First 4x4 What to buy?
Discussion
I'm wondering if I can get some pointers into from some of you guy's as to what may suit my need's.
I'm living at the foothill of a mountain and have done okay without a 4x4 of yet, but recent snow had me screwed.
While I don't intend using as a daily driver, the nature of my job has me on-call, and could need to cover some crappy land/weather at times.
So, I've been browsing and looking for ideas but there's so much out there I dont know where to start!
Preferably i'd like something that looks well eg Range Rover (subjective i know) and has some presence on the road, as opposed to a beater, but I dont want to go down the route of a SUV as such as I still want something that has good capability if need's be.
I like the look of lifted jeep's, and always had a soft spot for a G wagon, although I have no idea if they are pants (saw a nice 88 in the for sale section, realistically could stretch and buy it but its a lot to throw at the unknown, and there's probably a lot better for a lot less to be had.
From research the Toyota landcruiser seems to be highly regarded vehicle, whilst being nothing special to look at, but I'm wondering can anyone throw something into the mix and point/guide me in the direction of what may be a better buy
I'm living at the foothill of a mountain and have done okay without a 4x4 of yet, but recent snow had me screwed.
While I don't intend using as a daily driver, the nature of my job has me on-call, and could need to cover some crappy land/weather at times.
So, I've been browsing and looking for ideas but there's so much out there I dont know where to start!
Preferably i'd like something that looks well eg Range Rover (subjective i know) and has some presence on the road, as opposed to a beater, but I dont want to go down the route of a SUV as such as I still want something that has good capability if need's be.
I like the look of lifted jeep's, and always had a soft spot for a G wagon, although I have no idea if they are pants (saw a nice 88 in the for sale section, realistically could stretch and buy it but its a lot to throw at the unknown, and there's probably a lot better for a lot less to be had.
From research the Toyota landcruiser seems to be highly regarded vehicle, whilst being nothing special to look at, but I'm wondering can anyone throw something into the mix and point/guide me in the direction of what may be a better buy
28months.Your budget and what you need to use it for might help? Do you need 2 seats or 5? Load and towing capacity? Fuel consumption a concern? How much off road ability do you need, there's a huge choice of vehicles that will cope fine with mud, snow and sand, but if you'll need to navigate rougher more extreme terrain your choice will be limited somewhat!
Discovery 3 - has the presence you speak of. I love the Tonka looks. Bit costly to run (servicing) and gets me 22mpg urban, 35mpg motorway. I run General Grabber AT2 tyres which are unbelieveable on snow and perfectly civilised during the summer. Enough so that I don't bother switching wheels over any more. I also spend a lot of time in muddy fields - hence the tyres.
Been everywhere the last few days. Nothing troubled it at all.
Top end compfort, super well equipped. Luxury go-anywhere driving and not as "precious" as a Rangey so I don't loose sleep over bramble scratches etc.
2018-03-02 11.17.01 by Roger Donoghue, on Flickr
Been everywhere the last few days. Nothing troubled it at all.
Top end compfort, super well equipped. Luxury go-anywhere driving and not as "precious" as a Rangey so I don't loose sleep over bramble scratches etc.
2018-03-02 11.17.01 by Roger Donoghue, on FlickrIt depends on how much you want to spend really, for the lower end I’d go for a Shogun,’they’re reliable, capable and cheap, if you want to spend a bit more I can’t reccomend the Landcruiser 120 series highly enough, mines been faultless but you’ll have to spend at least £6k for an ok one, big Landcruiser is also a good bet but expensive.
If you go for a Disco 3 make sure you get one that has had its belts done and if you go for an auto make sure it has had its gearbox oil and filters changed on schedule- my RRS(same car underneath pretty much) it was overlooked and done late and left me with a big bill for a recon gearbox.
L322 Rangie can be had for reasonable money these days, go for a 4.4 V8 petrol over a TD6 at the lower end, or if spending a bit more go for a TDV8, with the TDV8 the gearbox oil thing also applies but the belts one doesn’t as they’re chain driven, make sure you let it idle for a minute after use as they can blow turbos if not, air suspension issues can happen on all the LR products but they’re not nearly as bad as some make out.
If you go for a Disco 3 make sure you get one that has had its belts done and if you go for an auto make sure it has had its gearbox oil and filters changed on schedule- my RRS(same car underneath pretty much) it was overlooked and done late and left me with a big bill for a recon gearbox.
L322 Rangie can be had for reasonable money these days, go for a 4.4 V8 petrol over a TD6 at the lower end, or if spending a bit more go for a TDV8, with the TDV8 the gearbox oil thing also applies but the belts one doesn’t as they’re chain driven, make sure you let it idle for a minute after use as they can blow turbos if not, air suspension issues can happen on all the LR products but they’re not nearly as bad as some make out.
just get some suitable tyres, I was out in an old front wheel drive Volvo with winter tyres the past few days and was able to stop steer and go where 4x4 on summer tyres would be stuck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfuE00qdhLA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfuE00qdhLA
rallycross said:
just get some suitable tyres, I was out in an old front wheel drive Volvo with winter tyres the past few days and was able to stop steer and go where 4x4 on summer tyres would be stuck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfuE00qdhLA
That doesn't surprise me at all. The tyres are such a big part of the equation.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfuE00qdhLA
I need 4x4 for mud etc the rest of the year, but it goes to show you only need to keep a set of 2 wheels with winter tyres for your regular 2wd car if you want to be snow-proof .
Landcruiser all day long, theyre pricey for a reason.
