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I need an economical 4x4 for towing a horse box

I've had a 1.0-litre VW Polo for 12 years and it is sadly coming to the end of its life.

I need to replace it with a 4x4 that can also pull a horse box. I recently moved to a house at the bottom of a track in the countryside, and apparently I will get totally cut off in the winter when it snows unless I have a 4x4 to get up the hill.

The car also needs to be able to pull a light, single-horse horse box (the weight of the horse box and the horse will be around 1500kg) and ideally shouldn't be very thirsty, as I will be doing about 20,000 miles a year in it.

I would also like to keep under the 3.5t limit to avoid an expensive trailer test, so would rather the car wasn't too heavy itself.

As a devoted Polo owner, I am not sure where to begin and would welcome any advice on what I should be looking at. My budget is about £18,000 and I am open to used or new cars.

Asked on 23 November 2011 by Gee Gee

Answered by Honest John
Mitsubishi Outlander 2.2 manual. But for your budget it will need to be 2nd hand, maybe 12 months old, if you can find one. Demand for 4x4s is currently high in anticipation of winter, so prices are also high.
Dear Honest John,

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