What off-road vehicle should I buy?
Discussion
Hi all, first post here!
Bit of background: I currently have a hatchback which has done nearly 100K miles, had it for six years and driven it down many bumpy roads in the west Country, got a few knocks and scrapes but it's in good enough condition and has been a reliable car.
I've always liked jeeps and pickups and I go hiking every so often, and travel all over for work, which often means going to very rural parts of Britain. I don't *need* an off-road vehicle but I'm saving up several thousand and am thinking it's time to ditch the polo and get a new vehicle (second hand of course).
Let me add: I won't be towing trailers (yet), and I don't shift lot's of stuff around, nor work in farming, it's merely because I like pickups and want something off-road for when the circumstances arise.
People have told me Ford Rangers can have electrical issues and aren't the best pickup. I've also heard numerous people say Nissan's look good but are a crap pickup. So far I've been recommended the Mitsubishi L200 and Toyota Hilux. People have mentioned landrovers too but what are relatively recent models? People have also mentioned subaru foresters but I prefer pickups.
My budget is about £8,000 absolute tops. Ideally, I want something with kickass acceleration too, so for a 4x4, 0-60 in 9 secs or under (if possible)?
Any suggestions most appreciated. Cheers
Bit of background: I currently have a hatchback which has done nearly 100K miles, had it for six years and driven it down many bumpy roads in the west Country, got a few knocks and scrapes but it's in good enough condition and has been a reliable car.
I've always liked jeeps and pickups and I go hiking every so often, and travel all over for work, which often means going to very rural parts of Britain. I don't *need* an off-road vehicle but I'm saving up several thousand and am thinking it's time to ditch the polo and get a new vehicle (second hand of course).
Let me add: I won't be towing trailers (yet), and I don't shift lot's of stuff around, nor work in farming, it's merely because I like pickups and want something off-road for when the circumstances arise.
People have told me Ford Rangers can have electrical issues and aren't the best pickup. I've also heard numerous people say Nissan's look good but are a crap pickup. So far I've been recommended the Mitsubishi L200 and Toyota Hilux. People have mentioned landrovers too but what are relatively recent models? People have also mentioned subaru foresters but I prefer pickups.
My budget is about £8,000 absolute tops. Ideally, I want something with kickass acceleration too, so for a 4x4, 0-60 in 9 secs or under (if possible)?
Any suggestions most appreciated. Cheers
Hi, thanks for the response! Would have responded sooner if it wasn't for being exhausted from work.
I think you're probably right in regards to speed, unfortunately. I am now at a crossroads between whether I get a truck which isn't as fast as I'd like, or just go the total opposite and get a golf GTI which can do about 0-60 in 7 secs. I know it makes no sense but I have a hatchback anyway so if I decide not to get an off-roader, I'll get something quick and my polo has done me pretty well so I'd upgrade to a quick golf.
Will have a look at the freelander and WK Grand Cherokee though, thanks.
I know land rover defenders are old school and very legit, but I get the impression they're a bit past their sell-by date?
Will have a look at US imports but I can't imagine they'd be within my budget of around maximum £8,000. Of course I'm going for something second hand and preferably with a max mileage of around 50,000 miles.
I think you're probably right in regards to speed, unfortunately. I am now at a crossroads between whether I get a truck which isn't as fast as I'd like, or just go the total opposite and get a golf GTI which can do about 0-60 in 7 secs. I know it makes no sense but I have a hatchback anyway so if I decide not to get an off-roader, I'll get something quick and my polo has done me pretty well so I'd upgrade to a quick golf.
Will have a look at the freelander and WK Grand Cherokee though, thanks.
I know land rover defenders are old school and very legit, but I get the impression they're a bit past their sell-by date?
Will have a look at US imports but I can't imagine they'd be within my budget of around maximum £8,000. Of course I'm going for something second hand and preferably with a max mileage of around 50,000 miles.
Hi all, very late but thanks for all contributors to my thread.
Some great posts and since July I have gained a lot more knowledge surrounding off-road vehicles, their capability, specs and so forth.
In the end, I did get a 4x4 (why I briefly thought about just going for a faster hatchback, heaven knows?!) and I bought a used Jeep Patriot.
I did think long and hard about getting a Jeep, because some say they can be notoriously unreliable, but like with any vehicle, some car makers are undoubtedly better than others, and some vehicles are undoubtedly more reliable than others, but it's often a case of hit and miss too.
