Best 4x4 (smallish not needed for trailer)

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Garfield1537

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As title really can anyone recommend a smallish 4x4.
Use will be getting me to yard twice a day (10min trip) and the odd trip to feed merchant! And three days a week a 40 min drive in traffic to work. (Leatherhead - Kingston)
My current car ready for car heaven so thinking little 4x4 would be suitable ESP with the snow as I live on a hill! Dreading getting snowed in : (
 
I like the look of the Skoda Yeti from a size point of view altho I havent driven one. A lot of peeps up here (Cairngorms) drive Subarus too, the only downside is that until recently all of them were petrol but if you dont need to tow then thats less of a consideration.

Winter tyres will make any 2wd as good as a 4x4 in terms of grip too, so worth considering.(best of all is a 4x4 with winter tyres of course)
 
What about a normal family estate fitted with 4 wheel drive if you don't need the clearance? Or if you're thinking small and economical a Suzuki Jimny - 4wheel drive and 1.3 engine. :-)
 
the only reason I didnt originally suggest Panda 4x4 was size if you were making trips to feed store etc - they are lovely but pretty limited for carrying feed/bedding! But if it would be big enough they are good, altho Fiat are a pain, they keep supplying them to UK and then stopping for a couple of years and then starting again, so they are less plentiful than they should be. There are two types of 4x4 panda, one is Climbing and I cant remember the name of the other one. One is more 4x4 all the time type and the other one is more 2wd with option of 4wd and the 4wd system may be different/not so rugged, so check out the model too if looking

Also look at Daihatsu Terios
 
Hi ROG, i certainly wouldn't suggest the Jimny for anyone wanting to tow a big trailer but for the OP's needs it's an option and could tow a trailer with a couple if bags of feed :-)
 
The 4x4 panda would be a great buy. The medics on Mt Vesuvius drive them as they can get up the foot paths! Space wise we used to get 5bales of shavings in a polo without needing a trailer or roof rack. Many people don't get more than that in a small 4x4. Incidentally we also used to drive it off road and in deep snow and it would get through anything often passing 4x4s! We only struggled when snow/mud was above axle height!
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
Winter tyres will make any 2wd as good as a 4x4 in terms of grip too, so worth considering.(best of all is a 4x4 with winter tyres of course)
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I put 4 winter tyres on my 1799cc Ford Focus last week. Best money ever spent,, it gripped it's way up and down the hills to the yard this morning like a landrover.

With it's normal tyres on it would not have got off the drive. Winter tyres are brilliant.
 
I wouldn't bother with the Fiat oanda to be honest unless you really don't need a larger car. I looked at them a little bit when I traded in my Suzuki Vitara - now that was a FAB car, I had the new model, 3 door 1.6DDis. BRILLIANT in the snow as is 4x4 but has a high and low ratio gear box with diff lock. It was excellent round our steep hilly field for work in the summer and we have a ridiculously steep hill to get to the field which you can't get up in the snow/ice in a 2WD car. I barely noticed in the Vitara. The downside is the tax band but I think that's lower now than it was.

Sadly I had to trade mine in as bought a house and couldn't afford the finance and a mortgage. I still wanted a 4X4 car though so was looking at the Suzuki SX4 but they were very hard to find the actual 4WD version. However, Fiat do the sedici which is the same car but fiat only bought the 4X4 models. It has been very good actually - it'a about the same size as a Focus so decent room for passengers as well and is 2WD most of the time with the option of auto 4X4 where it will go to 4WD if needed or you can lock it in 4WD mode where it can go upt to 40mph in 4WD so only needed in especially bad driving conditions.

It has coped really well too (not AS good as the Suzuki but pretty good and not expensive cars to buy). I had looked at the panda but there was not much difference in price really and tax band they are similar but you get more car for your money with the sedici/suzuki SX4.
 
How about an Audi estate? They do a lot of them in 4wd.

A friend of mine picked up an 1999 a4 estate from eBay, less than a grand, 2.7 litre diesel, 4wd, reliable and huge amounts of room.

I do love my freelander, gets me wherever I need to go on the farm but I don't use it to tow mind and I don't recommend it unless like me you have an mechanic for an OH (its on its 3rd engine!)
 
I know someone on a nearby yard who has a fiat panda and they have been able to zoom round our (very!) snowy roads/countryside in the last couple of days,no probs.:)
 
Also like the freelander, I don't tow with mine but have had one for 10 years now (well two in that time) and they are great in snow. It will have enough space inside for most normal trips to the feed store (though not a huge boot tbh). My old petrol one was terribly unreliable but the newer diesel engine is very good, have had this one for just over 3 years and it hasn't broken down more than you expect a landrover to. It's the older sort and one of the plus points is that they are plentiful and pretty cheap, you can get a diesel one from £1k upwards depending on the age/mileage you want.
 
