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I have a Suzuki Grand Vitara, very pleased with it. A bit more agricultural than most 4 wheel drives out on the road at the moment. Good old fashioned locking doffs rather than all the elextronic 2 wheel drive then 4 wheel drive when it feels like it needs it.
We went for Diesel though, the running costs of a petrol were a bit silly. The torque in the diesel seems immense and it feels like you're leaving a crease in the motorway.
gratuitous piccy (not mine)
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How about a Hyundai Santa Fe? Car rather than ladder chassis, decent 2.2l diesel engine, option for 7 seats for grandparent duties, Latest version started on an 06 plate I think, so can be the right age for the OP.
Ours has coped with the last two winters' snow very easily, tires are inexpensive and seem to last ages. It's also pretty comfortable for long journeys. Unlike some of the bigger engined 4WD cars, the road tax is around £250 per year.
If I were buying right now, I'd get the same again.
Still pleased with my Forester. Not too 4x4, but fine on muddy roads, and snow.
On safari in Africa I noticed everyone in the parks drives Toyota Landcruisers. They seemed to get everywhere without a problem. River crossings, mud, big rocks no problem whatsoever. Very few Landy's around.
I've got a Forester too, more because of using a farm track regularly rather than needing something for offroad terrain. Good on fuel and comfy. Anymore seemed like overkill and I'm pleased with my choice. Subaru have a good reliability record too. Don't know much about the older ones but entry price of new models is comparable to a Freelander. Old ones look rather boxy things but are meant to last well.
X-Trail 2.2 D: 170k kms in 6 years, still runs great, seems that the intercooler/turbo on the earlier ones was a problem, this one was no different, but no problems since.
Downside? The abysmal turning circle.
Volvo xc70?
Another vote for the X-trail, I had an '06 2.2 Columbia, never went wrong, only had to replace pads and discs in 70K miles. Well equipped, switchable 4WD (which RAV4s and CRVs don't have), economical enough, fun.
I'd get a mkII 170BHP version tomorrow, if I could afford it.
Well cheers for all the replies, turned out to be a very interesting thread. Off-hand I think the Nissan (maybe the suzuki) sound like the best bet "for what I want". As I want the height of a proper 4x4 and reasonable but not excessive 4x4 capabilities.
Though I keep being drawn back to the look of the freelander, as the face lifted version are very good looking.
Cheers for all your comments, even if I've ignored them.. 😉
Recently bought a Defender 110 for use in the Alps. Currently stuck with pretty basic M+S tyres on it as I can't find proper snow tyres for it in stock anywhere.
It is astonishing going uphill in the most outrageous snow/ice conditions.
It is terrifying going downill in the same conditions.
That is all. 😈
I've got a Q7. £330 a tyre that lasts 10k a set, £512 road tax PA (or something like that), 23mpg and it seems to like chewing through headlight bulbs at a rate of knots. Oh, and its impossible to park, there's no room in the back for bikes because its a 7-seater and its not very quick.
I hate it, I wish I'd never bought it. Seriously, just by a 4wd A4 with some winter tyres on it. You don't need a soft-roader and you'll soon get sick of a Defender unless you do a lot of off-roading
I have an A6 quattro. Okay no ground clearance but has immense amounts of grip on road. 3.0tdi engine suitably mapped means it is a rocket sled and gets 43(ish)mpg on a mixed A/B/motorway journey. Drinks fuel round town mind. It was that or a Touareg when i went to buy but the VW had scary depreciation.
the freelander was designed as a car with 4wd not as an out and out offroader. it does well for what it was designed but dont think youll get far off road.
Ours gets us quite far. In fact, often, it gets us considerably further than surprised locals in their Toyotas and Nissans. It's astoundingly capable with care, and the fact it weighs more than a ton less than other 'full size' 4wds can save you an awful lot of bother. You'd have to be wanting to do some pretty serious rock crawling to really find it out. The only time I've missed low range in it yet has been when 4wd course owners insist on it because they think the pinnacle of AWDs is the X3 in terms of capablilty, and won't let us in because of this.
As for reliability - we've had it for a year now and it's as good as new.
I have one of these (Mitsubishi Delica), and it’s been relatively trouble free motoring for 7 years.
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7 seats, can be moved/folded to allow uses as a van, or dropped to form a bed for overnighters.
Not bad on VED if you buy pre 2000 and insurance is comparable with a big estate. Same running gear as a Pajero (Shogun) i.e. super select 4x4 2.8td so will pull a reasonable load. Surprisingly not bad road manners for a 2 tonne brick.
It won’t off road as well as a Shogun but isn’t far off with the added benefit of the bigger interior. Snow etc. piece of cake for this monster truck
My favourite part though is looking down into other 4x4s at the lights 😆
Downside that’s an easy one - fuel 22 - 25 mpg
Problem now is finding a good fresh low mileage import as the Russians snap the best ones up from Japan.
and the delicias love to fall over - but bar that they are an excellent vehicle and are surprisingly capible off road as long as you dont ask it to sideslope anything.
i looked at them long and hard the summer before last instead of a land rover but i do feel i made the right choice in the end for my needs and wants.
7 years and mine hasnt ever fallen over? 😆
But yes they are taller so have a higher COG and should be driven with that in mind.
I am sure there is youtube footage of them being put through their paces in an off road capacity but I will leave that up to the OP if they can be bothered looking
there is footage and its pretty impressive - i looked it up when i wanted to buy ....
tbh the same shite is spouted abotu the sj wanting to fall over - mostly by folk who watched the bolivia top gear but they only fell over if you drove them too fast as my mates dad found out - cornering at 60 is a dangerous game. they are an incredibly capible off roader.
Later model Landcruiser with the 3.0 D4D engine if I had to run one.
For Pedalhead,
So I bought our '57 x-trail 2nd hand as an ex Nissan company vehicle. Other options we looked into was a Mondeo estate (quite low though for slinging bikes in), Rav4 nice but not a massive boot and quite expensive (same for freelander), Vitara a touch agricultural but nice.
Why did we choose the x-trail? 37mpg avg, doesn't slouch if you need to boot it, inbuilt satnav/cd autochanger, reversing camera, comfortable, feels airy in the front, 80cm fully opening sunroof, aircon, tinted windows and doesn;t look too bad. The big plus is the size of the boot, with the rear seats up I've had 3 hardtail bikes and wheels in there. Dropping the rear seats leaves a totally flat loading space. A bike goes in fully built. A pitch and an ariel can both go in with just taking the front wheels off. It's all plastic so wipes clean (so I'me told) but I guess it could scratch (hence I use old sheets and a rubber mat).
Costs, £245 for a years tax, replaced discs & pads for £130 from camskill, yokohama tyres cost me £105 each a year or so ago, servicing isn't horrendous. Just getting insurance quotes and getting between £360 & £700
Problems, DPF issues which are common on a lot of cars, red light comes on...go for a drive on the motorway. Currently have a bit of a problem with the windscreen washer but I'm sure it's my fault as I think a leaf got in the tank.
It's a great car, I used to go shooting so it has been over fields and the like also snow, ice and it's all predictable driving with no surprises.
Would I change it......I'd like a Transporter like everyone else at Llandegla had on Sunday but in reality the cons would probably out weight the pros.
Autoexpress did a long term review which I read when I was making my mind up. http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/longtermtests/229161/nissan_xtrail.html