Anyone have any suggestions for a smallish cheap to run 4x4, ideally not too old and up to £7-8000, must be reliable and capable of getting across a wet field and ideally tow up to 1.5 tonnes.
It's for my missus, as luckily she dos'nt like driving the ML, and i wont let her fill it with hay and horse ****e.

 

Nissan X-Trail 2.2 dci?

 

X-Trail is a good one (hired one once) as well as a recent 3 door Grand Vitara - I know it sounds very gay but they are actually rather good now:



Don't discount the RAV4 either.

All Jap so last forever (ahem - apart from Toyota...!), all cheapish to run, all pretty good off road, all come with decentish diesels.

 

Suzuki Jimny, I would guess you can get a brand new one for your budget and by all accounts they can put some far more expensive stuff to shame off road

 

Hmm - we have a Jimny (and a baby and a dog) and while it kicks butt off road, costs nowt to run, is SO easy to park and seems indestructible, it's pretty poor for any journey longer than 50 miles, has very little boot space and isn't great for safety features (ours has ABS and airbags - that's about it). Ideal for us as we use the Bimmer for longer journeys but might not do the job required.

 

What about the toyota hilux? Those things are bloody bomb proof, plus easy clean plastic interior. Lockable diffs, good ground clearence, low down torque.

 

Family + hilux = divorce. No secure dry room for luggage, very loud on the road, no luxuries - in fact a Jimny is quite comfy in comparison! They are great (I used them for two years as a Geotech Engineer) but a family car? Nope!

 

Daihatsu Terios

 

Suzuki Jimny vs Daihatsu Terios | Car Group Tests | Car Reviews | Auto Express

 

Any of the jap smaller 4x4 are more than competent (sp ?) Terrano, X trail - pathfinder (might be mid sized) , vitara / grand Vitara
At least no one has suggested a LR Freelander !

Richard

 

Guys.

The criteria was be able to tow 1.5 tonnes (I'm assuming horse box with horse)

I'd be very surprised if a Jimny or Terios could realistically pull 1.5 tonnes of trailer out of a wet muddy field

 

Just checked - Jimny max capacity is 1300kg, so that's a non runner.

 

350kgs unbraked, 1000ish braked.

Actually the other three I listed are 750ish unbraked too - doesn't mean they can't tow a 1.5 tonne trailer.

Wife's grandad often used to pull up his Boston Whaler Montauk (17ft) from the sea with his Jimny - that weighs not far off a tonne all in (unbraked)

 

Linky here Towing Capacity Alfa Romeo,
for towing capacity - will admint unsure if that braked or unbraked - assmued its braked !

Richard

 

Fair enough Mat, but 1500kg is 50 percent more than the Boston Whaler. And its not out of a muddy field which is very high drag. There's a reason why 99% of horsebox towing vehicles are big, heavy 4x4s.

OK, so my assumption may be off and there's no pulling of trailers with horse in situe involved and perhaps the OP could confirm?

UKtow.com lists Xtrails as being anywhere between 1350kg and 2000kg max towing weight depending on model.

Grand Vitaras start at 1600kg so would be ok

All byt the very latest RAV4s (which would be outside budget) are rated at 1500kg so borderline - remember insurers can get edgy if you're towing over the rated capacity of the tow vehicle.

 

I know this may seem a crazy suggestion on a Scooby related website, but have you considered a Subaru Forester? They have a proper low ratio transfer box and permanent 4x4. Not great on ground clearance but probably enough for what you're planning.

 

We once had a Renault Scenic Megane RX4 DCI. Whilst very cheap to buy (half your budget i would guess) they are ok on both off and on road. Smooth to drive on road with reasonable MPG and off road I think the 4x4 was 30/70 so it didnt do too bad for what I needed it for. Anyway there is better out there for your budget.

HTH

 

TBH I'd never try towing a horse box with a Jimny but it shows they can be useful for towing - it manages our little boat (around 400kgs all in - but we only tow it from home to the water - about 200 yards! Use an LC Amazon for anything else) really well but the brakes probably aren't up to bigger weights.

The grandparents in law that had the Jimny now have a new Grand Vitara in metallic grey with a diesel engine - I thought I'd hate it but it's actually pretty nice. Goes quite well, does proper off roading (had a low ratio box) and fairly well fitted out. In fact I might consider one when we get rid of the Jimny eventually.

 

Yup - the new GV is a nice bit of kit

 

My wife has a new style Grand Vitara (06), it's the 5 door model.
Nice car to drive, we've taken it from Dundee into cornwall a couple of times now(1500 mile round trip) with no problems, decent climate control system on it, permanent 4wd (the old style weren't and were very tail happy in the wet.) It has low ratio box too which i think very few of the little jeeps do.
The diesel engine is plenty powerful enough, not as economical as we'd like. It is a renault engine but don't let that put you off, my Brother in law is a Renault tech and says it's a good block and doesn't have any of the bad renault bits on it.

Kev

 

I was half heartedly looking at one of those, what sort of mpg do you get from it, i have to ask as the missus will be running it, out of her pocket! and i don't want her moaning on about how much it cost's her

 

Toyota Rav 4 or X Trail would be my best bet

Friend at work bought an 06 X Trail for £4500. loves it to bits and gives no trouble at all

Stick to the Jap Scrap

 

I'm guessing low to mid 30's. Commuting and ferrying kids about.