Cheap Large rugged 4x4

[d215yq]

I've been looking at isolated houses in the Spanish countrysdie and found the ideal one - ideal other than almost got the W124 stuck and hit the exhaust twice on the floor getting up the access road. Still seems to work but felt like a big knock...

I am still tempted to buy the house as it really is ideal and a very cheap price, but would need a 4x4. I'll need to do up the house and eventual aim is to become partly self sufficient on the 80 acres of land around it so it needs to be a proper one with high ground clearance so basically I sort of want a 300D of the 4x4 world; cheap to run, reliable and tough and not too fussed if it is noisy/sluggish/old etc.

My first thought was G wagon (far too expensive) then Land Cruiser (far too expensive) then ML (far too unreliable/expensive/poor off road), Shogun (a little expensive and not that big), Patrol (only sold here in the 1980s so looks ancient and has petrol V6 engine which i doubt is economical) and then this:
https://www.milanuncios.com/todoterreno-de-ocasion/ssangyong-musso-292406885.htm

Ugly as hell and rubbish interior and no doubt slow with 101bhp 2.3 engine (i assume non turbo?) but very cheap (most cars are expensive here and MLs are 3 or 4x the price) and with Mercedes diesel engine/gearbox and looks practical enough

Have I missed any other big utilitarian 4x4s that are more suitable? I presume something like a Vitara would be best to just get to and from the house but I may be having to pick lots of people up and also transport building materials so would rather something bigger. No idea if these Ssangyongs are good offroad but I assume it's good enough

 

[Wighty]

Terrorists all over the world swear by the Toyota twin cab

 

[RhodieBill]

This was the best 4x4 I ever owned...

Trouble is it's hard to find a good one now.

Pretty bulletproof, powerful and comfy with a lot of creature comforts!

And the nice thing is you can drive around in just plain old 2-wheel drive as 4-wheel drive is engageable, as well as Difflock. The later models were permanent 4-wheel drive.

 

[Blobcat]

Old Mitsubishi Shogun, loads of seats and pretty bombproof

I’d have a Land Rover 110 station wagon (I do...) but then again I’m a gluten for punishment...

 

[bembo449]

Nissan terrano or spandido version , ugly but spacious , go pretty well , cheap to fix too

 

[ajlsl600]

d4d is hard to beat. i have had 3 g wagons ,they are unbeatable but even good old ones are 15/18 k and only the 230 is reasonable on fuel..

 

[RhodieBill]

I did have the model after this aswell, It did have better appointments, more comfortable and more room. But I didn't like the permanent 4WD. That was the only negative really. It did have the fantastic and rugged 4.0lt straight six though, which is surprisingly powerful low down!

 

[KennyN]

Nissan Pathfinder ?

Kenny

 

[LostKiwi]

Nissan Patrol (built as tough as they come) Terrano is also good call for a smaller vehicle. Discovery II is good if you can find one that's not rusty (even better if it has ACE) and the Freelander 2 is much underrated and far more capable than you'd believe.
Land Cruiser Prado (Colorado in the UK) is very good too although not as heavily built as the full size Cruiser.
Avoid Navarra as they have engine con rod issues on earlier models.
Isuzu Trooper is a very rugged beast too.

 

[Chrishazle]

Vehicle of choice for the Australian outback and, many years ago, the Libyan desert, was the Landcruiser, in Libya in the 1970's it was in preference to a Land Rover.

In my time in the desert in Pakistan and Qatar it was Ford F90 pickups! Not the most comfortable or passenger friendly vehicles though! I still remember trying to get a rather inebriated wife into one of those, impossible to get her over the tailgate onto the flatbed, and almost as difficult getting her into (onto!) the passenger seat!! We were rather younger then, it would be totally impossible now!!

 

[d215yq]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've looked through them in the classifieds here and found that under 3k€ budget the only ones I can get are the Jeep Grand Cherokee either in 4.0L or 3.1TD or the Isuzu Trooper 2.9D. Seeing as the house only costs 10x that and I'm atleast at first only really interested in getting something to transport myself/others and building materials while I'm there then I don't want to spend anythign more.

