Which 4x4 to get ?

Yorkshire lad

Well-Known Member
I'm looking at getting a different motor and wanted some suggestions and opinions . I'm currently have a navara which is great but is no good on fuel. Was thinking of abit of a change like a vw tiguan or similar. I need it to do a little off roading, pull the quad on a trailer and good boot space. Also ok on fuel. Many thanks.
 
My CRV does everything I need it to do and does 36mpg around town and 40+on a run. It's a 2.0 petrol and is capable enough off road for my needs and very reliable...I have looked at changing it for a hi-lux but it is so much nicer to drive than the truck I am not bothering.
 
I've been runniing a Nissan X-Trail for nearly 4 years now and have been impressed with it.

On a longer run it will see nearly 50mpg (up to Inverness earlier in the month and it was between 49 and 50) and with general running about, commuting, stalking etc. I average around 40. Running costs are also good and a recent main dealer service on mine was about £130. It does fine off road though, clearly, will never be a hard core off roader but if you've a quad you've got that covered. I believe that decent AT tyres are now becoming more easily available for the 17 inch wheels. Mine runs on Yoko Geolander ATS all terrains. I believe they tow well, though I only ever have sheep in a trailer on the back, and are very popular with people who trail horses about a lot. The boot is impressive and with the seats down gives a flat load area that will easily carry my high seat, a stag in a big fish box and other stalking gear. There is a great system of shelves under the load area to keep all sorts of stuff handy and easy to access even when the boot is full. It is also very comfy, has all the gadgets and even after 4 years I really like it and just can't see what there is out there to replace it - if I had to change it I'd have another one.

On the down side access to the rear seats can be a bit tight and there isn't a pile of knee room in the back if the front seats are fully back and on a cold day mine sometimes turns over a few times before it fires up, though it always starts even in winter 2010 when we had daytime max temps between -10 and -15 for about a week.

I don't know if that meets your requirements - I wasn't dead keen on an X-Trail at first and nearly bought a Discovery 3 and on reflection I'm just so glad I didn't end up with a Discovery, the X-Trail does everything I need and goes everywhere I need to go and doesn't cost £500 a month to repair which means more money for stalking. Don't under any circumstances buy anything made by Land Rover, you've enough trouble in your life without paying for the privilege of having one of their problems sitting broken down in your driveway.
 
Get a massive gas guzzler and run it on LPG , I run a land cruiser amazon 4.7l and cost wise it's like doing 40mpg but you get to tool round in a massive V8 and it drives Eco mentalists mad as its cleaner than there vw camper !
 
Caorach, not everybody has bad experiences with Land Rover. We had six Discoveries from 1993 to 2013, had years of 'wadi bashing' in them and apart from a gearbox change under warranty they were virtually trouble free, never let us down and in one incident in Oman I am convinced the Disco saved us from serious injury when we were side-swiped by a testosterone charged Omani youth in a Saab. For the past few months my wife has had a new Freelander and once again it has never missed a beat. A couple of weeks ago I was in South Africa and five of us drove to and from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape in a new Disco and I can tell you I felt VERY comfortable and safe in it......much safer than I did last year when I did the same journey in an Isuzu bakkie!

Phil
 
Discovery 3 driver here. It is the best car I have ever owned. So comfortable, so much space, very capable off road, great in snow, cruises at 80 with ease.

Odd problems, but nothing crazy. Never broken down.

Had a Navara at one point and that spent more time at the garage than the Disco has.
 
Discovery 3 driver here. It is the best car I have ever owned. So comfortable, so much space, very capable off road, great in snow, cruises at 80 with ease.

Odd problems, but nothing crazy. Never broken down.

Had a Navara at one point and that spent more time at the garage than the Disco has.

ditto - nothing it won't do
won't be selling mine in a hurry

​....wonder what the disco 5 will be like......
 
Two discoverys, one did 170k the other 75k both had two gearboxes and an engine , the 75k one was recovered by breakdown truck 10 times ( I kid you not!) my Toyota has just done 215k on same engine and gearbox and still starts and goes like the day I got it and all it's ever had is standard servicing which I've extended to 15k intervals now as I'm on LPG now? And every feature/switch still works ! Try showing me an 05 range that can GENUINELY say that?
 
I have had 3 Isuzu crewcabs over the past 8 years. The first was a Chevvy/Isuzu and was imported, did 80,000 and part exed for a new Isuzu Rodeo 2.5tdi LE, 5 years ago. Ran this up to 90,000 miles and never had a problem with it.

