[YorkshireLass]

My little car is slowly giving up on life, so starting to research alternatives.


My ideal would be a small (hatchback sized) 4x4. Petrol, because of the recent diesel findings. But enough torque to go up and down the Pennines happily. Cheap to run and insure. Five door preferable, and a square-ish back for carrying dog in the boot. If it's easy to replace bulbs, fuses etc all the better.


4x4 use mainly meaning rough tracks or mud, not mountaineering.


Not much to ask! 


Fiat Panda 4x4 is on the interest list, but for about half the price I'm seeing 2005 Suzuki Grand Vitaras. These are also big enough to tow, which is handy to have (though not currently a necessity).
Anyone had one? Are they ridiculously big (as in "Grand")?

[Bionic]

I have one. Got it secondhand 5.5 years ago. It's an automatic, petrol and has never met me down. Very pleased with it.

[J D]

We had one a few years ago.  Was very reliable but expensive for repairs as it got older.

[Marches Farmer]

Helps if you have a handy agricultural engineer who's good at welding, rather than a specialist garage.

[Shropshirelass]

There's landrover freelanders but their not supposed to be as good as the larger ones like discoverys and defenders.

[carla78]

Don't look great, but always heard good reviews.