In looking for Toyotas I notice €4k stretches to a goodish 4Runner. Are these as reliable and rugged as the land cruisers (it's not D4D at this price just 3.0 TD?

Does anyone know anythign about the Ssangyong and how it compares i.e. is it just bad looks and bad interior or is the whole thign poorly designed?

I suppose I can always up budget to something more luxury/complicated/newer in the future but at now it's just basic transport and a farm vehicle that will be needed as i see what weekend country life may hold...

 

[LostKiwi]

A 4 Runner is effectively a HiLux station wagon (estate). Pretty hard riding but generally reliable. Can't remember which diesel it was but one of them used in Toyotas has a habit of cracking heads.
The D4D is a lot more powerful and frugal than the earlier engine.

Update - it's the 3.0 TD 1Hz engine that cracks heads not the D4D.

 

[Craiglxviii]

Pathfinder (big) Terrano (small and very thirsty)... X Trail T30 or T31 with 2.2 DCI engine are pretty bulletproof, decent size too.

Can’t go wrong with a Hilux derivative either.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Isuzu Trooper if you can find one can’t be ignored alongside the Vauxhall Frontera badged version

 

[3146bj]

Vehicle of choice in outback Oz is a Toyota, as their service network is unbeatable as well as the vehicles being as tough as old boots (and about as comfortable). Model choice depends on the depth of the wallet, but series 70 troop carriers and Hi-Lux seem to be the pick for really rough stuff, with Prado's and series 200 Landcruisers for the more town based affluent users. Some areas of Queensland tend towards Nissans, either Patrols or Navaras, but these seem to be more a reflection of service support than being better 4WD's. The early Discovery's (series I and II) went well, but the later ones are just too big and heavy, (especially if you have to dig one out of a bog hole!). The only Mercedes you see are the Army ones.

 

[keefysher]

Take a long view:
https://www.machineryzone.eu/used/1/unimog.html

https://www.truckscout24.com/special-vehicles-public-utility-vehicles/used/unimog

https://www.trucksnl.com/used-trucks/army-truck/

https://www.lys-tout-terrain.com/english/mercedes-wolf-g250-_cd1_846.html

 

[AnthonyUK]

I had completely forgotten about Unimogs. We used to use these for towing Chinooks before the RAF went all H&S mad and had to use proper tractors, at least on base.

The Moggie could go anywhere but I wouldn't want to drive them any distance.

Also had a lovely early lightweight SWB landrover for towing Pumas.

 

[keefysher]

I had completely forgotten about Unimogs. We used to use these for towing Chinooks before the RAF went all H&S mad and had to use 'Doug the Tug', at least on base.

The Moggie could go anywhere but I wouldn't want to drive them any distance.

Also had a lovely early lightweight SWB landrover for towing Pumas.

FTFY

However 'Doug the Tug' often gets left connected to the undercarriage of hairyplanes, with the cost down employing monkeys for peanuts that is prevalent. In which case a Tow-Blok® is a solution you might like to try out:

http://dhslgse.com/tow-blok/

Based at Lasham just down the road from Odiham if you want to try one and get some brownie points Shameless promotion there

 

[AnthonyUK]

FTFY

However 'Doug the Tug' often gets left connected to the undercarriage of hairyplanes, with the cost down employing monkeys for peanuts that is prevalent. In which case a Tow-Blok® is a solution you might like to try out:

http://dhslgse.com/tow-blok/

Based at Lasham just down the road from Odiham if you want to try one and get some brownie points Shameless promotion there

Looks great but I've been out of the industry for more than 20 years now.

 

[flowrider]

I loved my 2002 WJ Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7CRD. great off road, plenty of aftermarket off road enhancements and decent mpg. I replaced it with a 2006 WK Grand Cherokee but didn't like it nearly as much.