Thread: recomendations on a cheap 4x4?

Hi there all i currently have a audi a3 1.8t and im after a 4x4 for around £1500 - £2000. The reason for me wanting one is so i can take the audi off road and set to doing some mods plus money is a bit tight so will be going on holiday in this country so will have to fit 3 kids 2 adults in it with plenty of room for laugage etc etc lol. im thinking of isuzu trooper, freelander, discovery or shogun. Whats you'r thoughts then. Thanks

Vauxhall Frontera? **** car (it's a Vauxhall) but so cheap to buy If it breaks, easy to mend. If it breaks baddly, throw it away and get another. LWB versions are quite roomy. Guy up at the stables I used to keep my horse at did this

Mk1 Toyota Rav4 mate, it will never fail to start, and it's never got stuck in 17years of use! Plus it will hardly lose any money if you find yourself a mk1 shape, 3dr or 5dr.

Hilux Surf 3.0 diesel

Nissan terrano? Depends on what size 4x4 your after, a rav 4 is a gd choice, but not very capable off road

Fiat Panda 4x4, old style, unstoppable. Might be a bit tight for space though, roofbox?

thanks for all the comments and the rav4 is pretty small for what i want realy has anybody had a nissan terrano and if so what are they like?

Honda CRV

Originally Posted by AGU-TURBO

thanks for all the comments and the rav4 is pretty small for what i want realy has anybody had a nissan terrano and if so what are they like?

Got a couple mates with swb ones and they're ment to be quite capable offroad... They seem quite hardy and good value.

S1 or S2 discovery, td4 or 300tdi are the better ones, anything before 2000 is generally pretty cheap and available as 7 seaters too..

Bit more than 2k for a disco though?

Originally Posted by StateOfPlay

Honda CRV

Didn't think these were acually 4x4?

Nissan Terano is the Ford Maverick, even as a Ford fan I have to admit they aren't great.

I'm just selling my Jeep Cherokee to buy an A4. I've got someone picking up the Jeep on Saturday.

Its the 2nd Cherokee I've had and both have been awesome. Both were the 4.0L petrol so fuel is horrific - theres no two way about it. However, a Cherokee fitted with a decent LPG system should do mid 30s on a run. Not great but acceptable. Mines a special edition Orvis so the leather is much nicer, cruise, electric everything, smooth auto box.

£1500 should get you a decent LPG'd Cherokee. Parts are cheap, not much goes wrong and they look cool too - almost every US TV show over the last 25 years will have a Cherokee appear at some point.

Originally Posted by Oranoco

Didn't think these were acually 4x4?

Nissan Terano is the Ford Maverick, even as a Ford fan I have to admit they aren't great.

Yes they are a 4x4, I have one. it is superb.

Originally Posted by AGU-TURBO

thanks for all the comments and the rav4 is pretty small for what i want realy has anybody had a nissan terrano and if so what are they like?

A 5door long wheelbase Rav4 isn't as small as you make it, it's certainly no smaller than a Freelander. Not as well built admittedly, but pretty quick and not too shabby on fuel economy. Same story with Honda's offerings also, they are very plasticky inside, but it's a case of function over form. Terrano, Shogun and Trooper is the next class up, they are a bigger machine altogether. How much off roading ability are you actually after, or is traction your main concern, and are you worried about running costs?

X trails are going for £2k these days. For £2500 you'd get a nice 2.0l petrol that does 30mpg combined. I'd steer clear of a cheap diesel x trail as the dmf's are prone to go but if you could find one that had it done already it'd be a good buy.
They are probably my prefered 4x4 for that kind of money as they are modern and quite well equipped and just as good if not better off road than the Rav4. Nissan's are cheap to fix and pretty reliable too.

I had bad experiences with Freelanders - don;t rate their reliability, would say the Rav4 is probably the most reliable of the 3 small 4x4's. The freelander is great off road but forever something going wrong with them imo.

My Hilux Surf 3.0 TDi SSRG is for sale.....M reg, Recaro interior, all terrain tyres on a nice set of splitties....the truck doesnt look its age, having only covered 108000 miles. Its an imported one, but its the very top spec and everything (apart from the handbrake!!) works perfectly. I want £1500 ono for her.

my dad is sick of the "4x4" system on his cr-v.
primarily fwd and needs the front wheels to start spinning before it chucks any power to the back wheels.

I just wish these were affordable