Needs to be cheap, old (I want a car not a PC on wheels), 1999cc max. Size? As large as I can have. Please suggest something (no ancient LR please).

It only fails on 2 points

i had an ancient nissan terrano last winter for a few months and it was ace in the snow – cost £300, sold for scrap for £300

How cheap?

Engine size limits it a wee bit. Most “large” SUVs have big engines.

Look at the Daihatsu Fourtrak, the older Mitsi Shoguns and coolest of all, a series 111 Land Rover.
Go on get one!!

Why 1999cc? A bigger engine doesn’t make much diff to insurance, tax or mpg with a big 4×4.
What’s your budget?

Get a Nissan Patrol. Tough as anything and cheapish to run. Well tested over the years in extreme conditions all over the world. The Arabs love them, and if they’re popular in countries that get up to 50 degrees and have hardly any roads then they must be good. I’ve owned one, and it felt like it would out last me!

Don’t know your budget but check this one on ebay for a vaigue idea on what you can get for little cash.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/nissan-patrol-mq-/320626700602?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4aa6d7313a

The problem is the Irish road tax. Killer if you go over 1999cc.
I’m thinking CRV. LR Freelander? £2000 total max.

Coil sprung Diahatsu Fourtrak,as good off road as a defender, better axle articulation and ramp over angle than a 110 defender and about the same as a 90, significantly better than a leaf sprung series landy or a freelander. Reliable,comfy, fairly cheap to service and run, dont leak everywhere when it rains either.

+1 for dingerscat if I was buying.
-1 for the Freelander on the experiences of the wifes boss and others I know

Is this because of the latest weather?

TBH you are going to get a bag of smelly jobbies at that price – car prices are artificially high in ROI and even importing means that you will only have ~£1000 to spend in the UK/north after VRT.

With the recent weather your going to get even less value for money, spesh on anything 4×4 with a NCT/MOT to last the winter.

Better off with an estate with mud&snow tyres like wot I have on the mondeo atm.

If your desperate for a car you can have mine in about 3-4 weeks* for free.

* mechanically good tin worm ridden rover 200sdi.

I was in much the same position earlier in the year and ended up narrowing the choice down to an X-Trail, Suzuki Vitara or a Rav 4. Ended up with the Rav, which has the most basic 4 wheel drive, and the worst ground clearance of the three, but it’s been magic over the last couple of weeks once I fitted it with a set of snow and mud tyres.

There’s a good 5th Gear video on Youtube from a couple of years back where VBH and Tiff Needell chuck some of the SUVs around the track and off road. Worth a look (if only to see VBH).

I had a brand new Range Rover Vogue, £78,000 pounds, full kit inside, climbed like a top mtb racer,descended like a goat.Did about 12 miles to the gallon………………………………………………………………………., then the nice man from Land rover made me give him the keys back. 😯

CRV, there’s a reason you see so many old ones about. Mk1 Freelanders are now looking rare by comparison.

I’ve been looking for the same thing recently and have decided to wait until next year………………prices are mad at the mo’, even for sheds 🙄

they made the discovery 1 with a 2l petrol engine for a while. 93-96ish.

Its a big old landrover but not a big old landrover at the same time.

Otherwise a vitara is about a tough as it gets and one of the smallest that gets you a low range.

You mean samurai surely? 1300cc. That’s about the only reliable, economical 4×4 within your constraints. You could possibly pick up an old Rav or CRV/HRV with a 1.6 or 1.8, but these are not off roaders

I didn’t say offroader, I fancy a wannabe 🙂

I missed the post where you mentioned a £2000 upper price limit – at that price, I’d be looking around for a low mileage first gen 5 door Rav4, or a CRV. You won’t get an X-Trail at that price, but I came across a few decent looking SUVs in that sort of price range.

Folks will tell you these cars are not ‘off road’ capable – while it’s true they’ll never match the performance of a properly equipped landie, there are plenty of videos online demonstrating that the Rav is way more capable than lots of folk give it credit for, especially with a set of decent tyres on it. In that respect, the 1st gen Ravs are better than the 2nd gen 04 plate that I have, as I believe the 4 wheel drive was simplified in the 2nd gen, and the ground clearance was compromised in favour of better road handling.

Bought a Santa Fe at the start of the year, it’s been good off-road(farm tracks and muddy fields to telecoms sites)and in the recent snow has been a wonder. Not been stuck and have pulled stuck cars from drifts! Not to bad on the motorway and quite well equipped.

I am actually considering a Nissan Qashqai, apart from the stupid name they are not a bad looking SUV. Mates got one of the +2 models, but think I prefer the standard model.

EDIT: I missed the £2000 bit too.

I found a LandyDisco plipper down the road a while ago.
Now I know which car it came from I can give you a test ride, if you want.
😈

As I’ve been looking around for a while now, the best option appears to be the Subaru Forester. Seems to do everything that a SUV does and without any of the drawbacks and plenty within the £2k price range if you don’t mind high’ish mileage.

Not pretty but highly practical and reasonable performance.

Our Secretary at work bought a 1st Gen Rav4 at the start of last Winter for 200 quid, with the intention of dumping it in the Spring and buying something newer. Well one year later and its still going strong, looks OK and has never gone wrong. Oh how she laughs at all of us digging our way into work with our fancy BMW’s and Audi’s.

Is the Quashqai even an SUV, or just a stupid tall car with less actual space inside than a real car?

Whichever, I’d rather stab myself in the eye than buy one.

IMO, the +2 looks slightly better than the normal one – let’s face it, it would be quite an achievement to make it look worse.

I like the Forester’s looks but Hora’s experiences of expensive upkeep put me off somewhat. Besides, CRV mk.1 looks better 😉

I have a CRV mk1. It’s ok, bit heavy on petrol and the boot isn’t that big for the size of car (tall but not very deep) but it does seem to work well in the snow etc and is suprisingly sprightly for a faux 4×4. I also had a LWB Isuzu Trooper which i used for work, loved it but again was heavy on diesel, although strangely didn’t seem to use more when towing 3 tons of trailer! You can pick them up cheep and they are really basic, ie not a lot to go wrong unlike some of the other SUV /4×4’s.