Hightower Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 Alright, so I'm on the lookout for a 4x4. I want something in the £1000-£2000 range, and either small or medium in the 4x4 class (so nothing like a range rover). What do people think of this? 2000 MITSUBISHI Shogun Pinin 1.8 GDi Only downside for me is the Pinin's are only petrol engine.
Hightower Posted May 16, 2011 Author Posted May 16, 2011 Or: 2001 SUZUKI GRAND VITARA 1.6 GV1600 2DR SOFT TOP or 2000 LAND ROVER Freelander 1.8 XEi Hardback
pantscat Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 I'd avoid the 1.8 Freelander - lots of head gasket problems and generally a bit of a cack engine. I had a TD4 Freelander - it was ok... was actually very good off-road (well... in a muddy field anyway!). If I was looking to buy a 4x4 I'd probably look at a Honda CRV or a Toyota Rav4. (Although I think the Rav4 has overly light steering and a very uncomfy driving position having borrowed one once to trek around Wales). Also worth considering a Subaru Legacy... (or a Forrester perhaps!)
Hightower Posted May 16, 2011 Author Posted May 16, 2011 Or: 2000 LAND ROVER Freelander 2.0 Di Hardback
Hightower Posted May 16, 2011 Author Posted May 16, 2011 If I was looking to buy a 4x4 I'd probably look at a Honda CRV or a Toyota Rav4. (Although I think the Rav4 has overly light steering and a very uncomfy driving position having borrowed one once to trek around Wales). Also worth considering a Subaru Legacy... Had a look at a HR-V and wasn't keen on the design of them (look a bit like a jacked up estate, similar to the new Nissan). Are CR-V's a bit dearer? Also had a look at a Rav4 but cheapest used in the area is over £3k - out of my budget. I'm basically looking for something big enough to fit all our camping gear in, along with the dog. Something that can handle the road fine, but also something that's not going to get stuck in a bit mud or snow.
Guest Guest Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 (edited) I can tell you not what to get, a Honda CRV. Dads got one and its the worst car I've ever drove! Ever drove a Punto with city steering? Well that's what the CRVs like - really not clever in a 2 tonne car. It's an auto box too which is properly crap; spins its wheels between gears, changes gears all the time for no apparent reason so when you turn off a roundabout gears change, wheels spin and you jump sideways. Plus its a 1.6 petrol so it drinks petrol for fun. Horrible horrible car. Edited May 16, 2011 by Guest
TechMonkey Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 Depends on what you want it for & what you are going to do with it? If you just want something with 4-wheel drive, want to be able to get out of a muddy field or want to be able to get over some extremely rough terrain. Do you want something that is presentable or something you can bung dogs, tools and a bunch of muddy kids in the back without any worries.
pantscat Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 I'm basically looking for something big enough to fit all our camping gear in, along with the dog. Something that can handle the road fine, but also something that's not going to get stuck in a bit mud or snow. I'd definitely have a look at a Subaru then... a legacy estate has got loads of room in the back, I don't think you'd want to go too far off the beaten track in one as they've not got the ground clearance but they cope very well in the ice!
tech_guy Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 Alright, so I'm on the lookout for a 4x4. I want something in the £1000-£2000 range, and either small or medium in the 4x4 class (so nothing like a range rover). What do people think of this? 2000 MITSUBISHI Shogun Pinin 1.8 GDi Only downside for me is the Pinin's are only petrol engine. I'm almost tempted to go for that myself......
Netman Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 I had a 2.0 Xedi Freelander for 3 years - slow but would keep going forever once you wound it up. If you are buying any LR, the thing to remember is that they WILL go wrong. You need a good relationship with a decent LR Indie garage as you can forget the Main Dealer prices! I think the Freelander was the most expensive car I've owned to maintain (including a Daimler Sov and a Lotus!!) - complete gearbox rebuild and many other niggles on a car that had only done 43,000 miles. I've gone back to Toyota now and am loving the reliability again... as someone above said, I'd look at at a CRV/Mitsu unless you're a part-time mechanic! My brother has had a few shoguns and not had many probs with them...
Hightower Posted May 16, 2011 Author Posted May 16, 2011 I'd definitely have a look at a Subaru then... a legacy estate has got loads of room in the back, I don't think you'd want to go too far off the beaten track in one as they've not got the ground clearance but they cope very well in the ice! I'm also after something a bit higher, like the links I posted - I'm a big lad so having a taller riding position is a big benefit to me I'm almost tempted to go for that myself...... Seriously? Does it look like a good deal or was that sarcasm in some way?
pantscat Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 How about these: Bipod Cars : SUBARU FORESTER 2.0 AWD SPORT 5DR Subaru : 2000 Subaru Forester S turbo - 13months mot! (I'm rather tempted by this one myself... especially worth a punt for the money!).
