The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: garden cottage on March 07, 2009, 06:50:57 am
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slightly odd post, makes a change from animals ;D, our ford galaxy has died,so Im presently looking for a 4x4 to do all the towing etc running costs are v important the only 2 i have found are nissan xtrail and honda crv that will give me 39 mpg, what 4x4s are you guys and gals running?
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We have a nissan patrol, m reg, pulls weight with ease like no other 4x4. Is heavy to drive but a fab car. Also a series 11 landy and a range rover. Have had a freelander, was husbands company car but it was definately a toy in comparison to the others.
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Hello,
We've had Landrovers in the household for the past twenty years. Started with a '76 Range Rover (V8 Petrol) which was a money pit, then went on to Discovery's. Both the 300tdi ('94) and the TD5 ('99) were reliable. The TD5 did 233K miles up until retirement (of the car) as the gear box was starting the grumble and I didn't want to be spending more on it than the car was worth. The present one a TDV6 ('07) hasn't shown any signs of bother and is by far the best car we've had in the household in terms of comfort, towing ability (it tows a 12x6 Ifor Williams trailer with no moaning at all) and off road ability - i.e. driving into the fields with the trailer to pick up stock.
It all depends on usage really. If it's down to a choice of smaller 4x4's the new shape Freelander would be the most capable, if it's down to ultimate reliability the Honda would be my choice (we've also had Honda's albeit cars - Civics & Jazzs).
Cheers
Gavin
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SKODA Octavia Scout. Trust me.
Had a Freelander and it was the only vehicle I've ever owned in 40+ yrs of driving that I had to be towed in. Not to mention the brake failure leaving the multi storey car park, the wiper motor failure, and the total respray due to hand prints showing all over it. Less than 3 yrs old lost lots of money on it and it was the TD4 which I was told was the only one to have.
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Kia Sportage and love it, will change it next year and probably get the bigger Sorrento.
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Hi,
We have a toyota hilux surf - it's an oldie but a goodie as they say !
After watching the 'Top Gear' guys try, and fail, to wreck one I thought it'd be the perfect choice for hubby (who's pretty hard on cars!) It also has the bonus of being able to run on a 50/50 mix of diesel and vegetable oil and this keeps costs down. ;D
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Nissan X Trail 2.2 diesel. We know nothing about cars so looked on "What Car" used car, 4x4 and the X Trail was No 1. We've not had it long and don't do many miles though. It seems quite greedy round the town but it's fab on a long journey. Went to Carlisle to a sale and seemed to be there in no time. It's really nice to drive.
Only drawback so far is that its the Sport model ( there weren't many for sale) and it has awful "chrome" bars round the bottom - they are really naff and it's on Dan's list to remove them!
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We've just bought a '91 Landrover Discovery as a work horse. It's in great condition and the fully comp insurance is only £100!!
Brilliant vehicle.
carole
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Here's my ex-mil 110 soft-top green beast. Fitted with a Wolf roll-cage in the rear,6 ton winch on the front,off-road tyres with a 6 inch lift and rock bars.Runs on a 2.5 turbo diesel n/a from a Disco. Wouldn't be without it now....... Ree
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sorry to say, we have 3 of the dreaded gas guzzlers. a disco tdv6, which is my every day car, tractor, taxi, van,trailer puller etc. my wife runs a lexus hybrid (she loves it, i tolerate it) and an old 1977 landrover rebuild which is a long whel base, 110 with trick axles? which i tinker with as part of my work involves making tools n stuff for landrovers.It is a truly disgusting vehicle which runs on any deisel type derivative and , when running, pulls for britain. useful for removing stumps, towing huts and chain harrowing paddocks. i have the disco out of brand loyalty, but expense apart i love it. i have had series one range rovers before and this disco beats them hands down all round. i want a defender limited edition with a different engine, or a bowler, but hey that would be outrageous. the japanese 4x4s are all pretty reliable, it just depends how hardore you need it to be.
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MrRee, you have a fine taste in Land Rover products !! Here's a pic of our beast, like you we wouldn't be without it now - the perfect smallholders vehicle / tractor !! ;D
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Have no 4x4, but currently a Transit van (great, and very useful, but it does get stuck in the mud!), an x reg Vauxhall astra, and the other half still has his Honda Civic TypeR. However, the TypeR isn't very practical now he has moved in here (has already crashed once because it couldn't cope with a centimetre of snow), plus he has his race car which needs towed about. Currently the van tows it, but he looking to get rid of the TypeR, and get something else, potentially a 4x4.
Have a friend with the a Kia Sorento, and he swears by it, so we have been looking at them. Also had a look at the Nissan Xtrail, but not seen one in the flesh yet.
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I must admit i really liked my Subaru Forester, but it was a little bit thirsty and the parts were expensive. So now my wonderful Zafira takes me everywhere - except when it snows - then I stay at home ;D
John had an old Shogun LWB which would go anywhere but the bodywork isn't suited to this country so it eventually disintegrated
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Mr Ree.. I am in love with your 4x4, just what I want.. one day I will have one ;D
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Mine is a 1999 toyota hilux, single cab. With the high canopy on it. It is the bestestestesst ever!. 2,5 litre, not too greedy.
