4x4

[turbopete]

depending on what you use it for, you might find the Sportage a bit on the small side. a friend of dads had one until recently and it was TINY (both boot and rear seat space) compared to the Kuga, which dad has and currently (despite a lot of trips of 1 mile or less due to his disability) averages about 43mpg (including a 50 mile round trip once a week for the groceries)

 

[ajlsl600]

i can see

I like Subarus, in particular Legacy, as they are quite classless.

i can see why ,however i had an earlier model about 15 yr ago and frankly it was an experience i would rather not repeat

 

[V6Matty]

Hilux or navara are a nice place to be if you don't mind a little agri vehicle,

 

[LostKiwi]

Hilux or navara are a nice place to be if you don't mind a little agri vehicle,

Hilux with the 2.2 D4D engine isn't the best for reliability - they have a problem with coolant loss which Toyota fixed by replacing 3/4 of the engine. A friend has this issue with her Rav4.

Early Navarra had an issue with poor bid end bolts resulting in them chucking rods out with little warning...

Mitsubishi Shogun may be an option?

 

[turbopete]

Hilux or navara are a nice place to be if you don't mind a little agri vehicle,

id have the Ranger over either of those. people that have owned them that I or friends know rate them very highly indeed

 

[ajlsl600]

depending on what you use it for, you might find the Sportage a bit on the small side. a friend of dads had one until recently and it was TINY (both boot and rear seat space) compared to the Kuga, which dad has and currently (despite a lot of trips of 1 mile or less due to his disability) averages about 43mpg (including a 50 mile round trip once a week for the groceries)

44 not bad was that the 4x4?

 

[ajlsl600]

Hilux with the 2.2 D4D engine isn't the best for reliability - they have a problem with coolant loss which Toyota fixed by replacing 3/4 of the engine. A friend has this issue with her Rav4.

Early Navarra had an issue with poor bid end bolts resulting in them chucking rods out with little warning...

Mitsubishi Shogun may be an option?

ok not looked at shogun ,will investigate. not looking huge boot space ,vi,v sportage but appreciate forum opinion ref kuga , it looks a bitch to get around the engine bay, i had a demo of it drives nice tho

 

[JBell]

I had an earlier model about 15 yr ago and frankly it was an experience i would rather not repeat

Do you not think they may have made some improvements over that time????

A friend of mine sells them and they are utterly reliable and well specced. I drove a Forester a couple of months ago, quite impressive

 

[Craiglxviii]

Hilux with the 2.2 D4D engine isn't the best for reliability - they have a problem with coolant loss which Toyota fixed by replacing 3/4 of the engine. A friend has this issue with her Rav4.

Early Navarra had an issue with poor bid end bolts resulting in them chucking rods out with little warning...

Mitsubishi Shogun may be an option?

I can without hesitation recommend the new Navara. The previous one, not so much- issues with them snapping off just aft of the cab. And alloy wheels spokes snapping off at the hub. And a few other things.

 

[turbopete]

44 not bad was that the 4x4?

dads is the 2wd powershift 2.0 TDCi. I don't know how much the 4 wheel drive version loses, but probably not a huge amount as its 2wd until it needs the 4wd to kick in. plus dads useage is far from ideal for decent MPG, other than the shopping trips. he says its thirstier than hes used to, but then he has had fiesta and focus diesels (and my old 203) prior to that so 60mpg average (and better useage to get decent MPG in the past) is pretty much the norm. since he has got used to the car though, he is now actually more than happy with the MPG he gets. the figure I saw on the dash (and theyre usually pretty accurate on the Fords when we have checked them, maybe we have been lucky though) was with around 3k miles on the clock. its now a year old and up to about 11k miles so id imagine its getting better. I'm even considering one, when the time comes to replace the Mondeo, its really a more impressive motor than the press seem to give it credit for, in some articles.

 

[Flyinspanner]

I had a Legacy Estate for 6 yrs, great load lugger, sure footed, and never let me down.

There is a good forum, very supportive, and lots of helpful people (like here!)

There are diesel variants. (Mine was a JDM twin turbo petrol engined version, the GTB) I still think they are a fine car.

 

[Craiglxviii]

dads is the 2wd powershift 2.0 TDCi. I don't know how much the 4 wheel drive version loses, but probably not a huge amount as its 2wd until it needs the 4wd to kick in. plus dads useage is far from ideal for decent MPG, other than the shopping trips. he says its thirstier than hes used to, but then he has had fiesta and focus diesels (and my old 203) prior to that so 60mpg average (and better useage to get decent MPG in the past) is pretty much the norm. since he has got used to the car though, he is now actually more than happy with the MPG he gets. the figure I saw on the dash (and theyre usually pretty accurate on the Fords when we have checked them, maybe we have been lucky though) was with around 3k miles on the clock. its now a year old and up to about 11k miles so id imagine its getting better. I'm even considering one, when the time comes to replace the Mondeo, its really a more impressive motor than the press seem to give it credit for, in some articles.

Pete, it's not like the press are biased or anything... did I tell you the Clarkson story?

