Hi everyone
as some of you may have read I had a 'near miss' with my estate car a couple of weeks back and although I am driving it again I have decided that it now doesn't 'feel right'.
Hubby has said he will buy me a nice big 4x4 for the dog and the kids...second hand!..not that rich LOL.
Question is ...Which one??
Anybody got any advice for or against any make of 4x4 before I go and spend the most money I ever have on a car...frightening!!
Archer

I am not very good with cars but the mercedes jeep thingy is really nice my friend has one with 3 kids and 2 dogs and of course you cant beat a range rover!!! I am not an expert my opinions are based on looks alone but I am sure a more experienced person will advise

BUY JAPANESE!  Very reliable, excellent back up service.  AVOID Land Rovers and Range Rovers, totally unreliable and a lousy back up service.  You could look at second hand Land Cruisers (Toyota) you will definitley not be disappointed.
Dawn.

My horse magazine (Your Horse) has an article on which 4X4 to buy, not sure of your price range, so I've chosen the middle one £5,000-£10,000.

Utilitarian: Isuzu Trooper 3.5 Citation 5d Auto. Nissan Terrano 2.7 TDi SE Touring 5d

Easy to drive: Hyundai Santa Fe. 2.4 5d

Well Equipped: Land Rover Range Rover 4.0 SE

If you pick up a copy of the Parkers Car Price guides, it usually give the pros and cons and things to look out for.

HTH

liberty :)

Well can only speak from experience but swear by landrover. not however those poncy things that people take their kids to the shops in :(  (freelanders??)but a real proper landy....a Defender. I have had two from new plus a whole heap of oldies....in fact have an oldie in the wings as we speak :). They are easy to maintain & brilliant service from dealership etc if you get a newer one.

Defender! The real work horse! We get 8 adults, 3 children and 7 dogs in the back of a Defender 110 as well as the driver and front seat passenger, and of course one riding the spare wheel! I'm at the moment looking for a Defender 90 (old one) or a Series 3

Best wishes, John

On Home Truths on Radio 4 last week (yes I am a sad old bag) there was a guy on there that had been driving a landrover for 47 years, same engine and gearbox; had driven all over the world in it; did not state mileage though.

Not the most comfortable car I have ever sat in but they are made to last and be easily fixable in "the great outdoors"

I have just got a Renault Kangoo 4x4, I think it is great. It is light, economical, loads of room for the dogs, kids etc.
I love Home Truths, its a great programme.
Amos

The Toyota Hilux Surf great price 5 seater with loads of room in the back check out www.plumcars.com most have about 40-65,000 for about £3,500 we have had 3, and they go on and on, my son got the first off us and my daughter has the second and we have just bought another as there is loads of room for 4 large dogs. if you look on ebay that will give you some idea of the price they are going for for a low milage 3,000 ltr 4 x 4 . then find a good Jap car dealer. and we have not problem with parts.

We never got our 4X 4 in the end, as we recently decided to make big life changes and so have to watch the piggy bank, but one thing i always do when checking out a new vehicle is to look at the safety ratings. I believe they are for front impact, maybe others more knowledgeable will be able to elaborate on that. Our Astra Estate is a 4 out of 5 for safety, it is amazing that many popular cars are just 3 out of 5. One thing i have heard about 4 X 4s is that they are more likely to roll if one has to swerve suddenly, however i love them and still want one one day.....

Good luck with your search, i am envious <g> :)

Lindsay
X

I've recently replaced my old mazda estate and fancied something 4x4ish and living in the deep countryside felt I could justify it.  I was so disappointed when I went to look as most didn't have much room in the back.  You needed a Range Rover to even begin to get the same amount of space as my estate.

In the end I had a Seat Cordoba Estate but I have to have my new dog box custom made.

As usual I will recommend the Nissan X-Trail :D .  Mentioned on Top Gear the other night when they were giving some of the results from the safety survey and did very well for both those inside and outside the car - I think they said that if you are a pedistrian and want to be hit by any 4x4 then choose the X-Trail as you have most chance of survival .

If I could afford it, I would go for the Mitsubishi L200 kingcab.  We've got one for work at the moment and they are fab.  Drives like a car, goes absolutely anywhere and has the back seats.  Plus, loads of room for the dogs in the back.

At the moment, we have a daihatsu fourtrak fieldman which is great for the dogs but not so great for us.  We're switching back to an estate car and using the land rover when we need a 4wd.

Helen

Arccher are you going to East of England as Enid and Malcolm have the Hilux 4x4 and are very pleased with it.

Have just read that drivers of 4 x 4 are to be charged more than double when entering congestion charge areas.
They will pay £10 instead of £4 - dont know whether you enter these areas but if so its something to bear in mind

Hi I`ve had 3 different ones over the last few years, mitsubushi shogun rubbish! land rover discovery rubbish! both always had these annoying electrical faults and didn`t drive that well you also get the roll when going round corners although I`m sure a lot of people must get use to it, best by far is the Isuzu trooper I`ve had it 3 years now and I can honestly say we haven`t had 1 problem with it and she drives really lovely, the dogs love it as well plenty of room, take your time looking there are a lot of good cars out there at the moment but also a lot not so good, and be carefull where you buy it from, but when you get one Happy safe motoring x

the rav4 is cute , . merc 4x4 is lovely  , the bmw is better but i love the lexus . even the porch is nice but i dont think its roomy enough . sorry im babling i love 4x4s :)
Try looking at
WWW.motorpoint.co.uk

Landrover ..... the best 4 by 4 by far ...... Got to be a "proper" one though, none of yer rubbishy Freelanders!!!! Ours is nearly 40yrs old, if it was a choice between me & his Landrover, I know what decision OH would make!!!!
http://www.parkers.co.uk/

Hi everyone
thanks for all the advice!! We have been looking no stop at 4x4's...till yesterday!! We had looked at sooooo many and none seemed right.
By accident we passed a Ford Galaxy people mpv in one of the garages....and immeadiately decided that with the 4 kids they would be much better for us.I hadn't realised how all the 2 rows af back seat came out making it into either a VERY large estate or a 'van'....and so I went today and bought one. Its second hand but its very nice and we got so much more for our money.
Thanks again to every one
Archer

Hi,

We currently have a Vauxhall Zafira Elegance, which seats 7, so plenty of room for children or dogs ,lots of combinations of seating arrangements to suit your every need.
No problems here however our next choice is going to be a Chysler they look fab as well and come very highly recommended with prices to suit all.

Briony:-) Happy choosing.