Now have part exed the above for a one year old Isuzu 3ltr Rodeo, with 5,300 miles from a main dealer. It has all the bells and whistles and an Isuzu warranty.

In my opinion they are very good vehicles although the tyres are not easy to source as they are 18" rims and only 3 makes are available. Comfortable to drive and the fuel economy is not bad for a large vehicle.
 
I have had a Hyundai Terracan 9 years now & done 218000km not had one problem and there is no rust yet showing anywhere it is a copy technically of the land cruiser build methods.
Only now available secondhand but are very cheap.
Martin
 
It all depends on what you want out of it. Do you need to use it as an off roader occasionally and a family vehicle on an every day basis or the other way round? How much space do you need in the vehicle (depending on the size of your family - mine need seven seats!)? Also, what kind of terrain do you off road on? There is also the small matter of the budget!! I have tried few - Disco, Mitsubishi, Nissan and the present Landcruiser. I have found the landcruiser the most reliable of the lot on the whole. It is slightly smaller when compared to the Disco and does not have as many gadgets or acceleration - LC has a 3 litre engine with 177 BHP but the Disc gives you around 220BHP. Just speaking off road, the Mitsubishi is fantastic but on road, it is a bit of a milk truck. You can forget 3 point turns, just be happy if you can do with less than 7! Nissan is pretty decent choice as it is scores above average on all counts including price. Have I confused you enough?!!:)
 
Caorach, not everybody has bad experiences with Land Rover. We had six Discoveries from 1993 to 2013, had years of 'wadi bashing' in them and apart from a gearbox change under warranty they were virtually trouble free, never let us down and in one incident in Oman I am convinced the Disco saved us from serious injury when we were side-swiped by a testosterone charged Omani youth in a Saab. For the past few months my wife has had a new Freelander and once again it has never missed a beat. A couple of weeks ago I was in South Africa and five of us drove to and from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape in a new Disco and I can tell you I felt VERY comfortable and safe in it......much safer than I did last year when I did the same journey in an Isuzu bakkie!

Phil

Discovery 3 driver here. It is the best car I have ever owned. So comfortable, so much space, very capable off road, great in snow, cruises at 80 with ease.

Odd problems, but nothing crazy. Never broken down.

Had a Navara at one point and that spent more time at the garage than the Disco has.

ditto - nothing it won't do
won't be selling mine in a hurry

​....wonder what the disco 5 will be like......



 
Without a doubt the Disco is the car to do whatever you want. Off road it doesn't get any better unless you get a Defender. It is an excellent family car with oodles of space, really cavernous with the back seats down and they're genuinely comfortable. The high driver position compared to other 4X4's brings it's own safety benefits and if you have small kids, they can actually see out in the back, minimising car sickness. As for towing, it's peerless.

The drawback is their reliability record. I've had two. The first was a bottomless money pit, the second I still have and has been a dream (crossed fingers). But you have to keep this in perspective. The reliability of all cars has moved forward in leaps and bounds in recent years and Land Rovers are no exception. Are they less reliable than many others? Yes, but are they unreliable? Probably not.

Anyway, back to the OP's specification: A soft-roader seems to be your remit and I guess really the three main contenders are the CRV, the Freelander or the X-Trail. However, I wouldn't rule out a Kia or Hyundai. As for pickups, often they lose out in the handling department and you have to accept the compromises in the luggage department.
 
I'm in the market for a new 4x4 as my '06 Grand Cherokee has just hit 67k and only does 23mpg...

I want better mpg, and half decent off-road capability (I'm quite capable of getting myself into the cack, but need the wagon to get me back out). However, more importantly I have to get the drag bag, carcass tray, boot bag, deer etc... into the boot with all the seats up - "Security isn't a dirty word, Blackadder"

Not too much to ask you'd think, but that's the VW Tiguan and LR Freelander off the list already as the drag bag will not fit in any direction.

The drag bag goes into my Jeep boot sideways, but even in a Disco, Touareg, XC90 etc it has to go in corner to corner

Might be me being picky, but I might just get a Defender and resign myself to allowing +25% on any journey:D
 
always wanted a disco ...but all the ones I know ...friends ones etc ...its a total 50/50 wether or not its a binner and in the garage all the time...or if its ok
50% say its called a discovery coz yer always "discovering " summit else that doesn't work or bust..... that as well with what I heard regarding the town n county mob in Aberdeen regarding so called customer service!! I would never use them ...shocking stories that still get the person telling them hot up! and and not just one person either a few of em...
I still love the look of em etc but form my limited encounters with them & their owners it appears to be literally a gamble wether or not you get a "guid un"
 
Back
Top