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As we live in Halifax there are lots of small roads and an AWD estate seems the way forward.
Since when do small roads need AWD? Best thing for small roads is a small car with good rear visibility!
I think he might be refering the narrow, hilly roads that are never gritted and need the 4 wheel drive to get around them and an estate for its capacity.
I grew up on narrow non gritted roads. Never even crossed my mind that I might need a 4x4, and snow was not common.
Not everyone is a driving god like yourself. Some people like to be better prepared with any mechanical advantage they can take before attempting some of these roads when they are [u]responsible[/u] for their loved ones in the car arrive safely rather than their own misguided belief in their driving abilities.
problem is - all that happens if you put someone that cant drive in a 4x4 is they get further before they come unstuck.
Youll be surprised at what a 4x4 can do but you also need experiance in your vehicle to know its limitations.
Ive seen 20 odd grand custom tomcat builds be beat into a hideous shape by drivers that just cant drive em and ive seen stock jimnys with set of bfg Ats on drive through a section thats defeated cars with many more mechanical advantages with ease - difference is the jimny driver has nearly 50 years 4x4 trials experiance the tomcat owners only got a couple of months and a false sense of invincibility with the amount of money he had plowed into it.
often your actually safer in a 2wd car as you dont take the risks and when you do you dont end up in such a bad shape.... a 4wd loosing traction on a steep hill makes a right mess on the way back down as it normally* gets alot further before it gives up 😉
Trail Rat, skill does go a long but my dig was at Molgrips over slagging someone off who wanted to get a 4wd estate car for the space and added traction. The same person slagging someone else off for been more sensible only last week was enquiring about driving through closed roads.
Not everyone is a driving god like yourself
I'm not claiming to be one, I really don't think small rural roads need 4x4. Really don't know what you are getting at, unless it's snow? What situation are you considering that would imperil the lives of your loved ones on a narrow tarmac country lane if you didn't have 4x4?
Since when do small roads need AWD? Best thing for small roads is a small car with good rear visibility!
If you lived around the tops/Outlane/Sowood etc way you'll really appreciate the ground clearance- short overhands etc etc of a smaller/higher vehicle. Down the road from the In laws is a nasty 1st gear climb through narrow high-sided walls, twisting and turning. You literally can't get out of 1st gear due to the gradient and if you met someone who refused to move its you going back abit...
Parts of Slaithwaite (or Marsden?) that crosses over to Salendine Nook/Outlane are challenging. We went upto a pub for a family doo and my clutch was bloody burning out at one point and slipping 😯
You do.I really don't think small rural roads need 4x4
Doesn't Huddersfield have one of the worse learner/pass rates in the country? Its quite challenging off the main roads in parts.
There are some very steep, badly surfaced roads around there, but my 2.0 HDI Berlingo manages them just fine. Better clearance than a normal car and higher driving position.
Having a great big wide thing you are scared to scrape on hedges and walls isn't really the best plan (yes I know not all 4x4s are wide).
"I really don't think small rural roads need 4x4
You do. "
haha
brilliant.
What about this: http://www.lada.de/ (yes, it is in German)? Real 4x4 which would make Jimny look like posh Chelsea tractor... 😀
Grum Wheres that then?
Halifax - where the OP said he was. Driven quite a bit round there and over towards Huddersfield etc.
Hora. Ok fine, it's difficult sometimes, but are you really saying that you can't get up these roads in the wet without 4x4? I've done more 1st gear climbs than I could possibly list, I've really struggled on some but I've never had the front wheels spontaneously slip.
We went upto a pub for a family doo and my clutch was bloody burning out at one point and slipping
Right, but did you wheelspin?
mmanarr
shame they are still made of crap materials and rust like no bodys business..... same with UAZ's
shame they are still made of crap materials and rust like no bodys business..... same with UAZ's
So the build quality is not as awful as back in the day?
I haven't sat in one after ´90s but I can still remember the smell and feel of the steering wheel and other controls.
"4x4" as category name is just very baffling for me, lumping in Cadillac Escalades and Lada Nivas in the same category?
Hora. Ok fine, it's difficult sometimes, but are you really saying that you can't get up these roads in the wet without 4x4? I've done more 1st gear climbs than I could possibly list, I've really struggled on some but I've never had the front wheels spontaneously slip.
Occasional visiting of said type of road is fine but if you live in that area, why have PITA?
Halifax? Apart from the lovelly old part next to the hospital down and down towards Sowerby Bridge- Halifax is like elsewhere. Again. same as above.
why have PITA
That's not what I'm saying. I still can't see the advantage of 4x4 on these roads. I can see the advantage of a small car though.
As we live in Halifax there are lots of small roads and an AWD estate seems the way forward.
The OP wasn't suggesting a big 4x4 offroader but a 4x4 estate car.
I can see the advantage of a small car though.
A small car is pretty useless for his needs unless he wants to make life more difficult by dragging a trailer around with him for the items that won't fit in a [i]small[/i] car
Live on the hills near Sowerby so thought a 4x4 estate would be a good shout.
Loving the Subaru shout out as well. Low mileage, late year at the best prices hunt starts here.
A small car is pretty useless for his needs unless he wants to make life more difficult by dragging a trailer around with him for the items that won't fit in a small car
What? You're still talking about the OP? 😉
Hora. Ok fine, it's difficult sometimes, but are you really saying that you can't get up these roads in the wet without 4x4?
There were a few roads I used to frequent in Snowdonia that were very sketchy without 4wd for half the year. Very steep, shaded so any ice (frequently there in patches from October - March) stayed put, and it was covered in slippery leaves all autumn and winter. Yes, you could get a normal car up them in winter, but it was a lot less sketchy when I borrowed the Landy 90 from work. No, it didn't need a landy, but anything with AWD would have helped massively
Arrghhhh bangs head on wall!
I guess it depends what you prefer, something higher off the ground, flat loading, permanent AWD etc and so on.
I considered all types early last year. My budget was low, so Chysler Grand Voyager, Subaru Outback/Forester, Nissan Terrano, Volvo V70, Nissan Elgrand, Nissan Largo, Mitsubishi Pajero and other incl Mitsubishi Delica (which was top of my list but I was out-voted by my partner), I ended up with a Ssangyong Musso 2.9TD (can run on veggie oil legally). Cheap to buy, back folds flat and running costs about the same as when I owned any petrol car, except for my Corrado VR6 which bled me dry