 

[turbopete]

not sure if you have mentioned the Clarkson story or not. either way, I don't see how ANY credible magazine/newspaper/website etc could rate something as dated and IMO overpriced for what it is, as the VW Tiguan (I don't care what anyone says, I don't think VW have been any better built than its competitors since cars like the first generation Mondeo and Focus were launched) above the Kuga. and yes I have always been a Ford man (when not in a Mercedes) but the Kuga actually managed to surprise even ME when I first experienced it. powershift gearbox (troublesome at first when it was launched no matter what vehicle it was in) has been sorted and is mind bogglingly good, especially as I really don't rate ANY auto, its comfy, quiet, plenty of cabin space, handles well for something so tall, has a decent sized boot (the litres measurement puts it below the Mondeo, but as we never fill our boots with tiny cubes or liquids, IMO the calculation is irrelevant and I think suitcase wise the actual useable boot space will be pretty similar) and looks FAR better than the tiguan, or pretty much ANY of its rivals (JLR seem to have lost the plot with the 'discovery sport' and why didn't they just keep the freelander name as you can see that's exactly what it is, and that evoque thing is just HIDEOUS)

 

[sonic]

ok just to address the elephant in the room, as I see it. its something maybe just I don't understand. you want a 4x4, but youre worried about fuel economy???

you will be driving a higher (therefore less aerodynamic = more drag = higher fuel useage) vehicle, you will also be dragging around extra weight (transfer box, extra diff/driveshafts/propshaft etc) that you wouldn't be on a regular car, and with plenty of room to work on it (presumably DIY stuff)

whilst some will be better than others, I feel that the quest to find something that ticks ALL the boxes (plus being pretty well made and refined) will be pretty much IMPOSSIBLE.

Ford Edge hasn't been around long enough to fit into budget, Kuga you say has insufficient room under the bonnet (not really sure how as its about as good as it gets nowadays space wise with the same engine in the Mondeo and I wouldn't say the Kuga had a noticeably shorter bonnet) and chances are the Ranger may be a little agricultural, or a bit thirsty, or both. and I use them as examples as theyre probably the (relatively) current models I'm most familiar with.

id like a 5.0 V8 petrol Mustang, supercharged to give me 800+bhp and give me 80mpg, but somehow, I don't fancy my chances!!! basically, I think somewhere along the line you will have to decide EXACTLY what you want the car to do, then buy the car that suits the purpose best, rather than think too much about how easy it is to work on or if you can get a million MPG because EVERY car is a trade off, unless you physically design and build it yourself to your own specs, and even then isn't guaranteed to tick EVERY box, if you have to buy components in.

If you are worried about costs then you should be looking at deprecation. That will cost you considerably more than the fuel costs.

 

[ajlsl600]

grand debate going on here now..... i am taking in the input , thanks all. as far as depreciation goes, i think it is reasonably controlled when buying 2,3 yr old,low miles good nic and if you then keep the car ,basically to scrap ,which is pretty much my intent

 

[Yugguy]

Here you go.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201707227623167



Oh all right the sensible option:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201708058073627

 

[LostKiwi]

Andy,

How heavy is your caravan fully laden?
That may well determine the options available.

For example Kia Sorento tops out at 2500kg max towing (as does Prado unless latest model when its 3000kg) , Land Rover Discoveries top out at 3500kg (as do some others such as some models of Shogun).
Sportage tops out at 2200kg (as does Rav4).
Kuga is 2100kg.
Freelander 2 is only 2000kg.
Duster is a pretty lightweight 1500kg.
Subaru Outback 1700kg.

Also the larger and heavier the tow car the less able the van will be able to move it around and the more comfortable it will be to be in.

To a certain extent this may determine your choices.

For Sorentos here is a long term review:
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/our-cars/kia-sorento/

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...sing-location=at_cars&price-from=15000&page=1

 

[turbopete]

Hilux with the 2.2 D4D engine isn't the best for reliability - they have a problem with coolant loss which Toyota fixed by replacing 3/4 of the engine. A friend has this issue with her Rav4.

Early Navarra had an issue with poor bid end bolts resulting in them chucking rods out with little warning...

Mitsubishi Shogun may be an option?

shogun is a decent motor but last time I had any dealings with them the SWB ones were very bouncy to ride in whereas the LWB ones rode much better, and I admit this was a few years ago so they may be much better now

 

[Frosty149]

Round this way, most of the families towing larger caravans, seem to opt for an older transit
Sometimes they have a police escort too

 

[ajlsl600]

Andy,

How heavy is your caravan fully laden?
That may well determine the options available.

For example Kia Sorento tops out at 2500kg max towing (as does Prado unless latest model when its 3000kg) , Land Rover Discoveries top out at 3500kg (as do some others such as some models of Shogun).
Sportage tops out at 2200kg (as does Rav4).
Kuga is 2100kg.
Freelander 2 is only 2000kg.
Duster is a pretty lightweight 1500kg.
Subaru Outback 1700kg.

Also the larger and heavier the tow car the less able the van will be able to move it around and the more comfortable it will be to be in.

To a certain extent this may determine your choices.

For Sorentos here is a long term review:
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/our-cars/kia-sorento/

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201707067133518?onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&transmission=Automatic&model=SORENTO&sort=sponsored&postcode=nn110xp&price-to=19000&radius=1500&make=KIA&advertising-location=at_cars&price-from=15000&page=1

hi, it will be a 4 berth double axle about 21.23 ft long , just within limits weight wise ,exact weight to be determined as they vary a bit, i will only be towing it twice a year, and if i find a decent site maybe only once

had a look at sorento , does not look bad either,i will investigate that further as well. thanks bud.