newbie wants 4x4 advice

[danlightbulb]

Hi all. Newbie here. Looking for advice on getting me a capable 4x4.

Now i probably can guess what the first question might be. No, i dont really need a 4x4. I'd just like one. I like the big truck look, and the thought that i have a go anywhere do anything vehicle. Id like to try some off roading activity too, maybe with my kids, as a new hobby. However 99% of the time this vehicle will be used on roads and motorways.

I currently have a mondeo diesel. Its 12 years old and has done 190k miles. Its starting to cost me money and becoming more unreliable. I cant help thinking that a 4x4 capable of off roading will be more solid and reliable on road, given the sturdier components.

So id like some help on what features to look for, not necessarily car suggestion yet, although feel free to name some. I dont know if i need low range, lockable diff, switchable 2wd, awd. I do need 7 seats, and much prefer the look of a 4x4 to a people carrier.

I will be looking at the used market, budget upto 10k.

I hired what I thought was a 4x4 on my recent holiday in cyprus and I was given a Suzuki Grand Vitara. To be honest I was surprised by what I got. It was a 3 door, fairly small compared to what I was expecting, and it just had a normal 5 speed manual gearbox. No switches or anything else. I was surprised to be honest. I don't even know for sure it was 4 wheel drive, or what features it had if it was. Plus it was petrol.


advice really appreciated.

dan

[mikeh501]

id buy another mondeo.

[danlightbulb]

I want a 4x4. Plus i will need 7 seats within the next couple years. I cant green lane or visit pay and play centres in a mondeo.

Edited by danlightbulb on Friday 26th June 11:22

[SHutchinson]

danlightbulb said:

I want a 4x4. Plus i will need 7 seats within the next couple years. I cant green lane or visit pay and play centres in a mondeo.

Edited by danlightbulb on Friday 26th June 11:22

If it's your family transport you won't want to visit pay and play sites or go green-laning in it.

Have you thought about a Mondeo?

[TurboHatchback]

I really wouldn't buy a proper 4x4 as your only car. The inevitable facts of life are that off-road ability compromises on-road ability. Any large, proper 4x4 will use at least twice the fuel of your mondeo, it won't go, stop or turn anything like as well and there is a great deal more to go wrong and more maintenance required.

Don't get me wrong, I really like proper 4x4s but for your usage it would be stupid. You'd be far better off with another estate/mpv and a ridiculous comedy off-road special with no doors, harnesses and mud tyres to use as a toy. Trying to combine the two doesn't work (I've tried it).

[danlightbulb]

Thats reall disappointing. I dont think i can justify a 2nd car just as a toy with the extra mot servicing insurance road tax.

[TurboHatchback]

danlightbulb said:

Thats reall disappointing. I dont think i can justify a 2nd car just as a toy with the extra mot servicing insurance road tax.

Running a full size 4x4 all the time would cost considerably more than a Mondeo diesel and an old Defender 90/Jimny etc on a limited mileage insurance policy. On an old 4x4 you can do self servicing for buttons, tax will be £230 a year and I doubt insurance would be much. You'll also be Much more willing to tackle extreme off road situations in a cheap toy off-roader rather than your expensive, heavy, shiny main family car.

[danlightbulb]

If i was doing that id have to massively slice the budget. Can you suggest what i would need to spend and the kinds of vehicles to look for please? A jimny is no good cos id still want something big enough to take the family off roading in.

Edited by danlightbulb on Friday 26th June 12:59

[Convert]

I bought this for £1100 last October.



11 months MOT, and good off road tyres.

Insurance is £170.

Bloody brilliant off road and in the snow.


PS it doesn't get used much, as I've got a company car and a TVR.

As others have said, get another family car and a cheap 4x4

[danlightbulb]

The idea of doing my own repairs and maintenance is quite appealing. I would be starting totally from scratch though. So the general recommendation would be any of the old land rovers and i could get something for about a grand or just over?

[mikeh501]

have you ever been off roading? are we talking gentle green lanes, or potentially nasty green lanes or pay and play sites?

You probably cant answer that, but what everyone is saying (hence my buy a mondeo post ) is that you start with something really gentle, and you just then "graduate" into more difficult terrain by having a go. Before you know it your spending money upgrading the vehicle so it will tackle that next obstacle and on it goes. The more you make the vehicle able to do that, the worse it will be as a family every day vehicle, and thats without the Mrs kicking your ass because you broke the family runabout lol! You will break it...

This is what a pay and play might look like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqj7v190s-I

Most people who go through that experience end up realising that you need 2 vehicles.

If you only ever do some nice gentle green laning with the family on trips around the country side then pretty much any vehicle will do. If its got 4wd of some description it will be fine. Dont say I didnt warn you about upgrading it though lol.

