Need a 4x4 for £7k - what do you recommend?

Having just moved to countryside, we need to buy a 4x4 to cope with country lanes and our steep drive. The car will do long journeys (+1hr) at least fortnightly, but day to day will be mostly short journeys (school runs/supermarket trips, etc) so a petrol engine seems to be most appropriate.

My wife would prefer an automatic but could be persuaded otherwise if there is just cause. Our budget is around £7000, but ideally less. What do you recommend?

Asked on 3 October 2014 by andersonrca

Answered by Honest John
A CR-V probably makes the most sense and a 2006-2009 CR-V 2.2iCTDI does not have a DPF to worry about so would do the job. You could go for a 2.0iVTEC auto, but they are sluggish and use a lot of fue, maybe twice as much as a manual diesel.
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