What 4*4

[Gazza77]

Originally Posted by Viney

Landrover 110. If you are going to get a 4x4, then get a proper one, none of these tarted up over grown wannabies. Get the diesel one as well.

Just because it says 4x4 on it doesnt mean its any good in the snow/mud etc. If you must get a Soft roader the Xtrail is ok as well as the Rav4 or how about a Shogun. What you really want is a '74 lightweight Landrover 90 with a TVR or Overfinch conversion

Or if you just want a 4x4 car based htingy, then a Volvo V70 AWD or the Audi A6 Allroad? Both capable off road with a little more ground clearence than a std car?

Whilst one of those might be good as a toy, I'm thinking long distance journeys/motorways etc might not be so hot. To compare v the mud & snow, most of my driving of late has been in a borrowed Shogun Sport. Where I cannot move the MX5, I have been able to get without actually engaging all wheel drive; the off roading part is not a huge issue, but most of the other requirements are best met by a "SUV" as far as I can see.

Originally Posted by dirtydog

What about a Subaru Forrester or one of them volvo v70 (i think) cross country? Both are AWD and extra clearance than a standard estate

Good thinking. That's another couple to look at.

Originally Posted by dirtydog

What about a Subaru Forrester or one of them volvo v70 (i think) cross country? Both are AWD and extra clearance than a standard estate

yeah i would say a forrester, not too big, higher than a normal estate

[Luckypants]

I have an X-trail and it is IMO the best baby 'soft-roader'. I bought it for similar reasons to you, a bit of snow, visiting friends farms, getting into the field with a trailer and coping with muddy lanes - so a full size 4x4 was not needed. I have had 3 full size 4x4 in the past so was able to make a valid comparison.

As a car it is fine, comfortable, roomy, reasonably quick but due to long (ish) travel suspension it rolls a bit in the bends. Up side to the suspension is it copes far better off-road than say a RAV4 which has more road bias. It is ok for fuel consumption but with the price of diesel relative to petrol, the 2.5 petrol would be my choice now. (not much in it though)

As a 4x4 the machine is good. I leave it in 'Auto' mode most of the time, which uses FWD unless wheel slip is detected. This makes it suprisingly grippy. Off-road it is limited by the lack of a low-box and the drive train. Drive to the rear is by an electronic clutch, so this can overheat when really off-roading. On rough tracks it is fine, but a lot of green lanes are beyond it's capabilities.

In snow it is superb. It is lighter than a full size 4x4 by a good ton, so has less inertia and so less likely to slide. Use the 'Lock' mode 4x4 to send power to rear wheels all the time and it just keeps going if you know how to use the throttle properly (be gentle and keep the engine off-boost). This week I have made it through 8-12 inch deep snow with no real drama. (see posts elsewhere)

The standard tyres are useless off tarmac (inc. snow) so change them.

Great motor for towing to.

HTH

[Gazza77]

Originally Posted by hovis

have you concidered(?) just getting a bigger car?

you can get 05 ford mondeo for about ½ of what your willing to spend on a 4x4

Yes I have. It doesn't have the extra ground clearance, is unlikely to be as happy stacking 50kg bags of animal feed in the boot and I happen to like the elevated driving position, having been using a Shogun and a Land Cruiser lately, though I'd prefer something a little shorter.

Plus, no offence to Mondeo drivers, but I'd rather walk than own one of those.

[Gazza77]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

I have an X-trail and it is IMO the best baby 'soft-roader'. I bought it for similar reasons to you, a bit of snow, visiting friends farms, getting into the field with a trailer and coping with muddy lanes - so a full size 4x4 was not needed. I have had 3 full size 4x4 in the past so was able to make a valid comparison.

As a car it is fine, comfortable, roomy, reasonably quick but due to long (ish) travel suspension it rolls a bit in the bends. Up side to the suspension is it copes far better off-road than say a RAV4 which has more road bias. It is ok for fuel consumption but with the price of diesel relative to petrol, the 2.5 petrol would be my choice now. (not much in it though)

As a 4x4 the machine is good. I leave it in 'Auto' mode most of the time, which uses FWD unless wheel slip is detected. This makes it suprisingly grippy. Off-road it is limited by the lack of a low-box and the drive train. Drive to the rear is by an electronic clutch, so this can overheat when really off-roading. On rough tracks it is fine, but a lot of green lanes are beyond it's capabilities.

In snow it is superb. It is lighter than a full size 4x4 by a good ton, so has less inertia and so less likely to slide. Use the 'Lock' mode 4x4 to send power to rear wheels all the time and it just keeps going if you know how to use the throttle properly (be gentle and keep the engine off-boost). This week I have made it through 8-12 inch deep snow with no real drama. (see posts elsewhere)

The standard tyres are useless off tarmac (inc. snow) so change them.

Great motor for towing to.

HTH

Cheers, just the sort of user review I was after. Sounds similar sort of usage to what I envisage. The most off roading it is ever likely to do is into a field with a trailer, and if really necessary I can call on a SWB Shogun with low ratio box and off road tyres if needed.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by dirtydog

What about a Subaru Forrester or one of them volvo v70 (i think) cross country? Both are AWD and extra clearance than a standard estate

I looked at those to, but they were all so much more expensive than an X-trail. Audi A6 All-roader was discounted early on due to price. If you are looking at 4x4 estate cars, then the Skoda Octavia is good value for money.

A mini 4x4 has another advantage over a 4x4 estate - more height. You can see over fences and walls to read the road ahead much more than in a 'normal' car.

[dirtydog]

Originally Posted by Gazza77

Good thinking. That's another couple to look at.

The Volvos have 2.3l petrol engines so should have plenty of power, not sure about the Forester.

Both seem to be fairly good value used auto trader has got a fair few of each on their website

[Rich]

I have a freelander and love it. Was well impressed with it in the snow aswell. You can get a good td4 freelander for 5k so 7k should get you a gooden. If you do look at freelander get the td4 it has a strong bmw engine. It's not the most powerful but will do everything you require. I managed to get 4 bags of coal in the boot with room to spare. You can get a V6 but avoid as they are expensive if anything goes wrong. Oh and get some with 16 inch rims it's hard to find decent off road tyres for the 17-18inch wheels.

[Viney]

Originally Posted by Gazza77

Whilst one of those might be good as a toy, I'm thinking long distance journeys/motorways etc might not be so hot. To compare v the mud & snow, most of my driving of late has been in a borrowed Shogun Sport. Where I cannot move the MX5, I have been able to get without actually engaging all wheel drive; the off roading part is not a huge issue, but most of the other requirements are best met by a "SUV" as far as I can see.



Good thinking. That's another couple to look at.

Thats what i said at the end of my post and no id dint read DD's post 1st

[Gazza77]

Originally Posted by Viney

Thats what i said at the end of my post and no id dint read DD's post 1st

I'd love a Series 1 Landy, but that will have to wait till the Caterham 7, new Disco 3 and Daytona 675 have been added to the MX5 and ST in my yet to be extended garage.