Which new (used0 car should I buy?

[BradThunder]

So, am about to reap the rewards of a small-ish bereavement dividend and of course, the first thing on sensible persons list is another Land Rover!

Now first up, I live in a rural-ish village and because of my shifts, I leave for or arrive home from work before any public transport starts, so I need something trustworthy - the 90 spends as much time out of action as she does otherwise - and herein lies the dilemma for a Land Rover enthusiast!!!

Top of the list is a Series II Disco, but taking into account what I just said, I would like to at least give some consideration to a couple of others... I'm about to use the 'V' and 'S' words.

Sharing that list is the Volvo XC70 and a Subaru Forester.

So what do you think? Has anyone had any experience with the other two? The wife, who's now a green oval convert, wants the Disco, as do I, but I have to consider the reliability aspect, which is not to say that any car can give 100%, but reputation-wise, I've heard a lot of good things about the Jap and the Viking!

Any thoughts one way or t'other?

[landroversforever]

I am a volvo lover after land rovers, V70 is a nice car, what age are you looking at?

the scoobie would also be a nice car although we haven't had one of them. The Volvos we've had have been great!

[Disco-Ron]

if economy is a consideration.......... avoid the forester, pretty much all subaru's are rubbish on fuel!!!

[Orgasmic Farmer]

I had a subaru for 11 years and it was boringly reliable but a joy to drive. They also benefit from having a hi-low range box. The one and only issue I had in the end was the consumption, it being generally difficult to return much over 30mpg which in todays climate is a bit of a pain. LPG is an option I suppose. When I looked for a replacement nothing I test drove in the 4-5 year old 6-7K bracket was anything like as rewarding to drive as my 13 year old subaru. The places I took that car I wouldn't dare to have driven the Disco (snow-bound mountain roads and grassy banks)

[Disco-Ron]

I too had a Subaru for ten yrs, only mine was a 300bhp Impreza............. VERY rewarding to drive...LOL!!!

very reliable. Very nice, however, i very much doubt that even a well driven forester would do anything like what a D11 would be capable of....... not sure wbout the Volvo, that would be nearer......

[landroversforever]

thinking about it... good point for both is that they are a decent size for carrying 90 parts about

[carlosbeldia]

Go Subaru, Volvo is not reliable under bad conditions. Here in Colombia they have failed all the time due to fuel quality and really crappy streets. As somebody above says, Subaru is reliable to the point itś boring, no matter if it is a Vivio with 12 years or a Forester bought yesterday. However, don't come back to us when you forget it's not a Landie and get stuck in a pothole....

[Three Blades]

If you are looking at the Volvo then why not also look at the Audi Allroad ?

Very similar in concept to the Volvo (looks like a car but has 4WD and some lift) but benefits from a better transmission system and has fancy hight adjustable suspension (a benefit but also a potential maintenance issue).

I believe that I a right in saying that it is the only 'car' to have got around the LR test track.

Like Volvos, Audis seem good for rust prevention and should last a long while.

I don't think that you get anywhere to park your pipe and slippers in the Audi though

[Aragorn]

Our daily drive is an Audi A4 Quattro estate. Cant recommend it highly enough. Well built, reliable and also really easy to work on. Huge crossover of parts with other VW group cars too, so parts arent that expensive.

I guess it depends if you actually need the offroad abilities of a D2.

I wouldnt imagine the XC70 or forester would provide any real offroad ability to speak of, so they're not really any different to the A4 in terms of capability. They're all basically 4wd estate cars. The Audi 4wd system is also excellent, being a proper full time setup.

Audi also have the Allroad, which if you prefer the jacked up pretend offroader look fits the bill.

[Gromit]

When my Aunt was looking for something to replace her ageing volvo and to get her up to her little house on a mountainside, her son, who was about 18, wanted her to get a defender, cause they're cool.

She asked my opinion and I told her absolutely, they are cool, but don't get one. With no one in the family being mechanically minded, it'd break her heart. The next suggestion was a freelander, which I also did not recommend.

After a bit of thought, I recommended a Forreter, soley based on reputation. She's had it now for about 4 years and the only thing that has gone wrong is water got into the electric window motor, reducing it to a seized puddle.

She loves the car, especially in the recent big freeze where she was able to negociate icy hills and 2ft of snow on the lane up to the house.

[nicks90]

you can put all terrains on the forrester no problems at all, combine the low box with the very nifty traction control then it will do everything a disco 2 will do.

It wont articulate offroad as much, its a car with IFS and IRS - but it will certainly perform no worse than the disco in most situations. Plus with having indi suspension and being lighter, it is a much more pleasant thing to drive.

I really wanted to buy one for her indoors.... but alas she made me cough up £xxxxx on a flippin disco2, which is nowhere near as reliable, does worse fuel economy, costs more to maintain, slower, handles worse and attracts bad attention from the hippies.

Dont get me wrong, the disco is a fabulous vehicle and would be the best all round vehicle in the world if it was built by Toyota - but its built by commies from brummieland and therefore is a bit of a joke.

[landmannnn]

One of my colleagues has a 4 year old forester. It does 26mpg and has spent several weeks at the dealership with a number of small problems. No reason not to get one of course but it ain't no toyota in terms of reliability.

[BradThunder]

Thanks guys! Needless to say, I'm still stuck!!! Can't believe the wife's so adamant about getting the Disco - I have created a monster! - but we've decided to go and sit in them all and get a real feel for them.

Before I was bitten by the green oval bug, I had always wanted an Audi Allroad and just know that if we sit in one, we and by we I mean I, will want one! I'd just written them off as being too expensive to run and repair, not realising the VW connection.

Fortunately, there are good examples of everything within about 60 miles of us and all within our budget, but from all that you lot have told me, it seems whatever we go for, we'll be happy with.

Thanks again guys!

[Yostumpy]

Toyota landcruiser 4.0 l turbo deisel auto. You'll get BORED of NOT fixing it!

[BradThunder]

Well guys, the Japanese won this round - we ended up going for a 07 Subaru Forester. Took it for a spin and that little 2L engine was sweet as a sweet thing in a sweet factory. Even like the two-tone colours - very earthy!

Subaru

Thanks for all the hints 'n' tips guys!