Land rovers have the worst build quality of anything ive ever experienced, not as good off road as people like to think either, as they dont have axle diff locks.
nissan patrols are very underrated, a lot of them have triple diff locks
subaru foresters are good from what ive heard
l200 engines blow up
navaras snap in half/engines blow up
shoguns are pretty good
Land rovers have the worst build quality of anything ive ever experienced, not as good off road as people like to think either, as they dont have axle diff locks.
nissan patrols are very underrated, a lot of them have triple diff locks
subaru foresters are good from what ive heard
l200 engines blow up
navaras snap in half/engines blow up
shoguns are pretty good
Build quality is indeed questionable ( mine filled with water when it rained until fixed by dealer) but they (disco 3+) have centre diff lock and rear diff lock (option). TC acts as diff lock , braking spinning wheel , making opposite wheel turn, which is very close to diff lock performance - hence rear locker is an option. I have done a lot of off roading in lots of different 4x4s ( used to compete in trials in specials) and am frequently amazed how capable the D3 is.
Last week in deep snow the rear locker never came on, only the centre diff when I floored it. Only time I've seen the rear diff lock was crossing a very wet field with 1.5 tonne of trailer behind.
My only real complaint is the electronics overriding me and cutting power when I was at an angle. Thought is was going to tip but I was getting out of mud ruts where momentum is vital.
Last week in deep snow the rear locker never came on, only the centre diff when I floored it. Only time I've seen the rear diff lock was crossing a very wet field with 1.5 tonne of trailer behind.
My only real complaint is the electronics overriding me and cutting power when I was at an angle. Thought is was going to tip but I was getting out of mud ruts where momentum is vital.
RogerDodger said:
Build quality is indeed questionable ( mine filled with water when it rained until fixed by dealer) but they (disco 3+) have centre diff lock and rear diff lock (option). TC acts as diff lock , braking spinning wheel , making opposite wheel turn, which is very close to diff lock performance - hence rear locker is an option. I have done a lot of off roading in lots of different 4x4s ( used to compete in trials in specials) and am frequently amazed how capable the D3 is.
Last week in deep snow the rear locker never came on, only the centre diff when I floored it. Only time I've seen the rear diff lock was crossing a very wet field with 1.5 tonne of trailer behind.
My only real complaint is the electronics overriding me and cutting power when I was at an angle. Thought is was going to tip but I was getting out of mud ruts where momentum is vital.
Yeah im not saying that there bad off road, but the idea a lot of people have about land rovers (particularly defenders, which only have centre lockers) being the best thing ever for off road is ludicrous, a triple locked 80 series or patrol will walk all over them in most scenarios, not to mention outlast them 5 times over. how many landrovers do you see with 1 million kms on original engine and gearbox? also i like being able to lock the diffs manually whenever i want rather than it being done by electronics, which often only lock when its too late. Last week in deep snow the rear locker never came on, only the centre diff when I floored it. Only time I've seen the rear diff lock was crossing a very wet field with 1.5 tonne of trailer behind.
My only real complaint is the electronics overriding me and cutting power when I was at an angle. Thought is was going to tip but I was getting out of mud ruts where momentum is vital.
Hdj80 01 said:
RogerDodger said:
Build quality is indeed questionable ( mine filled with water when it rained until fixed by dealer) but they (disco 3+) have centre diff lock and rear diff lock (option). TC acts as diff lock , braking spinning wheel , making opposite wheel turn, which is very close to diff lock performance - hence rear locker is an option. I have done a lot of off roading in lots of different 4x4s ( used to compete in trials in specials) and am frequently amazed how capable the D3 is.
Last week in deep snow the rear locker never came on, only the centre diff when I floored it. Only time I've seen the rear diff lock was crossing a very wet field with 1.5 tonne of trailer behind.
My only real complaint is the electronics overriding me and cutting power when I was at an angle. Thought is was going to tip but I was getting out of mud ruts where momentum is vital.
Yeah im not saying that there bad off road, but the idea a lot of people have about land rovers (particularly defenders, which only have centre lockers) being the best thing ever for off road is ludicrous, a triple locked 80 series or patrol will walk all over them in most scenarios, not to mention outlast them 5 times over. how many landrovers do you see with 1 million kms on original engine and gearbox? also i like being able to lock the diffs manually whenever i want rather than it being done by electronics, which often only lock when its too late. Last week in deep snow the rear locker never came on, only the centre diff when I floored it. Only time I've seen the rear diff lock was crossing a very wet field with 1.5 tonne of trailer behind.
My only real complaint is the electronics overriding me and cutting power when I was at an angle. Thought is was going to tip but I was getting out of mud ruts where momentum is vital.
The Defender's combination of coil springs and live axle, with huge amounts of articulation, means that if you have adequate tyres and some off road driving skill, you will rarely need diff lockers, which is why they are not standard.
Hdj80 01 said:
Yeah im not saying that there bad off road, but the idea a lot of people have about land rovers (particularly defenders, which only have centre lockers) being the best thing ever for off road is ludicrous, a triple locked 80 series or patrol will walk all over them in most scenarios, not to mention outlast them 5 times over. how many landrovers do you see with 1 million kms on original engine and gearbox? also i like being able to lock the diffs manually whenever i want rather than it being done by electronics, which often only lock when its too late.
To be fair an 80 Series Landcruiser is hard to beat- triple diff locks, an auto box taken from a bus and a very understressed 4.2 straight six diesel, not to mention how over engineered they are.I sort of regret getting a 120 series over one, but wanted something slightly more modern and the better economy of the 3 litre D4D.
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