 yrs and have four miles of single track farm roads to navigate before I hit a 'proper; road. I assumed that everyone would own 4x4's but in reality most of us own small FWD cars .

In the time i have been here i have been 'snowed in' for a total of about 10 days and half of those days i would have been snowed in even if I did have a 4x4.

I trust you have a way of clearing snow from your mile long driveway ? that will be your main issue i would think.

[Summit_Detailing]

Dacia Duster and some winter tyres should you expect days of snow.

Cheers,

Chris

[Yertis]

Check out some of the videos of quattros (A6 or whatever) in the snow. I’ve had two AllRoads and both were excellent in mud, snow and ice, even without winter tyres. Those cars did everything extremely well. The BiTurbo AllRoad is also insanely fast.

The other car I had which was brilliant in snow was a 2cv, but they’re getting a bit pricey now.

[FiF]

Miserablegit said:

99% of the time your jag would be fine.
The week it snows you’ll need an SUV. The ruts your car makes in the snow will freeze overnight, more snow settles on it and you end up beaching the car. You need the extra ground clearance. Not sure one of those crossovers will have enough.
Anywhere there is a break in the hedge you’re likely to get a snowdrift from the field which will be fun getting through in a suv - not so much in a crossover
Also if you buy an suv you can guarantee it won’t snow for two years...

On the issue of ground clearance I run around most days in a Freelander2, got a fair few miles on it now, even to the extent that when I last took it in for a set of tyres and a check on alignment the guy said that it was all in amazing nick considering the miles on it. (Famous last words obviously)

Anyway the point is that this vehicle goes off metalled roads to some extent virtually every single day. Not silly off road beloved of beards from Barnsley wrapped up in boiler suits and muddy wellies but farm and forest tracks worse than the OP will be using one suspects.

Now do I need 4x4, probably not, 99 point something % of the time I could quite happily get away with a 2wd estate on a good set of tyres, and that's what I used to use. The problem I got fed up with was ground clearance, and on some of the rutted and potholed tracks had to be very careful, even then grounded the exhaust and undertray etc. On one vehicle with a particularly exposed bit considered a sumpguard and then got real and bought something with more ground clearance. It's been a good reliable (still touching wood) choice that has removed the ground clearance issue and served a good few years.

You'll be thinking at this point I'd be recommending the OP to get an FL2, well it's an option, even Autocar think it's a good used choice, but I'm getting to the point about ground clearance. What will I buy when the current FL2 is no longer fit, well it won't be any of this rubbish that JLR punt out these days that's for sure, new Defender might be nice but complete overkill plus, though price and budget isn't actually an issue, just too expensive.

So what will it be? An Outback is probably favourite, while it's called an SUV is more of a jacked up estate in reality, yet it surprised me to find that it has more ground clearance than the FL2. Plus the new one, when it's finally announced in the UK will get the turbo 2.4 which in PH style is automatically far better than the ploddy pedestrian 2.5 litre.

[Lukas239]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2019...

Sorted.

In all seriousness, a friend had a Vitara 4x4 that could not be stopped. Light & good traction.

[rxe]

We live on a similar lane - grass up the middle, no chance of anyone clearing it when snow falls.

I have a very well equipped Land-Rover - locking diffs, nice big V8, all good. I also have an Alfa 156 V6 - bog standard saloon car, on winter tyres.

Which do I take out in the snow when I actually want to get to work? The Alfa.

Get a set of proper winters (not all season) for your Sportbrake and it will be fine. The only time it won't be fine is if the snow is so deep that it is as high as the bumper. But in that case, no one is going anywhere at all, so you might as well stay at home.

[SkodaIan]

Surely if you regularly need to carry stuff, the best option is to get a van, and keep the car for normal use.
It would have the ground clearance to deal with reasonably deep snow and general bumps and potholes on back lanes. A front wheel drive van with winter tyres, and a set of chains just in case, will cope fine.
For a bit more fun when driving in the snow and even more carrying capacity, you could get a extra long wheelbase Sprinter. Being long and rear wheel drive, they are, erm, interesting to drive on snow when empty.....

[Quickmoose]

Lukas239 said:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2019...

Sorted.

