Suggestions for off-roaders needed

[mikeyb1987]

Hi all,

I have recently started beating for a local shoot and I’m in need of a 4x4! I’m hoping you all can give me some guidance on suitable vehicles.

For reference, the first few shoots we used my girlfriend’s Q5, which managed fine. If we were to keep it, I would buy a second set of wheels and put some A/T tyres on for the shoot season. I’m fully aware of the importance of having the right tyres for the job. However, she recently sold this as she missed having a sporty car, so I’m on the look out for an off-roader. I have a dog, so the car would be used for (local) days out with the dog, along with other local runs to family as well as for beating days. Ideally, I’d find a car that could do a minimum of 30mpg. I do like a V8 so I sometimes think ‘to hell with it’ and find one and suffer the <20mpg economy

At present I’m in two minds:
1) Buy a cheap 4x4 (around £5k or less) to cover the above duties only
2) Spend more (between £5k-15k)) to cover the above plus also use it for business/seeing clients (the aim being to keep the miles off my other car) and full time winter use.

For the first scenario, I was thinking:
- Suzuki Grand Vitara
- Jeep Grand Cherokee (WJ)
- Toyota RAV4
- VW Tiguan
- Toyota Land Cruiser
- Subaru Legacy Outback
- Subaru Forrester

For the second scenario:
- VW Toureg T3 (2010 -)
- Jeep Grand Cherokee (WK)
- LR Freelander 2



I’ve discounted the following cars:
- Suzuki Jimny (too small – I’m 6’3”!)
- VW Touareg T1/T2 (reliability)
- LR Disco 3 or 4 (reliability)
- Shogun (economy)

On the last shoot day, we needed to cross a muddy/boggy field entrance and then a climb up the wet grassy field to a meeting point (I was passenger-ing in a Rav4 which struggled with the mud, but it wasn’t on great tyres) and I know access to one drive is via a rutted lane with small rocks. Other than this slight bit of off-roading, all the vehicle will need to cope with is snow in winter. Most of it’s time will be spent on road.

I’m a big fan of the Touaregs, but I’ve read there can be a few electric issues and gearbox with the T1/T2s. The propshaft bearing as a consumable doesn’t bother me. If I decide to go down the route of option 2, I’d probably end up buying a Touareg T3. A Shogun/Land Cruiser are probably overkill for my needs and too compromised for on-road duties.

So, I need help in respect of:
- Have I missed any potential options?
- Have I wrongly discounted some cars?

Thanks

Mike

[mikeyb1987]

Thanks for the replies/comments.

I didnt realise the WK2s were that cheap and definitely somehting I'll look into if I decide to go down option 2.

To answer 300's questions, I've got no plans/need for towing and the majority of the time, it will be me, my GF and my dog in the car, so don't need a seven seater. A five seater would be handy as both of our other cars are Minis Some creature comforts would be handy and are a factor. I appreciate your comments re economy too. I do like Land Rovers and have many fond memories of dad's Discoveries when I was younger, but reliability horror stories put me off. If I had a good specialist close by, I'd maybe contemplate one, but I don't.

Are Mk1 Touaregs not too bad reliability-wise then? Other than gearboxes and prop shaft centre bearings, are they pretty reliable?

ETA: At around £5k , is a WK Grand Cherokee a better bet than a mk1 Touareg for reliability?

[mikeyb1987]

SlowStig said:

Bit of a curveball but have you looked at the Mitsubishi Outlander?

The Mk2 is fitted with the VW PD140 engine (same as the tiguan) but a mitsubishi-derived awd system and is surprisingly good off road (our instructor at a Land Rover experience day raved about them).

A top spec (Elegance) is around 5-6k which has full leather, sat nav, 650w Sound system etc. They do have 7 seats but the rear two fold flat into the floor and give a big load bay, made bigger if you fold the middle row of seats forwards as well.

That is a good curveball! I'll look into them.

Cheers

[mikeyb1987]

blueg33 said:

We had a Legacy Outback 3.0 petrol. It was pretty good for work on shoots, even better with a tyres marked for mud and snow.

It was also quickish on the road, comfy, well made and thirsty.

I do like these. They have deceptively good ground clearance too.

[mikeyb1987]

LimaDelta said:

The Outbacks are good, but also thirsty (at least our petrol/auto one was). You are right about the Shogun, mpg low 20's and road manners leave a little to be desired but they really do come into their own in the rougher stuff. More of an old-school 4x4 with a definite off-road bias.

If you are involved in shooting then BASC do some good discounts - I have recently picked up a Hilux and absolutely love it. In no-frills farmer spec it is perfect for me. Quicker and, dare I say it, more refined than her Shogun, half decent OEM rubber on steelies (smooth ride with the smaller wheels too), keeps the dogs and dirty stuff out of the cab, not too thirsty and decent residuals.

