Afternoon all

I’m looking for a vehicle for work that can carry 4 people plus a moderate amount of kit (about x2 hatchbacks worth) and offer good MPG, have highish ground clearance & be able to cope with mud & once a week FC track/off road mud tracks.

A full size van is overkill (I’ve driven sprinters, transits, vitos & HiAces) for the amount of stuff we need to carry and a 4×4 pick up w hardtop seems overkill for the amount of off road we do.

Reading this post from a few years back – http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-4×4-van & the Citroen Dispatch XTR looks great but looks discontinued & the Kangoo not big enough..

We’re applying for funding for it (we’re a charity) & so it needs to be new, lowish running costs & reliable…

Any thoughts/recommendations/real world experiences?

Cheers

Or how about a Peugeot (Partner or similar) with “grip control”.

Still 2WD, but makes the traction control, ESP and ABS all work together to give performance close to a 4×4. If you’re not driving it up the side of a mountain this may suffice for the level of off-roading you’ll be doing?

Not sure what vehicles it’s available on, but the 3008 reviews describe the Grip Control package.

Cheers,
Keith

Skoda Octavia Scout?

How about the Megane Scenic 4×4? plastic lower body protection, and the diesel version isn’t too bad on fuel consumption, allegedly.

and a 4×4 pick up w hardtop seems overkill for the amount of off road we do.

So, why did you put 4×4 in your title description if you consider it inappropriate? 😉
Anyway, a set of chunky tyres might suffice for occasional off road, altho I don’t think there are many options beyond 4×4 for high ground clearance?
A Nissan Navara will do 34mpg general road driving, if driven in the style of an old lady. Much less off road and in the mountains, of course.

LandRover Freelander MKII

Excellent off-road, reasonable mpg (40’s) nice inside 8)

+1 for Octavia Scout.

Suzuki Vitara.

I used one for work for 3 years, held a reasonable amount and was better than would be expected off road. They are also fairly good on price.

I can’t remember what MPG I got from it, but low 40s I think.

Wasn’t a bad car, and better off road than the Outlander it was replaced with. Changing that now for an L200 though since I need to be able to carry more and in more offroady type situations!

The higher spec berlingos have slightly raised suspension and a sump guard.

They make 4×4 Kangoos too – the forestry use them.

Not sure if the above are too small though?

forestry around here use 2wd berlingos and kangoos

How much mud are you expecting.

only thing thats stopped my partner on mud and snow tires was snow that was higher than the wheels 😀

Subaru Forrester?

Thanks for all the replies – all very much appreciated (BANana aside 😉 ).

There isn’t currently a company vehicle – everyone uses their own vehicles & recent garage bills and reports are all related to mud & discs and the associated wear n tear.

We’re a Forest School and deliver projects on various forest & woodland sites with varying access – some have fire roads, some have muddy tracks whilst others have car parks right next to the chosen site . We’re not delivering kit to the top of Snowdon but do encounter mud & rain on a very regular basis (based in wet S Wales).

The partner looks great but the crew version doesn’t have the Grip package plus not entirely sure if theres enough space

Great car & like the functionality of the scout but MIL has an Octavia estate & we need more space than that.

The Citroen website is a joy to specify model & features but the dispatch looks about the right size

Skoda Yeti

+1 for Skoda Yeti

or a VW Caddy maxi 4motion

Duster!

Yeti’ are great but not actually that big. 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 dogs and we need a roofbox and towball carrier for the bikes. Good car otherwise though.

Try VW Caddy MaxLife – don’t know if theres a 4wd version but do you really need it?

dusters tiny in the back.

tbh re reading the op the pick up is the obvious choice unless he wants ot carry less or less people – or go less off the beaten track. Look at ssangyong korrando sport or the isuzu TF range – both can be had in basic rough and ready for much less than l200s , hilux and navaras.

surfaced forestry track doesnt need 4×4. Unsurfaced forestry track would be fools folly to take a solitary 4×4 down anyway as there is every chance you wont get back up the track and require recovering.

on that basis youll probably be fine with 2wd and a tiny smidge of common sense – 4wd just means you get stuck deeper before stopping. (unless of course you will be administering staff with propper training for the use of)

You state mutually incompatible things. Economical 4x4s are small and really not very big at all in the back, because the ground clearance and wheel arches etc take up loads of space.

Yeti looks good but again not sure if theres enough boot space for us.

Having gone through the above it looks like its small van or pickup rather than car..

The Caddy Maxi combi looks a good shout but reviews are mixed to say the least. Any real world experience anyone?

& yes Moon on stick indeed please.
With pineapple

Have a word with Dangel?

Caddy max 4motion.

We’ve got a Scout – great car, hugely capable when it gets slippy and the boot is huge – doubt there is much less room than in the crew cab versions of the small vans you’re considering. Yeti boot is actually considerably smaller than the Octavia if I recall. Could perhaps add a roof box for extra storage?

Caddy 4 Motion sounds like a good call.

I know you’ve discounted the bigger vans but it’s worth looking for a T5 4-Motion crew cab. Car-like to drive. Not much bigger footprint than a big estate and tons of room.

LandRover Freelander MKII

Excellent off-road, reasonable mpg (40’s) (34 average) nice inside
FTFY

freelanders tiny for a start. never mind any of the other criteria

+2 Octavia Scout.

We have the Octavia 4×4 and its pretty good and effective off road. Higher ground clearance than the standard car. Ours is a good but thirsty 2 ltr petrol where as the Scout comes in a PD140 Diesel.