What to Buy - 4x4 £4000

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Tue 27 Mar 2012 11:04
What to Buy - 4x4 £4000 - Harry Hammer

Hi all,

I've got £4000 to spend and looking for a family soft offroader 4x4. Ideal for family needs and with covering 10k miles a year petrol or diesel is not important.

Looking at RAV4, X-Trail, Freelander, Grand Vitara and can pick up some 50k milers on 03/53 reg's on each of the models I've mentioned.

Which would be your choice?

Edited by Harry Hammer on 27/03/2012 at 11:05

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Tue 27 Mar 2012 19:42
What to Buy - 4x4 £4000 - Bobbin Threadbare

Honest John tends to recommend Suzukis; they've got good ground clearance and they're apparently quite cheap to run. I'd heard good things about the X-trail (it's a monster!) but it's mpg is pretty poor. The RAV4 has a really good driving position - easy to get in and out of and good for a bad back! Not bad running costs either and the spare wheel is a proper one.

Edited by Bobbin Threadbare on 27/03/2012 at 19:42

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Wed 28 Mar 2012 00:06
What to Buy - 4x4 £4000 - Avant

For reliability, definitely Japanese and petrol. The RAV-4 is smaller than the X-Trail so it deoends what your ideal size is.

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Thu 29 Mar 2012 07:07
What to Buy - 4x4 £4000 - oldtoffee

Avoid the Freelander. A Subaru Forester with the 2 litre non turbo engine would make it on my short list.

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Thu 29 Mar 2012 09:08
What to Buy - 4x4 £4000 - NARU

An alternative option would be an imported hilux surf. They are about that sort of money and are essentially landcruisers under a 5-seat skin.

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Thu 29 Mar 2012 09:40
What to Buy - 4x4 £4000 - evilmoo
I have had a hilux surf, x-trail and landcruiser Colorado

The x-trail is not a great car - dear to repair and the petrol is very juicy. They are more like a big estate to be honest

The surf is a great car but are imports so insurance is twice the price. Also they are rear wheek drive and have a lot of power so mine wandered off sideways several times in the wet, even at low speeds

The landcruiser is a superb car - just sold my old P reg after 3 years - it had done 169k and still drove really well. Never gave me a days trouble. Unfortunately they are also guzzlers - hence why I had to sell mine

I have heard the Rav4 is very good but try to go for a low mileage petrol if you can't get a diesel.

Definitely avoid freelanders at all costs lol

Grand vitaras seem to have a few issues too so do your research

Happy hunting!

:-)
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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?