looking at helping the folks sorted out with a smallish but 4×4 car…im thinking rav/x3 or q5….any other ideas?

Cr-v?

panda 4×4

anything but the X3, review of this have been dire…..

panda 4×4

VW Tiguan

not keen on the panda,my old man has a 330 beemer i cant see him in it…they suggested the freelander but ive heard loadsa bad reports..

i also suggested a used disco or range rover sport

If they actually need an offroader then get a used Disco or Defender.
If they don’t need one but merely want one then don’t bother, something like a Legacy or Outback will be much better than an X3

New Freelander here. Ace car.

theyre both in their sixties and after being snowed in for 10 days thought it may be wise….but your right most of the time it will sit in sainsburies/tescos car park

i did think a subaru would be good,much as i think theyre boring maybe a forrester..

Audi A4 Quattro (with winter tyres)? Skoda Octavia Scout?

Do they want something that works like a 4wd or something that just has it ie Rav’s Quas??? etc. The only small non LR thing that works as a $WD nowadays is a Suzuki Jimny.

Audi A4 Allroad

Subaru Legacy or Outback

A friend has a Tiguan, and he tells me its pretty good in the snow

theyre both in their sixties and after being snowed in for 10 days thought it may be wise….

No, what would be wise was if they had enough in the house that they didn’t have to drive. My folks live in the Scottish Borders and they didn’t drive through the snowy period. Just walked the mile or so to the local shop for milk/bread etc, and lived off the freezer.

Would a 4×4 have actually made the difference in them getting out? If they are not confident driving in icy conditions then I can’t imagine a 4×4 will make a difference once they realise it’ll slide about like any other car.

On the other hand if it literally is just the limits of the current car then it could be worth looking into. (You say he has a BMW…they are always the first to get stuck, even a normal fwd car will be better)

Skoda Yeti? Freelander 2 has great reviews.
I’ve had a Nissan X-Trail mrk2 post 2007 model as a hire car a few times and thought it was fab. 150bhp diesel. Very comfy and handles ok to. Runs in 2wd , but has switchable 4WD and a diff lock (of sorts). Worth a look.

Newsflash, b r has decreed that the over-sixties shouldn’t drive in snowy weather. They’re much better off tramping around in the snow in sub-zero temperatures.

“Audi A4 Quattro (with winter tyres)? Skoda Octavia Scout?”
still only one wheel drive unless they have diff-locks.

One thing worth thinking about with older people is the seat height in 4×4’s. the higher seat taking a lot of the bending out of getting in.

If they need 4×4 then don’t bother with anything BMW or a rangie sport. Freelander, disco, Jimmy, Jeep. are worth looking at.

Yeti sounds like a candidate, the new Mini 4×4, or Top end Qashqai or Juke.

depends on budget and use.

lada niva pound for pound the greatest 4×4 ever!!

set of winter tyres ? much cheaper than selling and buying

you could go round in november and put them on, and remove them end feb

You wanna go off road where no Landy/Jeep/Land Cruiser will go? Try UAZ:

Lada Niva as above says they are actually very capable ,and cheap!

+1 Nissan X-Trail.

I had a 2005 model for a couple of years as a company car and it was very capable in snowy conditions.

Great vehicle for transporting bikes too.

uaz is lame, leaf springs, gutless, drum brakes dont make a useful 4×4.

Also look at the jeeps, patriot and compass.

well, he likes it

My freelander has had no problems getting around in the snow,great car to drive in normal road conditions aswell

Ivantate, would you care to explain your ludicrous comment? If you ever bothered to look outside Western Europe you’d find them from Northern Russia to Southern China. Loads of mates drive them where more sophisticated vehicles fail.
Lada Niva is great if not unappreciated. So was (is?) Aro and Tarpan.
If you talk to people who drive in the mountains (not on roads but deliver to remote ramblers’ hostels) you’ll learn simple is better.
In UK? CRV, X-trail, RAV4 or a Freelander.

One thing worth thinking about with older people is the seat height in 4×4’s. the higher seat taking a lot of the bending out of getting in.

Although this, by itself, is a poor reason for getting a 4×4 – there are a number of ‘normal’ cars that have a good upright driving position. Relatives who farm in Herefordshire, who live a few miles up a singletrack lane, drive a Golf Plus.

I suspect the Merc A and B class might be similar.

High up normal car, Citroen Xsara Picasso, if it has to be a smallish SUV then why not a Hyundai Tucson/Kia Sportage (same car, different badge).

I live in Sweden and it is quite a bit snowier than in the UK. They are not allowed to use salt on the roads either where I live so the roads are white at the moment. So from a UK point of view you would think that everybody must drive at least a car with 4X4? Wrong. There are hardly any 4X4 cars here. Just just builders or hunters seem to use them. The reason is that people have decent tyres. Mine are studded but you can just get winter specific tyres instead.

So get parents another set of tyres and save yourself a load of dosh and let them get stuck in a snow drift instead.

+1 Geda

I had a finnish girlfriend once and stayed with her family one Christmas. A few days before Christmas her Dad said right, off to get the tree, so the whole family including me set off in their old Ford Sierra. Drove off to a remote forest (their Grandads apparently), found a tree and cut it down. Now this forest was remote, it was snowing heavily and whilst walking around this forest to find the tree we were in snow up to our waist. Tree went on the top of the car and we drove home. No problems what so ever and the reason being was 2 things, one experience of driving in snow and two, snow / winter tyres.
Winter tyres on any car will help this time of year.

Mini Countryman – had a test drive the last week; I liked it

Lada Niva, even better because the Fiat* twin-cam will fit under the bonnet!

*Fiat sold their tooling to the Ruskies in return for steel. The steel was the horibly, weak, thin recycled crap that gave Fiat/Lancias of a certian vintage their reputation.

Newsflash, b r has decreed that the over-sixties shouldn’t drive in snowy weather. They’re much better off tramping around in the snow in sub-zero temperatures.

No, just pointed out same as others that the last thing you’d want are a load of folks just ‘driving’ when they don’t need to.

And obviously, my 70 year old mum is far tougher than most.

+1 for the X-Trail, we recently bought a diesel 2006 with 70k on it, and its great, good in the snow. Just got winter tyres on it, Maxxis like my bikes!

Although this, by itself, is a poor reason for getting a 4×4 – there are a number of ‘normal’ cars that have a good upright driving position. Relatives who farm in Herefordshire, who live a few miles up a singletrack lane, drive a Golf Plus.

I suspect the Merc A and B class might be similar.

the underside is very low, wouldn’t take it anywhere remotely uneven

very good cars though (van engine and FWD)

I’ve got a Freelander 2 and have so far had no problems with the snow.

They are a vast improvement over the original car. It comes with the Hill Descent Control and the terrain responce which have been really good in the snow.

Only downside are the dealers. They seem to be either really good or really poor. Unfortunately the ones closest to me are the latter. Find a good independent for servicing and you’ll be ok.

Wife’s grandparents are around 80.

They have a 2005 Landcruiser Amazon as their long distance car and a 2009 Land Rover Defender 90 as their utility car – both have dodgy knees and find the upright position of the 90 perfect to getting in and out.

The grandad does do some fairly extreme offroading – he’s not quite like most 80 years old (80 in Jan).