Hightower Posted May 16, 2011 Author Posted May 16, 2011 How about these: Bipod Cars : SUBARU FORESTER 2.0 AWD SPORT 5DR Subaru : 2000 Subaru Forester S turbo - 13months mot! (I'm rather tempted by this one myself... especially worth a punt for the money!). Yeah, those are better. Just a bit far to go for a car. Wouldn't go further than an hour I wouldn't have thought, maybe 2 if it's an absolute bargain.
rad Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 Shall I recommend you a Fuel station as well to keep filling it up at?
TechMonkey Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 Ah, that will teach me to not read all the replies properly. My first choice would be a Landy, not a Freelander though. An older Discovery for a bit of comfort or a 90/110 for rough and ready action. My issue with Shoguns are they are just so bloated they huge and a couple of friends that have had them have had to scrap them due to massive failure. Landys also hold their value better.
Hightower Posted May 16, 2011 Author Posted May 16, 2011 Arghhh! So many mixed reviews! I really like the look of the Pinin, but the concerns I have are it's only petrol engine so going to cost a bank loan to tax and fuel, and it's also a bit smaller than an LR (it looks like) so I'm a bit worried about being able to fit all the camping gear in.
3s-gtech Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 A 2.0TD Vitara is a good machine - early ones should be in budget. Engine shared with the Peugeots of the time (2.0HDi), it's a tough and economical unit. If you go much bigger, thirst will be an issue, petrol or diesel. A Discovery within price range will probably have the 300TDI engine or an early TD5 - neither will give you more than 35mpg with a very light foot. Discos also rust like nothing else, the boot floor is a favourite. A Defender is very agricultural, not great on fuel, awful to drive if you're used to cars. Tough and easy to fix. Your budget will get you an old one.
featured_spectre Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 Mitsubishi pajero...my dad and step brother have one, both workhorses, and quite good on diesel. Full tank does 600 miles in my dads one and close to 500 in my step brothers
broc Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 The Rover 1.8 Petrol engine in a Freelander has a poor reputation, as was said earlier. If you want a Freelander, go diesel. The old diesel is pretty bomb-proof, the newer TD4 is more refined (BMW unit) but more costly to maintain. There were issues with the IRD transmission unit (both petrol & diesel) to the rear wheels too. I know of one person who was sold a Freelander 1.8 only to find the IRD had been disconnected, making it FWD only..... the garage refunded her money very quickly! We had two diesel Freelanders for almost 10 years, both were very reliable & great fun to own. The only breakdown we had was due to a dead battery. Avoid LR main dealers...... very expensive. I used to do my own servicing on them. I would take a look at the boot space first though, it is surprisingly small for the size of car.
DAZZD88 Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 I always recommend that if anyone is gonna go off-road or thinking of buying a Land Rover then get a Defender (or 90/100 as they're also known). Why? They're a proper 4x4 with less poncey cack on them to go wrong. If you want something a bit more civilized and in your price range Jeep Cherokee 4.0 or maybe a Shogun
alan-d Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 Another vote for the Honda CRV here. I had a petrol one that had done 180,000 miles and was still going strong when I Px'd it for a new one. I took it over all sorts of terrain, sometimes with a caravan attached. The manual diesels are the best ones.
pantscat Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 Just a few more suggestions while I'm thinking... Audi A4/A6 quattro estate? - BMW 525xi (the X denotes 4x4... they're like rocking horse sh*t though)? - there are also a plethora of odd korean things along the lines of Hyundia Santa Fe, Sssaanngggyyoong Musso, Kia UgleeStick etc.
3s-gtech Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 The 1.8 K Series in the Freelander was much improved on the unit fitted to many other Rovers - it had a better designed headgasket that was less prone to failure. These HGs were often retrofitted to other models. They're not as unreliable as some scare stories suggest. If you're feeling rich, you could try the V6! (don't)
DAZZD88 Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 The 1.8 K Series in the Freelander was much improved on the unit fitted to many other Rovers - it had a better designed headgasket that was less prone to failure. These HGs were often retrofitted to other models. They're not as unreliable as some scare stories suggest. If you're feeling rich, you could try the V6! (don't) Yeah, a few people I know have retrofitted things like MG ZR's with the Land Rover head gasket and they reckon that the engine is pretty much bullet-proof afterwards. My mate who's a mechanic has also said the same thing.
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