[Closed] Newbie girlie - Car advice required

4x4 and ecomomical will be a challenge!

How many miles per year will you drive?
Roughly what size car are you after (fiesta/focus/mondeo/van)?

Snowboards will go on or in most cars, as will bikes if theres only one or two of you.

Tell us a bit more about what you are after and I am sure the STW folk will help.

A photo so we can see what car would suit you is needed.

4x4 berlingo? do they do one?

Moon on a stick too? 😀

4x4 and economical don't usually go together.

Do you want a 4x4 ie high up driving position etc or just a 4 wheel drive version of a normal car?

[/url][url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201050375363064/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/7000/make/skoda/keywords/4x4/radius/1500/page/1/postcode/wa69nl?logcode=p ]Skoda estate[/url]

Or a soft roader
[url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201050375507539/sort/priceasc/price-to/7000/keywords/4x4/postcode/wa69nl/page/1/radius/1500/advert-type/featured-listing/dealer/20672/usedcars?logcode=flp ]Suzuki Vitara[/url]

You don't want a 4x4, you want a nice girlie van like this one:

[img] [/img]

Friend bought it for 5k, put the lounger in ("it folds out to be a double bed you know!")
You can see her surfboards down the right hand side, pics of her surfing and biking on the bulkhead and she just stuck the bikes down the side on a tarp.
It's a Ford Transit btw... Set off nicely with the tiger stripes. 🙂

As far as I know,Land Rover are the only manufacturer to make a pink 4x4.
Is this the sort of thing you're looking for ?

[img] [/img]

my first thought was subaru forester,
a quick look on auto trader and you'll easily get one for that money,
not sure about economy, but would hazard a guess that it's not bad/not great though
not girlie but not sure 4x4 are girlie

Vw T5 Transporter with winter tyres.

No real need for a 4x4 unless are doing proper offroading and loads of room for your bikes and snowboard plus you could add a nice dressing table and a split charger for hair straightners.

I have a friend who can add the love hearts if your near bradford.

for 7k??

New or new to you?
A Honda CRV springs to mind. Mostly 2x4 but it switches to 4x4 if loosing grip or something. Or a Toyota Rav4.

Honda HRV could be an option
[img] [/img]

Landrover Freelander

I like HRV, a tidy little Civic SUV.

How about a Suzuki SX4 or a Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin?

Do you really want 4x4? They use lots of fuel, have a small turning circle (hard to park), lots to go wrong, not always huge inside.

+ 1 for Suzuki SX4, friend has one, focus sized 4wd that seems to plough on regardless of conditions.
Not too bad economy , but haven't seen one in pink?

My wife loves her Freelander (td4 auto).

Hmm..like others have said 4x4 + economic + decent on Mway is a bit 'moon on a stick'. Of course, a lot depends on how much disposable dosh you have to throw at running costs. If you don't like ongoing spending on cars, have a real careful think of exactly what you need. From personal experience, unless you [i]really[/i] need it, forget 4x4, as you can potentially end up with sub 30mpg and BIG servicing,tyre and repair bills. If you do need a 4x4, just be a bit wary of more complex/unusual stuff (like Subarus) - they're typically far more reliable than anything by Landrover, but the servicing and parts costs can be a nightmare. Also worth remembering that taller 4x4's aren't exactly brilliant on M-ways in high winds, or quick evasive manouvres - tyre noise can also be a drag on a long journey.

Have I put you off a 4x4 yet?!! 😀

I think someone suggested the Skoda Octavia estate 4x4 (there's also Audi's 'off-road' 4x4 estates). I guess at the moment, they'll be a bit tough to find 2nd hand, but if you can get a good un, they're very good. If you can find one, Renault also used to do the Kangoo 'people carrier' van in 4x4 - fairly economical for a 4x4 and very practical for outdoorsey stuff.

If you wanna go for something a bit different in FWD, you could try something like a Citroen Berlingo, Renault Kangoo, Fiat Doblo. We've got a diesel Kangoo (amongst other vehicles!) and I love it! - really practical, holds masses of climbing/biking/camping kit, does 50+mpg on the motorway, cruise all day at decent m-way fast lane speeds - oh, and it has wipe clean floor covering! All of these van-based designs are pretty bomb-proof and economical, er...'cos they've been designed as commercial vehicles. The Kangoo in particular has really good ground clearance, so it's pretty good over rough campsite fields. If your worried about getting stuck in the snow/mud, just get a spare set of front wheels with winter tyres, or carry some snow chains.

For your budget, you'd be able to get a really good used Berlingo/Kangoo/Doblo.

HTH!

p.s. apologies for the downer on 4x4's - anyone would think my wife bought a used 4x4, ('cos she's always wanted one 😕 ) and I've had to spend loads of time & money repairing the damned thing.

I would recommend an Octavia 4x4 if you can get your hands on one. An alternative might be one of these:
[img] [/img]
Renault Megane RX4, not especially girly, but lots of nice big plastic panels along the sides to protect against damaging shopping trollies in the supermarket carpark.

honda hrv
good on fuel
ok on the mway
good turning circle
It is after all a tall civic 🙂

Forget about fuel economy - you are going to struggle with that on any 4x4 (Fiat Panda maybe? - too small)

Once you have forgotten about economy, get a 4WD Mazda Bongo. If you don't know what they are, have a look at the [url= http://www.bongofury.co.uk ]Bongo Fury[/url] website. The benefits do outweigh the cost of fuel.

Isuzu Rodeo. Holds the LEJOG pickup mpg record for mpg of 54.2mpg (or more realistically does 35mpg). Seats 4 in comfort and 4 bikes in the back (or 5 in discomfort and 5 bikes at a push). It'll go pretty much anywhere you could reasonably want to go. My wife loves hers.