I ended up getting the Patriot because while I like pick-ups, I've driven them for work and frankly, while I have little experience driving them, I still find them a devil to park given how long they are, and I came to the conclusion, why get a pick up when I don't need one? They're big, and I generally won't need the back to be hoisting loads of tools around in. Also, from what I saw on autotrader and elsewhere, pick ups eat fuel and are generally not very quick. And any of the quicker ones, drink even more fuel, as someone said above!
I did think about the Subaru Forester (but couldn't find many of them), and I seriously thought about the Land Rover Freelander, but opted with the Patriot as it was slightly cheaper, and gives me what I want.
So I got the used Patriot, 60Reg, 60K miles, for 6 grand, with a one year warranty from the dealer. Cruise control and reverse parking sensors included. The MPG is brilliant and I get between 40 - 44 on average depending where I'm driving and if I'm in a rush or taking it easy. I achieved a top MPG of 52.6 when travelling Scotland. Tax is also cheap, and can get 0-60 in about 9-10 seconds. I have no trouble over-taking others at speed on the motorway, it's far quicker than my old polo.
I know the Patriot is no Wrangler or Defender, but I've seen the videos on YouTube and people seem to take them almost anywhere. I've driven in reasonable mud with it, and on ice/snow, and it hasn't got stuck yet in mud (with summer tyres), and can get out of deep snow with ease, albeit it did lose control a couple times in the ice but to no damage.
I've recently put Michelin Latitude Cross tyres on which are semi off-road and rated highly, so look forward to testing it out at an off-road track just to see it's capability. This is a car I intend to use primarily for commuting on road to work, but also for travelling with the odd bit of off-road driving thrown in.
Very happy with the Patriot albeit a rear wheel speed sensor failed one month after purchase (was sorted at dealership no charge) and I have an ongoing pulling issue with the car (possibly related to suspension/ball-joints etc) as wheel alignments at multiple places have not solved the car being extremely sensitive to camber/road disturbances, but as long as it doesn't eat my tyres (which I check regularly), I'm prepared to put up with this.
Some great posts and since July I have gained a lot more knowledge surrounding off-road vehicles, their capability, specs and so forth.
In the end, I did get a 4x4 (why I briefly thought about just going for a faster hatchback, heaven knows?!) and I bought a used Jeep Patriot.
I did think long and hard about getting a Jeep, because some say they can be notoriously unreliable, but like with any vehicle, some car makers are undoubtedly better than others, and some vehicles are undoubtedly more reliable than others, but it's often a case of hit and miss too.
I ended up getting the Patriot because while I like pick-ups, I've driven them for work and frankly, while I have little experience driving them, I still find them a devil to park given how long they are, and I came to the conclusion, why get a pick up when I don't need one? They're big, and I generally won't need the back to be hoisting loads of tools around in. Also, from what I saw on autotrader and elsewhere, pick ups eat fuel and are generally not very quick. And any of the quicker ones, drink even more fuel, as someone said above!
I did think about the Subaru Forester (but couldn't find many of them), and I seriously thought about the Land Rover Freelander, but opted with the Patriot as it was slightly cheaper, and gives me what I want.
So I got the used Patriot, 60Reg, 60K miles, for 6 grand, with a one year warranty from the dealer. Cruise control and reverse parking sensors included. The MPG is brilliant and I get between 40 - 44 on average depending where I'm driving and if I'm in a rush or taking it easy. I achieved a top MPG of 52.6 when travelling Scotland. Tax is also cheap, and can get 0-60 in about 9-10 seconds. I have no trouble over-taking others at speed on the motorway, it's far quicker than my old polo.
I know the Patriot is no Wrangler or Defender, but I've seen the videos on YouTube and people seem to take them almost anywhere. I've driven in reasonable mud with it, and on ice/snow, and it hasn't got stuck yet in mud (with summer tyres), and can get out of deep snow with ease, albeit it did lose control a couple times in the ice but to no damage.
I've recently put Michelin Latitude Cross tyres on which are semi off-road and rated highly, so look forward to testing it out at an off-road track just to see it's capability. This is a car I intend to use primarily for commuting on road to work, but also for travelling with the odd bit of off-road driving thrown in.
Very happy with the Patriot albeit a rear wheel speed sensor failed one month after purchase (was sorted at dealership no charge) and I have an ongoing pulling issue with the car (possibly related to suspension/ball-joints etc) as wheel alignments at multiple places have not solved the car being extremely sensitive to camber/road disturbances, but as long as it doesn't eat my tyres (which I check regularly), I'm prepared to put up with this.
Gassing Station | Off Road | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff