Does anyone know of a car with 4wd that’s also a diesel/economical petrol and isn’t a 4×4. It has to be available cheapish on the secondhand market and be not too expensive to run. Currently have a Subaru WRX which is great if you own an oil well. I’m thinking Audi probably make something but I don’t really have a clue?

Have a look for an older A3 Tdi 130 Sport Quattro. Best car I have ever owned and deeply regret selling. Mine was much modified and ran like a sewing machine for 130K miles. Big fun and economical plus, no cat or dpf.

Think its an 8L chassis or something.

Skoda Octavia Scout diesel

Audi A6 Allroad?
2.5 engine, raised suspension with some placcy body preotection panels

Skoda Octavia 1.9 4×4, should be cheaper than a Scout.

There’s an old shape passat that was available in 4wd. 1.9tdi, economical and bombproof.

Volvo did a 4x4estate based on the v70, think its the xc70. Some jaguar x types were 4 wheel drive, remember the advert with it hooning down the ski slope.

Non WRX Subaru?

Why 4wd?

What is a 4wd that isn’t 4×4? Do you mean awd? I don’t understand but im not up to speed with terminology.

Cheap to buy and run – fiat panda in 4wd. Think Suzuki do something as well.

Do you mean 4Wd that is a car rather than a Land Rover copy?

Volvo XC70 Cross Country?
Pretty much any Audi TDi Quattro, gotta watch any repair bills though. £££
Theres an AWD Vectra out there too, but its quite a recent model.
Subaru Forrester or Legacy.

Renault Scenic RX4? Love mine, it just keeps on going. And has removable seats for van like duties and bike lugging.

rickmeister – Member
Have a look for an older A3 Tdi 130 Sport Quattro. Best car I have ever owned and deeply regret selling. Mine was much modified and ran like a sewing machine for 130K miles. Big fun and economical plus, no cat or dpf.
Think its an 8L chassis or something.

Paid 6k for mine, black, full leather, 60k on the clock. No mods at all and love it. Eats the 30 mile B road commute across dartmoor. Yet to find anything that can keep up…

45mpg too.

Just searched Autotrader for VW, Diesel, <£10k & “4wd”. First result is a 53 plate Passat Synchro estate with 59000 miles for £6000.

What is a 4wd that isn’t 4×4? Do you mean awd? I don’t understand but im not up to speed with terminology.

Cheap to buy and run – fiat panda in 4wd. Think Suzuki do something as well.

Do you mean 4Wd that is a car rather than a Land Rover copy?

Yup, car or estate, not SUV or Landy.

I’m happy with my Octavia 4×4 2.0tdi.

Jag diesels were 2wd.

Is a diesel Subaru too obvious/thirsty?

I’m starting to get a bit disturbed by how often STW has threads about things I was thinking about just the day before…
Is 4WD horribly expensive to fix if something goes wrong?

It’s going to be expensive but VW are relaunching an ‘All Road’ (Haldex clutch) Passat later this year, think its around £28000

Dacia sandero

Haldex on Audi / Skoda is pretty reliable as long as the oil is changed, like anything else that has a service schedule…

Dacia Duster.

Either a Skoda Octavia 4×4 or as above, a Dacia Duster, they’re great!

The Dacia Duster name conjures up a memory of the hideous pressed flat panel deathtrap a few farmers used to rattle around in where I grew up.
That new one looks quite nice though. 18k euro for the top end diesel too…

Haldex on Audi / Skoda is pretty reliable as long as the oil is changed

The haldex on the VAG vehicles in question is the same as on the Freelander 2. And that has to lug about a lot more weight in potentially much worse conditions. I’m sure it’ll be fine in a road car!

We have an A6 2.7 TDI Quattro (2007) – normal one not the all road – fabulous car, effortless motorway miles (as fast as you care to go) and excellent in snow (eg driving up and down our very steep road, crossing Jura in a snow storm with other cars sliding off road). Only negatives are it’s a big car to park.

Lots of other Subaru’s to consider, Forester / Legacay / Outback too.

Toyota did a corolla 4x4estate few years back if it’s a cheap car you are after.

Frontera 3.2 V6 converted to LPG? You might get the equivalent of about 50mpg out of it. Roughly.

Failing that, go for a Passat 4×4 1.9 TDi. I was kind of wishing I’d bought one instead of just the 2wd version at the weekend. But then again, I was driving up a road that, thanks to some serious rain, was a fair impression of a rocky river.

+1 for the Skoda Octavia. We get up to 50mpg out of our 2.0 TDI Scout – it’s nice to drive, reasonably quick and the Haldex 4×4 system works really well, only kicking in when you need it. Not had much call for it this year as its been so mild, but the year before last it got us out of some sticky situations in the ice and snow which we really wouldn’t have managed in a 2WD car.

We were snowed in in Dulverton on Exmoor over Christmas for a few days, all the cars on the high street completely iced in. The Scout was the only car on the street (including some “proper” 4x4s) which managed to get out!

The Scout has from memory an additional 2″ ground clearance over the and a few more gizmos over the standard 4×4, but they’re equally capable.

Lada Niva Cossack FTW 🙂

Wish I had a 4×4 Octy, but they were difficult enough to find s/h when I bought mine five years ago, let alone trying to find a 4×4 version.

Ours did take a bit of searching to be fair…. we were prepared to travel a long way to get one, but as luck would have it one turned up at the local dealers.

They are definitely getting more popular though – down here in the South West (Dartmoor) there’s quite a few about now, and they also seem to be pretty popular in Scotland.

Jef Wachowchow – Member
Lada Niva Cossack FTW

now you are talking.

The more recent ones in Russia have peugeot HDI engines and you can sometimes find an older one with the 1.9td engine.

Stick and intercooler and remap on the HDI and it will see 150-160hp and be unstoppable!

Need a bike rack? No problem, just screw some brackets to the bodywork – you won’t harm it’s value 😀

Jeeez, a mate of mine used to have a Lada.
Every window was held up with wedged bits of paper, the inside door handles had all come off just from closing the doors, all the rear lights used to come on in a sort of flashing Christmas light show sometimes when you braked, you had to stop every 50 miles or so to fill the radiator back up, the list goes on…..

Thanks everyone. Liking the look of the Audi A3 at the moment but I’m going to check them all out. The reason for wanting a 4wd car is that my wife is self employed and works at a number of different adresses in the area. For the last two winters we’ve had a couple of feet of snow which has meant she’s been able to use my Subaru and hasn’t lost a single days money when all the non 4wd cars are busy getting stuck. I end up on my bike :(.

Suzuki SX4 2.0 D with Fiats 2.0 JTD engine with Suzuki’s excellent four wheel drive and handy roof bars for bikes.

Drove a new Subaru Legacy D at the weekend, nice smooth and plenty of go. Resonable boot space for a suabru.

Went nearly 500miles on a tank

Probably not around second hand or cheap.

If snow is the issue, fit winter tyres to a 2wd and modify driving style. Extra clearance may help, but you’d be surprised at the capability of a 2wd on winter tyres versus a 4wd on all-seasons.

I have a Berlingo with winters fitted and it is as good as unstoppable. I’ve never been stuck and it has performed flawlessly as a vehicle for accessing ski-touring over the past 3 winters. I towed a 3.5t motorhome onto the drive with around a foot for fresh snow in November 2010.

IMO, nerve will give out before the capability of the vehicle.

Fiat Sedici ,same as the Suzuki Sx4 but potentially cheaper due to the brand.
Both ride a little higher than a Audi so ride comfort and off road potential should/could be better.