I didn’t realise about the BASC discount. I’m new to the scene so will look into joining

[mikeyb1987]

300bhp/ton said:

mikeyb1987 said:

Thanks for the replies/comments.

I didnt realise the WK2s were that cheap and definitely somehting I'll look into if I decide to go down option 2.

To answer 300's questions, I've got no plans/need for towing and the majority of the time, it will be me, my GF and my dog in the car, so don't need a seven seater. A five seater would be handy as both of our other cars are Minis Some creature comforts would be handy and are a factor. I appreciate your comments re economy too. I do like Land Rovers and have many fond memories of dad's Discoveries when I was younger, but reliability horror stories put me off. If I had a good specialist close by, I'd maybe contemplate one, but I don't.

Are Mk1 Touaregs not too bad reliability-wise then? Other than gearboxes and prop shaft centre bearings, are they pretty reliable?

ETA: At around £5k , is a WK Grand Cherokee a better bet than a mk1 Touareg for reliability?

TBH I quite like the Touaregs, but I'd only want a 5.0 V10 one personally.

Off road they have traction systems which are good, independent suspension all round means they won't be as capable as some others. But for muddy field use they would be fine. Tyres will be important, some mild MT's or aggressive AT's are what you'll be wanting.

As for reliability, I think it's horses for courses really. All cars can and do go wrong. While LR's get a bad rap, I've been around them all my life. My Uncle has a D2 on a Y plate, bought new (2001) and it's only nearly 200,000 miles now. Used on the farm and as a main form of transport. A little scruffy now, but still going strong. Also have friends with a Disco4, L322 Range Rover's, L405 Range Rover Sports. In fact I must know at least 20 people who run Land Rover products and most have done for 20-30 years + and I honestly don't recall any real horror stories at all.

That said, for what you can pick a Jeep Grand Cherokee up for, I'd probably be looking at one of those tbh. V8 for preference, but diesel if not. The latter is still fairly pokey and gives genuinely good economy.

If you want something cheap to try out, have a look at the Jeep KJ Cherokee. Not as plush as a Grand nor as good to drive, but highly capable and practical without being too common.

I'd probably avoid the crossovers or car based stuff. Don't get me wrong I'm a big Subaru fan, but having a proper low range, sensible overhangs and good ground clearance is such a huge advantage off the road.

Likewise, I love the V10 Touareg. Not sure I have the balls to run one though! In a similar vein, if I were to go for a T3 Touareg, I’d try and find one of the V8 TDIs.

Thanks for your general advice- it’s been very helpful.

[mikeyb1987]

benny.c said:

I can thoroughly recommend the WK. I’ve just purchased an LPG’d Hemi for just over £5K and I can’t think of too much better for the price.

Being an owner of an LS-engines car, I am a big fan of American V8s, so I’m naturally drawn to V8s. Do the Hemis cope well with LPG conversions?

[mikeyb1987]

Hi all,

I thought I’d update the thread- I’ve purchased a 2014 Freelander 2 GS. I’ve test drove quite a few over the North East but settled on a local car.

Many thanks for the suggestions. I’ll no doubt have questions on FL2s now!

[mikeyb1987]

300bhp/ton said:

mikeyb1987 said:

Hi all,

I thought I’d update the thread- I’ve purchased a 2014 Freelander 2 GS. I’ve test drove quite a few over the North East but settled on a local car.

Many thanks for the suggestions. I’ll no doubt have questions on FL2s now!

Good vehicles. Petrol or diesel?

Get some reasonable AT tyres on it and it’ll be just as good on road and very capable off. You might have to learn how to make the most of the traction control. It works brilliantly but best if you are smooth on the throttle. Don’t back off when it activates and flooring it in most cases won’t help either. Just roll into the throttle to make the system work as it activates. And you’ll be amazed at how capable they are on slippery terrain.

Diesel- 2.2td4 150.

Cheers- looking at videos of them, it seems they’re pretty capable for a soft-roader. That was a crucial reason for buying one. The fact they’re good on the road and a nice place to be was also important.

It’s on 17 inch wheels (Goodyear Wranglers). I’m looking at some wheels for summer and putting some A/Ts on the 17s. Any suggestions for A/T tyres? I like the KO2s but they are probably overkill for what I need. I was thinking something like Geolandars would be a good compromise?

[mikeyb1987]

Thanks for that info. I’ll have a look at sizes

[mikeyb1987]

GravelBen said:

Hancook RF10 have a good reputation here as an AT, worth checking out too.

Will do, cheers.