Or Subaru Outback, you won't find a Diesel Subaru in budget which might be a blessing seeing as how many are up for sale with knocking or worse engines.

Not far from Ludlow is the chap who LPG converted my Outback H6, so there's a thought for you, low mileage Outback pre 03, and get it LPG converted by Toby, you end up with a fast and frugal full time auto 4WD that will do all you ask in comfort.

If you prefer a more traditional 4x4 then a Nissan Terrano might be just the ticket and being somewhat unfashionable and maybe lacking the right image are cheap.

Landcruiser/Patrol very reliable/tough and will go anywhere on the right tyres but you'll be going old and high mileage for £3k.

Edited by gordonbennet on 11/03/2015 at 17:34

For your budget, then a diesel won't have a DPF, which is the big thing to go wrong on newer diesels that don't do much mileage.

But ... for your £3k, you'll get a lot newer petrol version of a small 4*4 than you will a diesel one, and a younger car is less likely to go wrong than a diesel.

We've come up with some suggestions. Subarus suggested by some, I've thrown the Jimny into the mix.

Next bit is down to you. Go do some test drives, see what YOU think. After all, you (and your partner) are going to have to drive whatever you buy on a daily basis.

Local garage said. Better off with petrol as diesels need more running and I only do short journeys 7 miles is my longest run.. What do you think?

An old school Diesel will be quite happy doing this for you till the cows come home, its the newer ones that can't cope, especially when you throw a DPF into the mix.

The only thing you'll need to do is ensure the engine gets fresh oil and filter regularly, such as every 5k miles, and if there's a cambelt make sure its changed on time instead of mileage, if applicable.

I've got a petrol Landcruiser and trust me petrol 4x4s like a drink.