This is what I mean by gentle green laning. (there are a few pay and plays which are gentle too)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x43iP-W1m_A

[danlightbulb]

Start off gentle yeah of course, but just like i did with my mountain bike, when you get more practiced and advanced i will be wanting to do more serious stuff for sure.

I like the idea of a cheap one as a hobby car. A quick check on autotrader shows a few discoverys and freelanders available for under £1500 having a range of mileage anywhere upto 170k. Can anyone point me in the direction of a buyers guide to cheap used landrovers or give me any specific advice please?

[mikeh501]

if you want to get into off roading and would like a land rover then the discovery1 or defender is probably the best place to start. avoid a freelander as it will limit what you can do as you progress.

[ZiggyNiva]

Lada Niva.... But i'm biased!

[Avdb]

7 seats for a real 4x4 go anywhere is going to limit your options a lot

[schmalex]

danlightbulb said:

I want a 4x4. Plus i will need 7 seats within the next couple years. I cant green lane or visit pay and play centres in a mondeo.

Edited by danlightbulb on Friday 26th June 11:22

Be careful what you wish for. My old Series 3 is currently sitting in my drive, looking rather forlorn, as I snapped the rear cross-member and the chassis in 2 places last time I went to a pay and play place. I don't particularly mind, as it's only a few quid to re-weld and it needed a new rear beam for its MOT, but I do end up breaking it quite often at P&P sites (I don't drive it particularly hard, as I'm conscious that the old girl's 31 years old).

I'm not sure I'd take my only car to a pay and play place. Greenlaning, absolutely, but not so sure about pay and play.

[Steve_F]

Absolutely agree with the comments about using a main car for playing off road, I've got a short commute down a back road then A road. If it wasn't for the fact I can head for the ban kings in the grand cherokee I'd either have replaced it or the mud tyres by now! Have also got other cars but I seriously held back on the off road days I've done. Recovery and spares from one mistake seem very scary when looking at some of the options out there.

With a £10k budget I'd spend £2-3k on something already slightly prep'd and the rest on a family car.

The Grand Vitara you hired would have surprised you, they're more capable than you'd think!

[plasticpig]

danlightbulb said:

Start off gentle yeah of course, but just like i did with my mountain bike, when you get more practiced and advanced i will be wanting to do more serious stuff for sure.

I like the idea of a cheap one as a hobby car. A quick check on autotrader shows a few discoverys and freelanders available for under £1500 having a range of mileage anywhere upto 170k. Can anyone point me in the direction of a buyers guide to cheap used landrovers or give me any specific advice please?

For £1500 I would forget Land Rovers. I would look at either a Suzuki Jimmy or a Jeep Cherokee (XJ). The Jimmy is tiny and not very competent on the road; but they are great fun off road.
The 4ltr Cherokee is a competent off road and is OK on the road (for a 4x4). Some of them even come with a LSD.

[danlightbulb]

Avdb said:

7 seats for a real 4x4 go anywhere is going to limit your options a lot

Prob wouldn't need 7 seater if it was a 2nd car just for offroading fun. But do want something with some size. Even if I don't use it on the commute, something for the camping trips that will take bikes and stuff would be useful as well. Can't do that in a jimny. I have 2 young boys, and excited for the prospect of going on adventures as they grow up.

schmalex said:

Be careful what you wish for. My old Series 3 is currently sitting in my drive, looking rather forlorn, as I snapped the rear cross-member and the chassis in 2 places last time I went to a pay and play place. I don't particularly mind, as it's only a few quid to re-weld and it needed a new rear beam for its MOT, but I do end up breaking it quite often at P&P sites (I don't drive it particularly hard, as I'm conscious that the old girl's 31 years old).

I'm not sure I'd take my only car to a pay and play place. Greenlaning, absolutely, but not so sure about pay and play.

You guys have convinced me a single car for these things is a bad idea. However aren't these things designed for this tough stuff? Snapping chassis doesn't give me much confidence in the capabilities of these cars??

plasticpig said:

For £1500 I would forget Land Rovers. I would look at either a Suzuki Jimmy or a Jeep Cherokee (XJ). The Jimmy is tiny and not very competent on the road; but they are great fun off road.
The 4ltr Cherokee is a competent off road and is OK on the road (for a 4x4). Some of them even come with a LSD.

But Convert up above got that P reg Range Rover for £1100?

What I need to know is what car I should get, that will be <£1500, that will handle tough stuff and that won't give me a load of repair shop hassle and high bills. If I can learn how to repair things myself, great, if I need fancy tools and workshops to get repairs done I won't be able to do that.

[Ayahuasca]

Land Rover Defender.