which new cage (strechie read this too)

[_Stretchie_]

Mornin'

For that money you can rule out a Defender unless you want something quite old mate and I don't think it'd fill all your requirements.

Following the cold snap at the begining of the year prices seem to have hiked up quite alot, I think you'd be better off finding a Discovery, late 300Tdi or a V8 that's been LPG converted (that Disco 1 can take underslung tanks so you still have all your boot space) and it'll pull well which ever you get.

But if you get a Landy, make sure you've got tool's or a mate with them and get on the Landy forums.

Towing wise you'll be able to tow upto a 3.5 tonne braked trailer (as long as you've got the entitlements on your licence), I don't, so I can only tow a small trailer

e.g. a bike trailer with a chubby Squirrell on it



Whatever car you THINK you might like look up the towing capacity of it before you think about it as a possibility, for example a comparible vehicle (e.g. Mitsubishi L200) might have a towing capacity of 2700kg, and I have no idea if that's enough for a horse box?

[gruntygiggles]

Dave, a Discovery can tow up to 3.5 tonnes with a braked trailer. There are lots of 4x4s out there that will do the job for you, you can probably get a jap one that's younger and a bit more luxurious for the same price as a slightly older discovery, but it all depends on what you want. Get a Discovery, 300Tdi or TD5 and you're laughing. You'll easily get a decent enough Disco for 2k and they are easy (if you don't mind bashing things with hammers) to work on. Easy to get parts for and do all the servicing yourself. They are lovely to drive and are also classless vehicles. Gemma will certainly not look out of place towing the trailer with a disco

You can get good mileage from the Tdi's if you drive economically and don't put lifts and big tyres on like me and Stretchie have...lol.

If you're not in any rush, wait for the AR and you can both have a go driving our 300Tdi, both on road and off road if you want in the woods behind the campsite and see if you like it.

Originally Posted by Amanda

Buy my SAAB 93 .......... I want £2k for it!!!!!

What year, what model? I'm in the market for one of those. I'd prefer a 2003 on saloon.

Originally Posted by embee

No, just thinking about towing capacity of the vehicle. Checking the above link for CRV shows they are 1500kg braked, so even they would be OK. I used my Dad's CRV (2.0L petrol) to collect my Yaris on a car trailer from Belgium, it coped with that quite happily, trailer gross around 1300kg IIRC. Good car for general use, not heavyweight for off-roading though, part time 4WD OK for smooth dry fields (tyres main factor), good value and reasonably economical, reliable.

And a damn sight more reliable than any Freelander. The TD4s are ok, but the rest are crap. Been looking at CRVs too.

What Horsebox are you going to tow ? The Ifor Williams 2 horse trailer weighs almost a ton empty so with 2 horses you are looking at 2 tons approx, where as our Cheval Liberte single box weighs only 700 kg empty so with horse approx 1200kg. We tow it with a Honda CRV 2.0 petrol. and it pulls easily and is a nice car when not towing, and is ultra reliable. Wouldn't tow a 2 horse box though.

Daryl.

Daihatsu fourtrak. Cheap enough and will pull up concrete!

For example:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...16as?logcode=p

well TopGear "recommends" the Kia Rio for towing caravans, so i'm sure it would be more than capable of towing a Horse box.........





hahaha

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by Lozzo

And a damn sight more reliable than any Freelander. The TD4s are ok, but the rest are crap. Been looking at CRVs too.

There are just as many fors as there are against in the Freelander world.
From the mouth of a Landy approved independant mechanic that fixed ours, he said our petrol V6 was more reliable in his opinion than any deisel one....
We looked at CRVs as Pegs had one before, and a HRV. They are very reliable, and that Honda bodywork don't rot so quick. In fact I've seen plenty of HRVs in superb nick for their age( not that I think they could tow a horse box) However we found that CRVs were pretty pricey for their age and mileage.
One thing to consider with a poofwagon(Freeloader) is the tax. Our 2001 Y reg is far cheaper to tax than one of the same year but younger reg number.
We wouldn't touch a 1.8 Freelander with a bargepole...not enough grunt for the weight, but I know of another member with one on here that loves his to bits. A 2.5l petrol is pretty good on fuel on huge trips, but is a thirsty monster when sat in a traffic jam.

Pro's and cons for every car you want to buy. Everyone has differing opinions.

[fizzwheel]

Ford Maverick / NissanTerrano 2.

IIRC Towing capacity isnt much less than a Disco / Defender. Off road capacity pretty good. Ask Stretchie how our Maverick got on when we took it off road when he and Cheryl took me to Sailsbury plain for a play. I would wager has better on road manners than a defender and can run in 2WD mode only so again gives a better drive on road. Has 4WD High and low range with auto locking hubs.

If you get a LWB its huge inside to. Isnt attractive to look at though !

Were going for around £1500 ish on auto trader a while ago so should fit oyur budget. Go for the later 2.7tdi ones with the air scoop in the bonnet like our one as they put out a little more BHP than the non intercooler ones. 122bhp...

This is ours, that we bought off Lozzo a little while ago.

[dizzyblonde]

My little bro was going to buy one of those, cheap as chips, and seem a great car. Downside was the insurance...what a pig