Turbocharger Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 After a friend had an "incident" with a tree, he's looking for a car. He lives on a smallholding in the middle of some forestry commission land, and works in a city, so his daily journey is: -) about 2 miles of forestry tracks (which have just been 'graded', so a 2WD car has one wheel spinning most of the time to make progress) -) 8-10 miles of twisty fast tarmac -) 20 miles of motorway including a trip over the Severn Bridge. He's 6ft4 and wants some headroom in the cabin. He had a little diesel Citroen with an adjustable seat, which was good on everything but the forest track, where it eventually shook itself apart. He's looked at: Disco - bit tight on headroom Freelander - looks good but seat isn't height adjustable RangeRover - comfy tank but V8s burn too much fuel Defender - tight on elbow room, not great for the twisty bit and a 'van' on the Severn bridge BMW X3 - very attractive so far, pricey. Skoda Octavia 4x4 - not too bad, worried about ground clearance Mitsu EvoMCMXCVIII - good fun but thirsty and probably a bit heavy on insurance Budget's up to £10k if longevity will justify it. He's got a Series as well so it doesn't have to be a LR. Your thoughts please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparg Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 After a friend had an "incident" with a tree, he's looking for a car.He lives on a smallholding in the middle of some forestry commission land, and works in a city, so his daily journey is: -) about 2 miles of forestry tracks (which have just been 'graded', so a 2WD car has one wheel spinning most of the time to make progress) -) 8-10 miles of twisty fast tarmac -) 20 miles of motorway including a trip over the Severn Bridge. He's 6ft4 and wants some headroom in the cabin. He had a little diesel Citroen with an adjustable seat, which was good on everything but the forest track, where it eventually shook itself apart. He's looked at: Disco - bit tight on headroom Freelander - looks good but seat isn't height adjustable RangeRover - comfy tank but V8s burn too much fuel Defender - tight on elbow room, not great for the twisty bit and a 'van' on the Severn bridge BMW X3 - very attractive so far, pricey. Skoda Octavia 4x4 - not too bad, worried about ground clearance Mitsu EvoMCMXCVIII - good fun but thirsty and probably a bit heavy on insurance Budget's up to £10k if longevity will justify it. He's got a Series as well so it doesn't have to be a LR. Your thoughts please? 2CV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Subuaru Forrester? Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GL88 Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Fiat Panda 4x4 ... obviously. Probably get two for that budget - one for each foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brookers Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 How about a Nisan X trail? just bought the missus one and love it, 2.2 DCi engine thats giving 38 mpg, goes well and i fit with no problems at 6'2" and the seat could go further back if wanted. Brookers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landmannnn Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 How about a Nissa Quashqai? Before you laugh, 97% designed in the UK, built here too. Too expensive though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Subaru Forester with LPG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Defender - tight on elbow room, not great for the twisty bit and a 'van' on the Severn bridge fit better stiffer springs for better twisty road use & make it a Station wagon, cost same as a car over Severn Bridge then, otherwise a Scooby forester or similar freelander size 4x4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Freebie, Scooby, Suzuki 4x4, Transit, VW Synchro. Looking at the sort of stuff farmers run, Subaru Forester seems to be top trumps and I've seen them get surprisingly far off-road too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tall Paul Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Pajero or Shogun ?? I prefer Land rover all day long but still an option !! My dad had a frontera and I was ok for head room and I am 6 foot 6, but then again my Disco has plenty of room too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_mouse_man Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Suzi Grand Vitara??? Honda CRV??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat_pending Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara, surprisingly under rated. 3dr, 5dr, or XL7 with 5 or 7 seats. Peugeot TD engine in 8v or 16v. We have a customer that gets 45 mpg out of his 5dr 8v. Don't bother with the new shape permanent 4wd ones, they have "issues". Honda CRV, very comfy. Daihatsu Terios, good basic car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Projectblue Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 After a friend had an "incident" with a tree, he's looking for a car.He lives on a smallholding in the middle of some forestry commission land, and works in a city, so his daily journey is: -) about 2 miles of forestry tracks (which have just been 'graded', so a 2WD car has one wheel spinning most of the time to make progress) -) 8-10 miles of twisty fast tarmac -) 20 miles of motorway including a trip over the Severn Bridge. He's 6ft4 and wants some headroom in the cabin. He had a little diesel Citroen with an adjustable seat, which was good on everything but the forest track, where it eventually shook itself apart. He's looked at: Disco - bit tight on headroom Freelander - looks good but seat isn't height adjustable RangeRover - comfy tank but V8s burn too much fuel Defender - tight on elbow room, not great for the twisty bit and a 'van' on the Severn bridge BMW X3 - very attractive so far, pricey. Skoda Octavia 4x4 - not too bad, worried about ground clearance Mitsu EvoMCMXCVIII - good fun but thirsty and probably a bit heavy on insurance Budget's up to £10k if longevity will justify it. He's got a Series as well so it doesn't have to be a LR. Your thoughts please? I'd get an Evo or a Scooby. Right now they are cheap as chips. Spend £8k on a good one and the rest on petrol but I guarantee you it will be worth it (assuming he lives long enough that is) On a serious note, get an Audi A4 1.9tdi quattro. Loads of room, cheap now, mental mpg for what they are. Quick, reliable and far better than the Skoda even though it's the same platform. Or, another option. VW Synchro van. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 On a serious note, get an Audi A4 1.9tdi quattro. Loads of room, cheap now, mental mpg for what they are. Quick, reliable and far better than the Skoda even though it's the same platform. i dont believe it Dave has made the same suggestion and got there first. yep i would go for an A4, diesel variety - engine size to suit wallet Where is troddenmasses anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Dare I say Audi All-road, or Volvo Cross Country?? Spec will be good, space is not an issue and can be quite cheaply converted to gas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 If the A4 TDI quattro is anything like the A3 tdi quattro sport then ground clearance could be a big issue. Mine grounds out quite easily.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 If the A4 TDI quattro is anything like the A3 tdi quattro sport then ground clearance could be a big issue. Mine grounds out quite easily.... is it not the sport but rather than the quattro that gives you the 30mm lowered suspension? i may be wrong but thought you could get a quattro without sport or S-Line -probably am wrong now thinking about it would that be a realy issue if its on graded tracks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Might be different on A4 rather than A3, but you only get quattro with sport or s-line (which includes all the sport options too) and hence the 30mm suspension drop. my front splitter hits speed humps more often than not.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocharger Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Just to close this one out, he ignored all of our advice above and picked up a '96 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 auto, with an undiagnosed fuelling problem for £200. Two evenings playing with the EFI setup and lots of carb cleaner seem to have resolved the part-throttle hesitation and he's got a good working truck which fits all the demands above (except fuel economy, at 14mpg...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smo Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Well with £9800 spare to play with on fuel i guess he's not done too badly - personally id stretch the budget by another few K and have bought a Freelander 2 which can be had for bargainlicious prices now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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