Anyone drive a 4x4?

GingerTrotter

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Does anyone drive a 4x4? i can only afford one car but need a 4x4 for towing.

Currently driving a beat up old Nissan Terrano II but want to trade it in for a newer model - does anyone have a 4x4 on HP?
Does it work out cheaper? how much are your monthly repayments?
 

Rambo

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There is little relevance to the cost of 'hp' that a car is a 4x4. HP, or any other loan is based on the amount borrowed, plus the interest charged, divided by the repayment period.

In general, a 4x4 will tend to be more expensive to run than a smaller sallon or estate car....due in main to the inferior fuel economy of a large 4x4 caused by increased drag, larger engine and usually inferior aerodnamics. Tax is also usully higher due to the increased emmissions.

I drive a petrol Shogun....it does about 20mpg on average (15 when towing!) And the road tax is about £260 per year. It costs about £550 to insure (and i'm in my forties)....but i still figured it was cheaper for me to drive it everyday than it was to run it as a second car (i had a 3 series bmw as my main car). I don't do high mileage....probably 12000 miles a year. If i wanted to do more miles it would be cheaper for me to buy a cheap runaround and pay the extra tax ad isurance etc....

You need t put all the above factors into your equation to get the answer for your situatio.
 

Paddy Irish

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I have a TD5 defender 2004 , I did have a bank loan for it at the time , which was cheaper than having landrover finance at the time . If you buy the Defender with no back windows i.e not the station wagon with the seats in , you will only pay about £185 per year in road tax whereas i think the station wagon is about £400 which is quite a difference. I love my landy and would drive it in preference to our golf TDi any day of the week!
 

Cluny

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I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee, it's fantastic to tow with, but is pretty thirsty on the fuel, due to the fact it has a 3 litre Mercedes engine and that it's an automatic. Road tax is £253 for 6 months(!), but I love it and the kick down is very impressive! Lol!
 

Super_Kat

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I have a Defender 90, 200tdi 1992, best towing vehicle! I am 23 and it costs £350 a year to insure.

if you are towing big and heavy horses a long wheel base may be better a 110 or Discovery 1 or 2.

Who do you insure with? I'm 23 and get SPANKED on insurance!!! (thats with no claims as well :( )
 

dominobrown

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I drive a 51 LandRover disco 2. Its a lot better than the disco 1, land rovers can either be very reliable or the opposite so its all down to luck!
On the fuel front, its costs a lot to fill but actually isn't as bad as I thought. £40 will get me to preston and back easily with some driving in between. The fiat 500 is nearly as bad with fuel! I find its the little stop/start journeys that drink fuel while moterway driving isn't too bad. It tows brillantly, just don't look at the fuel gauge when towing (its depressing!!), but I have a heavy trailer. It is quite powerful, but the turbo lag is quite bad. All landrover TDI's are not brillant though. The new Nissian Narvana isn't bad for towing, even though its a pick up.'

p.s I couldn't get insurance at first (I am 21) but ended up with Zurich who were quite reasonable if I was a named driver. I have changed companies this year, (can't remeber who) because Zurich didn't give a very good no claims.
 

keysoe

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Do you "need" a 4x4, any big car will tow just as well - X type tows well, as does big Volvo, plenty of other choices out there
 

dominobrown

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Do you "need" a 4x4, any big car will tow just as well - X type tows well, as does big Volvo, plenty of other choices out there

Depends though, 4x4's are heavier so they can tow more weight. Landrovers are popular because their towing capacity is 3.5 tonnes (not freelander, but defender, disco or rangerover), meanwhile even the biggest volvo is a measly 1.8t.

Now I have 510 Ifor Williams (old one which weighs over 1 tonne) with 2 horses each way approx 600kg each, so I couldn't tow with a volvo without breaking the law. I would of got a smaller cheaper car, but ideally I wanted one with a payload of min 3 tonnes so I know I am legal. Bear this in mind when buying a towing car, as most cross overs have a poor towing capacity.
Here is a handy website :)
http://www.towinghorsetrailers.co.uk/towing_vehicles.htm
 

milz88

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I am insured on my own policy in my name, 4 years NCB with co-operative insurance, that's fully comp! Try adrian flux too, very good! Remember, your occupation, address, where you keep the vehicle etc can make huge differences to premiums.
 

milz88

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Agree with LJR and others, its not just the size of the vehicle for towing, its power and torque for heavy horses, vehicle stability, and of course with 4x4 you are less likely to get stuck on muddy ground.

You'll probably find its as much to tax a big engined estate car as it is to fork out for a Land Rover Defender/Discovery.
 

Pocket_Rocket

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My OH has a Toyota Hilux Surf its old but fab for towing we bought it for £1000 2 years ago and its still going strong! Just goes to show you don't need to spend loads I think we were very very lucky with ours but there are some bargains to be had. The tax is about £190 and the insurance is about £300 using a specialist 4x4 insurance company makes it a lot cheaper.
 

bellatrix

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Had an old Land Rover Discovery. Was ok at pulling the trailer as they can pull up to 3.3 tonne (beast!) but as it was getting rather old (think it was 13?) it wasn't at all reliable and failed to start on numerous occasions, for numerous different reasons! :eek: In the end it failed its MOT because the chassis(?) was basically rusting and rotting away. It went to the scrap yard and I probably wouldn't buy another! :rolleyes:

Then got a Subaru Legacy (which isn't very 4x4-ish!) and can only pull 1.8 tonnes. I sometimes feel it struggles a bit, it also drinks just as much as the old Land Rover! I regret buying this as I really don't feel as safe towing in it as I do in a 'proper' 4 x 4 - for this reason it is being sold and we're getting a Mitsubishi Shogun ( which can pull a hefty 3.3 tonnes).
 

TheoryX1

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I'm on my 2nd shogun. Love them. It has to double for my company car as well, so I make sure I get the top of the range one. Currently have a dark grey Elegance SWB. Its great to drive around town, fuel economy is ok - I have a diesel. Insurance is ok, but then again I am in my 40s. Great for towing my two horses. Mine has been fairly reliable, which I gather is an issue with some of the Range Rovers, which is a shame, as business partner has found a great deal on a very scrummy black top of the range Range Rover, so we shall see. Would definitely recommend Shoguns though, nice to drive as well, easy to park. Would have another one definitely.
 

Llanali

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As above.

I have an old shogun, n reg, and I adore it. We have done a bit of welding, and replaced the water pump, but apart from that touch wood solid as a rock.
I had previously towed with a Honda crv, and a defender 110 and a nissan terrano...... Shogun hands down. Defender towed like a dream but was hard work, and when you're queuing back from a show 2 hours away at 8pm in January, I want heaters which work, and a seat which doesn't resemble the pews in chapel at school lol
 

Cluny

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If you do go for a Terrano and need parts, it's worth bearing in mind that the Ford Maverick is the same vehicle, just with a different badge on.
 

Goldenstar

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I have a defender 90 a great 4x4 and a V8 Range rover, also Fab in a different way but a serious luxury as its very expensive to run. I have had lots of defenders and if I could have only one car that's what I would chose
 

milz88

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As for land rovers being unreliable, well you get your good and your bad eggs! Depends who has previously looked after it/how you do.

Mine is 20 years old and still runs better than clock work, never ever let me down, its only ever had maintainance work done, most capable off roader and on road and the towing capacity speaks for itself. Also, simple, easy to fix! Can't beat a 200/300tdi, you really can't! :)
 
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