The canopy is big enough that when I go to riding club camp i can sleep in it comfortably. It has carpet down and i have a little gas cooker, lights, a mattress and bedding, music system, hooks for clothes etc. and still have space for storing bits and bobs. Those things are permentantly kept in the hilux in case i get caught out when i am on call for theatres, and I still have room for collecting feeds shaving setc. I even slept in it last new year when i went visiting up north. Everyone thinks its crazy untill they see how it is set up like a mini caravan.
because of the way the tailgate comes down and the canopy tail flips up I also have a perfect all weather seat for jump judging at cross countries...I dont know what Ill do when i eventually have to give the hilux up. Mind you it only has 120k on the clock so should be able to double that. This is the exact toyota model that top gear tried to destroy and failed!!!! he he he
Emma
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I must admit i really liked my Subaru Forester, but it was a little bit thirsty and the parts were expensive.
I LOVE my scoobies !
But do agree that they're thirsty beasts if you're nipping on in them.
I've had 4 legacy estates, all fairly old and bought for around £300, but they just go on forever !
CV joints usually need replaced at 120,000 miles but apart from that I've had no real problems.
Apart from the one year in Aberdeen when we forgot to top the anti freeze and got caught out with a sharp frost that resulted in a cracked engine block ::), but even with this fatal injury it still managed to haul 10 Llylandii trees out of the ground and drive to the scrappie before giving up completely!
I've managed through floods that stopped a landrovery discovery in it's tracks and in the snow the low ratio gearbox outdoes itself - I've driven LOTS of cars in my time but the suberu is definately my top pick (But I'm going to go & cry into my cup of tea now cos I've got a fiesta at the moment and it's just not the same :'()
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I used to have a series 3 landy.....wonderful vehicle for real tough jobs. I use a Ford Courier van for normal and business use but had to have a 4x4 as we are on a very steep slope as anyone who comes here will vouch for ::)
We need to get down to the woodland and pull our trailer so......when my landy got to the point of spares only I bought very very cheaply coz no one else wanted it, an Isuzu Trooper.............on ebay........... :o :o :o and I have now had it for 3 years and its amazing......will pull anything anywhere AND it dosent leak when its raining!!!! :D
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Well we run a 3 year old Discovery TDV6, our second landrover. Yup it certainly is a gas guzzler, but is def the right car for us. We were one of those dreaded familys who drove a 4 x 4 in the city before we moved out to rural life, and woe betide anyone who has a go at me! Our old Landrover helped to save my daughters life, I took her to the Docs as she was unwell, the rash was covering her body with incredible speed - yup it was Meningitis and I did not recognise the signs at home. We lived in the West End of Glasgow, this was busy a Friday afternoon at 4.30 and the River Kelvin had flooded the Ambulance could not get through, the roads were gridlocked. The Doc said I was to drive and we would have to take her to hospital ourselves we eventually made it through the traffic and the floods and my daughter was rushed into intensive care. Thankfully she survived with no physical disibility but it took her a long time to recover, the Docs at the hospital said us taking her and the quick action of my G.P saved her. Anyway on a lighter note, we car share with 2 other families for the school run so it carries 6 big kids with plenty of space for all their gear,its transported our aged Mothers around who live/have lived with us and of course its a great workhorse around the place pulling ponies/pigs/sheep. We are happy to do trailer runs for friends who may need it. Yeah for the 4 x 4 's!
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I have a 1998 defender 90 CSW. Goes anywhere does anything !! I've only ever had landrovers, I learnt to drive in one, my first being a 1952 pickup with PTO (wish I still had it). I only replaced the last defender 90 as it was stolen. :( My husband had a disco for a while but it made me feel very travel sick, even when driving it ::)
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Mitsubishi shogun 3000 v6, R reg but an amazing car, Tows like a dream and very fast, its an automatic and when towing you wouldnt know there was anything behind it. Before that we had a landrover discovery which although I loved it at the time on changing it for the mitsubishi there is no comparisom. My car not only has to work it also has to be a comfortable driving car and the mitsubishi will cruise down to the south of france no problem at all, in comfort (leather heated seats etc) which the landrover would certainly not have done. Both the shogun and the landrover are 7 seaters but again the 2 back seats in the landrover are uncomfortable whilst the shoguns can be classed as 'proper' seats. Depends if you need a comfortable driving car as well as a workhorse, the mitsubishi will do both.
My oh has a landrover freelander which he doesnt rate as highly as the toyota rav 4 he had before. very much a toy 4x4 which isnt really up to much, having said that it has taken me across wet fields!
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Garden Cottage what is your budget as I think it makes a big difference. There are loads of older 4x4s around for a good price. It is handy if you can repair cars too and get hold of spare parts reasonably priced. What about the working cars instead of typical 4x4? Volvos go on for ever.
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We used to have a Toyota Prado then a Range Rover Sport. The Range Rover was brilliant. Fast, good on and off road and great to drive. We now have a Merc C270 estate - which is great on on roads - terrible off them, so we are looking for a Kia Sportage as a second car. These little Kia's are a damn good workhorse if you find one with low mileage. You can pick up a 2003 model for about £1700!!
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thanks for all the replies, still looking- re tax increases next year were looking at nice 2002-2003 discoverys that was until the tax on anything after 2001 march with a TD5 engine in will be £400.00 ouch
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Ah,to be living in France,no road tax!!! ;D smiles cos there's no icon for "rubbing it in" .......... Ree
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must be some down side to france surely, I hope an angry french farmer sticks a pitchfork in your tyre (only joking)..................neil
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they all drive on the wrong side of the road for one :D
Gavin
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and they talk so blooming fast I for one cant understand a word!!! smiling goes a long way though even if they do think you are just a little bit mad.......... :D
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well weve bitten the bullet and gone for a nissan x trail, chuffed to bits with it. just ticks all the boxes for us,superb tow car 136 bhp 40mpg lovely to drive and car like comfort with 4wd on the flick of a switch.