Littlejimmy
Well-Known Member
I would favour the Mitsubishi over the Rav and Crv. You won’t find a rav that’s not rotten for that money and the crv has possibly the worst 4x4 system ever designed.
Vitara "unbought"! Had issues with it. Rav4 bought instead and it's a cracker![]()
Underside not what I expected (ahem). I wanted something that would pass more than one more mot and I'm not confident that this one would. Shame as everything else was sorted and good.Out of interest, what were the issues?
Rav4 on my doorstep at 7 am this morning after the dealer drover it 175 miles from Kent to deliver it....no charge for the delivery, half a tank of petrol left in it, valeted and a fresh 12 months mot with no advisories. They wanted to do something to help out (there's a back story as to the primary reason I bought this) so none of this cost a penny over the original asking price. It even came with 4 new Dueller H/T's fitted. That sort of thing restores faith in humanity.
It's sound as a pound. No signs of any serious rust anywhere bar the front lip of the sunroof frame which is pretty rotten, but I can look out for a new sunroof glass on Ebay for not much money. Underside is sound, brakes are good, engine is sweet, suspension fine. It drives fine and stops well and everything works. Inside is pretty much unmarked which is remarkable. What a great little motor! Whipped it round to my mechanic friend who has a garage 150 yds away and he gave it the once over and confirmed it was a really tidy example with nothing really needing doing. I can't find the last service receipt but was told it was done 5K miles back but might just replace the serpentine belt for peace of mind. Gearbox and clutch are sound. If I was picky I'd just take a touch up pen to a few stonechips on the bonnet to stop the rust but other than that, I'm very happy with it.
Torquey motor, pulls really well from no revs. Seems very low geared so cruising at 65mph in top seems order of the day for the rare longer trips but there's no reason it shouldn't do well off road. It has permanent 4wd (viscous coupling, equal split front and back) and auto difflock with limited slip diff on the rears I think. Reasonable ground clearance too. What a stellar little car!
The Pinin is a capable 4x4 and is not to bad on peterol. My one served me well and got me places where larger vehicals would fear to tread.I'm looking for a bit of advice really. I'm after a cheap 4 x 4 for winter use to prevent our main vehicle being protected from the worst of the salt over winter and for my occasional off road tracks for shooting. I have been offered land that to access it needs a decent 4x4 due to narrow, rutted and very steep woodland tracks.
I've been offered what looks like an immaculate condition high-ish miles Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin estate (5d) with the 128bhp petrol engine (no cambelts to change as it's chain apparently) which benefits from a fresh mot and service plus new clutch. At a fair way over 100K miles things like exhausts and suspension may want looking at if not already done. It's been offered to me for £1600. I was thinking of an older RAV4 or CRV or anything that is reliable with semi-decent off road ability but not for serious mud slugging. More for rutted tracks, steep terrain, snow and such.
Those of you already familiar with the Shogun Pinin.any advice? Would this one be one to buy or avoid on reliability etc?
Appreciate the feedback but as above, bought a Mk2 Rav4 (photos to come...)The Pinin is a capable 4x4 and is not to bad on peterol. My one served me well and got me places where larger vehicals would fear to tread.
Check front wings for rust as the design is such that mud gets to the inside of the wings. Check the fuel tank for perforations as a replacement is expensive. Dont disregard the Suzuki Grand Vitara in three or five door these wee motors as the Pinin are first class off roaders as many a Rangerover, Land Cruser will testify. The Suzuki can be found with a 1.9 diesel and is a lot easyer on fuel than the 2.4 peterol. The 1.6 peterol does not have a diff lock.
Not good having that additional expenseHaving a new set of fronts fitted tomorrow after some kindly soul decided it would be funny to screw in some panheads to my fronts when parked in town
duelers were too pricey and the fitter didn't rate them as highly as Yokohama Geolander G015s, which will be fine mixed with rear duelers (both are all season, but G015s are also more all terrain biased).