In all seriousness, a friend had a Vitara 4x4 that could not be stopped. Light & good traction.

Moved to mid Devon 2 years ago.
S2000 for the sunny fun days
Grand Vitara for the wet and work days (2" lift seemed a good idea too)

[300bhp/ton]

babelfish said:

I’ve moved to relatively the middle of nowhere, think mile long lane with grass growing up the middle of it before you get to the main lane with 4 miles to the main road where we have a chance of getting supplies.



My current Jag XF Sportbrake is great but I need something more practicable in mud & possible snow. New business also means I’m doing more carrying, so what was a dog transporter now has all sorts thrown in the back.

Also need to do the occasional long trip, and at least 5 seats.

Budget £4k to 6k.

So far I’ve gone from the “I want a pick up”, to the “be sensible get a 4x4 estate”, to the “get the SUV”

Pickup: L200, Navara, Hilux etc.

Got a dog, don’t want it in the back of the pick up. If it’s in the cab it’s taking up a seat.

Estate:
Volvo XC70
Audi A6 All Road
Subaru Outback/Forester

I’m thinking the XC70 or All Road is the sensible option but who whats to be sensible….

SUV:
Discovery 3
Jeep Grand Cherokee

I’ve had a Disco 2, 3 really appeals but would I be better off with the Jeep?

Your thoughts?

If you need to carry stuff, the Disco 3 will be the best. Simply huge inside and that is before you fold the seats down.



Just be aware of the potential issues you may enounter, but also remember they are the easier 4x4 brand to maintain in the UK due to the extensive network of parts and specialists.

The Jeep will be slightly smaller all round, better in some ways on narrow lanes, but less hauling ability. Apart from that I would expect very similar ownership experience. If mpg isn't the biggest issue, then the 5.7 V8 Jeep is appealing and likely more frugal than a V8 Disco.

I'd also say take a look at the Mitsubishi Shogun LWB. I think it would likely suit what you are wanting. I'd go for a 4th Gen over a 3rd Gen and they should be in budget.

[300bhp/ton]

Shuvi McTupya said:

I have lived in rural NE scotland for the last 8 yrs and have four miles of single track farm roads to navigate before I hit a 'proper; road. I assumed that everyone would own 4x4's but in reality most of us own small FWD cars .

In the time i have been here i have been 'snowed in' for a total of about 10 days and half of those days i would have been snowed in even if I did have a 4x4.

I trust you have a way of clearing snow from your mile long driveway ? that will be your main issue i would think.

There is a difference between being snowed in and having a vehicle that gives you confidence and comfort that you can get about during less than ideal situations in a safe and controlled manner.

I know ever PH'er is a driving god and can get any fwd over any obstacle, but the reality is, when it snows, 1000's of people in 2wd cars end up stranded or stuck. And while winter tyres can help loads, it won't solve all issues. Such as the photo in the op, if you pull a wheel off the tarmac onto the verge in the snow, it might be soft mud underneath and you could very easily be stuck, even with the best winter tyres in the world. And most fwd cars don't have limited slip front diffs either. Any 4wd car would likely have no issues in such regard.

[BrettMRC]

I live in a similar area and my advice is that when it gets really bad it won't matter what you have on the drive!

You won't go far wrong with a Forester or an Outback though.

[A500leroy]

panda 4x4

[Terzo123]

A WK Jeep Grande Cherokee would get my vote.

I ran one for a few years. Great big thing, with a good turn of pace for its size. Relatively reliable and plenty
of room inside.

The back tail gate is quite high up which could be an issue for getting a dog in and out the rear.

[Pica-Pica]

Rural lanes with grass in the middle just need a standard car with standard ground clearance. Chose what you want for carrying capacity, then stick all-season tyres on. My wife’s Fabia has Vredestein Quatrac 5s all seasons, and my 335d simply has 18” Goodyear Efficient Grip summers. Both can cope with these country lanes with grass in the middle.

If you experience extended periods of snow, then buy a set of winter tyres. Deep snow will stop everything that does not have a snowplough on the front (perhaps a horse would be OK).

Edited by Pica-Pica on Tuesday 1st October 16:11

[A500leroy]

Thank me when you have one.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-52-RENAULT-KANGOO-...