Which small 4x4 do you recommend?

Can you please advise me as to what small 4x4 you would recommend to buy - taking into account emissions, a good driving experience, reliability and ride quality, and a big enough engine to gave reasonable performance?

Asked on 11 May 2013 by HB, via email

Answered by Honest John
The smallest is the Fiat Panda 4x4, either 0.9 TwinAir or 1.3 Multijet diesel - a TwinAir recently broke the Cape to London record driven by Philip Young. The next smallest was the Toyota Urban Cruiser 1.4 D-4D 4WD, but that is now discontinued. Of comparable size, the MINI Countryman ALL4, Nissan Juke 1.6DIG-T CVT AWD, or the Suzuki SX4 AWD. There's also the Vauxhall Mokka (which I haven't driven). And, coming soon, the Peugeot 2008, Renault Captur and Ford EcoSport, though at least two of these will be offered with trick front diffs rather than 4WD. The ageing Suzuki Jimny is not nice to drive on the road.
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