An efficient 4x4?

Kentucky Fried Panda · Post by **Kentucky Fried Panda** » 11 Feb 2008, 17:44

The thing about the little Suzuki four wheelers is the short wheel base makes for a very choppy ride on the road. Off road they're great, but no real payload hauler.
You could probably pick up a Jimny for little money, but it's petrol.

peakprepper · Post by **peakprepper** » 11 Feb 2008, 21:10

I have a Forester and a Toyota Surf (non-pickup).

The Forester is luxurious (heated seats, huge sunroof, cruise control, every which way adjustable seats, etc etc).

The Surf is huge inside, rather coarser, lacks most of the refinements of the Forester.

Both are trouble-free, and will tow as much as I have wanted to in the past (including several tons of wood at a time).

The key to getting good economy with the Forester (35mpg+ In France last summer with 4 x people, back end full of wine & beer, + roof box) is to use the cruise control whenever possible, it makes a huge difference.

Unfortunately I am having to decide on one of them, and I think the Forester will have to go soon, mainly because it is the newer car, and will be easier to sell.

Post by **mikepepler** » 11 Feb 2008, 21:11

Haggis wrote:The thing about the little Suzuki four wheelers is the short wheel base makes for a very choppy ride on the road. Off road they're great, but no real payload hauler.
You could probably pick up a Jimny for little money, but it's petrol.

They certainly are cheap, but as you say they can only pull 350kg unbraked, 1300 braked. Despite being petrol, they are the only 4x4 (apart from Octavia in band D) I've seen that comes into band E for road tax - all others are band F or above

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 18 Feb 2008, 19:38

Our Toyota 4WD diesel automatic (!) LiteAce is efficient ... because it's not too nice to drive for long distances! We use a 'real' car for that.

It chugs around our 5 acres OK 'tho. It's also useful for taking stuff to the tip and picking up feed sacks from the local supplier.

And it only cost ?1700 !

(Sample photo)

Kentucky Fried Panda · Post by **Kentucky Fried Panda** » 18 Feb 2008, 21:44

What about the Suzuki Ignis 4GRIP?

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 18 Feb 2008, 21:56

It's not an off-roader ... the 4WD is intended purely for mud, snow, ice etc on normal roads.

SunnyJim · Post by **SunnyJim** » 20 Feb 2008, 11:09

mikepepler wrote:
Haggis wrote:The thing about the little Suzuki four wheelers is the short wheel base makes for a very choppy ride on the road. Off road they're great, but no real payload hauler.
You could probably pick up a Jimny for little money, but it's petrol.
They certainly are cheap, but as you say they can only pull 350kg unbraked, 1300 braked. Despite being petrol, they are the only 4x4 (apart from Octavia in band D) I've seen that comes into band E for road tax - all others are band F or above

Hi Mike. Just been through this myself. Test drove the Jimny. Great fun, and fantastic off road but can't even fit a pushchair in the boot. I looked at most of the vehicles that have been mentioned.

I wanted something to tow a big trailer full of logs (or chestnut poles

), and be able to drive up steepish inclines into fields, so I guess our requirements are pretty similer. I also wanted my wife to be able to use it in the week, and for it to be as economical and planet friendly as it could be.

I ended up with one of these, which I'm pleased to say has been fantastic so far;

It's a N reg (1996) Suzuki Vitara, with a 2.0l Turbo Diesel engine. Good for 36 mpg. It has space for a pushchair in the boot, has an unbrakes towing weight of 650kg and a braked towing weight of 1800Kg. Plenty for me. It's comfortable, and good to drive. It is 2wd most of the time with selectable high and low ratio 4wd. A very flexible work horse.

I paid ?2300 for mine, with only 58,000 miles on it and a full suzuki service history. I've seen the petrol ones for as little as ?1300 in pretty good condition with about 100k on the clock. Overall I think I've made a good decision so far.

Hope that helps!

As I see it, it's going to be essential for me for a few years until I have time to come round to the concept of using a horse.

Tracy P · Post by **Tracy P** » 21 Feb 2008, 16:33

Thanks SunnyJim
Mike is away right now, but I sure like the Vitara. I used to have one of those ancient suzukis (a square box) which I loved!

Although , if Mike suddenly wanted to fit a pushchair in the boot I would want to know where he got a child from?!

Tracy

Post by **mikepepler** » 22 Feb 2008, 14:42

No pushchair space needed, though occasional transport of a cage with two cockatiels in it is required!

Thanks for the info on the Vitara - it's one of the ones I've considered. Perhaps some test drives will be needed in the summer...

SunnyJim · Post by **SunnyJim** » 22 Feb 2008, 14:48

Hehehe. Didn't mean to suggest that would want a push chair in the boot, but some boot space is really handy isn't it? The 5 door vitara is a good size. Small enough not to be overkill, but not so small that it is really choppy on the road. Still happy with mine. It is our second car though, so I rarely get to drive it, prefering the 60mpg old 205 when possible.

eatyourveg · Post by **eatyourveg** » 11 Mar 2008, 00:07

If it's any help consider the Nissan Terrano. A Japanese import.

I bought '95 model, 46.000miles, for 3k off ebay. 7 seater, incredibly reliable motor good for huge mileages (ancient taxi engine), easy home maintence, 30+ mpg. Totally immaculate inside, on top and underneath. Apparently the Japanese do not salt their roads, so corrosion is not the problem it is here.
Used it for towing, no trouble there, and a bit of off road, field 'patrols' and muddy tracks, no trouble there. Cruised up and down the motorway a few times, aircon comfort and altogether very comfortable. Parking in town not the easiest as you might imagine.

Highly recommended for the use you describe, here is an example with exactly the spec I bought:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NISSAN-TERRANO-MI ... dZViewItem

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 11 Mar 2008, 08:54

So Powerswitch has a 'SUV Fan Club Corner'

keen2bgreen · Post by **keen2bgreen** » 11 Mar 2008, 12:44

Dont think its been suggested yet but the lada niva is by far the best choice for serious off road capability, cheap to buy, petrols are no bigger than 1.7 (there was a diesel made but not in the uk).

Light,nimble, permanent 4 wheel drive, parts (believe it or not) are all accessable and cheap from a UK supplier (alan bird). Mine used to be lpg but i think when other projects are finished ill stick a diesel lump in.

and yes they can be cool.....(well i think so)

http://img353.imageshack.us/my.php?image=myniva1qe4.jpg
http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/6592 ... qe4.th.jpg

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 11 Mar 2008, 14:13

My brother-in-law had one. Bloody magic. Could drive over whatever Mother Russia threw at it, and all completely repairable-by-hand (at least, if you're my brother-in-law)!

Oh and welcome to the forum!

Kentucky Fried Panda · Post by **Kentucky Fried Panda** » 11 Mar 2008, 19:47

The Lada Niva hasn't been imported to the UK since '97. They can't pass emissions tests and that's how the older ones fail MOT quite frequently.

PowerSwitch

An efficient 4x4?

Theres a humble litte workhorse that many arnt familiar with