I have a Nissan X-trail.

My dad (mechanic) bought her for me and did lots of research as to which 4X4 was best in terms of ability to tow versus economy.

He narrowed his search down to two models - the X-trail or a Kia Sorrento.

It turned out the X-trail was the best deal locally so I got her.

She tows my single trailer with my draft x without a problem but I can still afford to run her.

Obviously you aren't looking to tow - but thought it might help :).
 
@oberon I had a horrible experience with a KIA Sorrento and a known fault....... Ended up sending it back. It was a total nightmare, you may have had a lucky escape there! Our Nissan navara is more economical than the KIA and is nicer to drive too. Anyone tempted by a Sorrento should google prop shaft issues with them, you can easily end up with a bill for more than the car is worth!
 
Haven't read all replies so sorry if already said. I used to have a Terios. Absolutely fabulous. 100% reliable as all Japanese cars are. Permanent 4WD. Got through awful snow etc in winter of 2010 where bigger 4WDs couldn't! This year, long story but couldn't find a newish Terios for love nor money so bought a new Jimny. Even better than the Terios as it isn't permanent 4WD plus has 4WD hi and lo, electric switch, not gear lever. Got me round the yard today when bigger 4WDs couldn't make it up steep icy hill! Back seats fold down, can cram 4 small bales haylage in, loads bags feed, weekly shop, passengers, you name it. Cheap on fuel. Just as happy to thunder up the M4. Would never have anything else now!
 
I used to love my little rav 4 it did a great job in the muddy fields and lanes, sadly very uneconomical as was an M reg and started falling apart. Not sure what the more updated versions are like
 
I've had my Jimny for just over 3 years and I love it, it's my ideal car. I do low mileage so the fact that it's petrol is no problem for me. There is a diesel version but I was advised against it. I have abused it off road going down to the yard and I work shifts so am often driving before the snow ploughs and gritters have been out and it has been brilliant.

With the seats down in the back you can get quite a bit in it, but with passengers the boot is tiny. Also if you do have to take passengers it's not great because the doors aren't very long and it's not easy shoving people in the back. Once you have shoe horned them in the back seats are rather uncomfortable too. But again passengers in the back is a once a year occasion for me so I'm not concerned.

Mine has heated seats which I love because I find it quite slow to heat up on a cold morning.

There are various 4wd options so for normal road driving you can keep it in 2wd.

Good luck car shopping!!
 
I have a mitsubishi outlander warrior which is a diesel. I did tons of research into which car to buy, I wanted an economical 4x4 that could carry feed, tack etc and my baby son and all his gubbins, plus get me to work in the snow.
I am delighted with it, MASSIVE boot and gets 42 mpg on average. It took a while to find it as there aren't that many about and I had to travel 100 miles to get it but worth the effort to get what I wanted. One of the main advantages is you can manually switch it to 2wd for the summer to save even more fuel! It is huge and the boot door goes flat for ease of lifting feed sacks in and out. Plus it will tow a small trailer - 410 or similar. The heater on it warms up within about 2 mins so it's ace in winter. it's massive but drives like a car, really comfy on longer journeys.
Sadly some old duffer pranged it so it's in the body shop getting fixed! Gutted!
I have a 'replacement' Mini countryman which is 4x4. Been excellent in the snow BUT small on bootspace! No more than 2 feed bags in boot.
My friend lives at the bottom of a hill in a vllage and has the 4x4 panda, it never fails to get him out and to work! It's very economical too. But he's a surfer and has to carry his boards on the roof... Looks really funny to see!
 
guesstimation said:
I used to love my little rav 4 it did a great job in the muddy fields and lanes, sadly very uneconomical as was an M reg and started falling apart. Not sure what the more updated versions are like
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My brother has a rav 4 M reg as their holiday car in Spain and loves it. They off road and he finds it cheap as simply buy bits for it when it is bashed and sticks them on. It has been very reliable. Another good friend has a Rav 4 which is now 10 years old and she has used it to drive to Austria with their dog when they go skiing. That is really mountainous and the Rav has had no problems.
 
I have a diesel skoda Octavia estate that is 4wd and I love it! I wanted to get a Scout but it was a bit too expensive, this one isn't quite so chunky but is still higher up than a normal Octavia. It is automatic (though I can put in manual if required) and I always get at least 50mpg out of it unless on a very short trip.

It drives beautifully and has plenty of room in the boot (I have three pointers), it is the best car I've ever had!
 
Tillypup said:
I have a diesel skoda Octavia estate that is 4wd and I love it! I wanted to get a Scout but it was a bit too expensive, this one isn't quite so chunky but is still higher up than a normal Octavia. It is automatic (though I can put in manual if required) and I always get at least 50mpg out of it unless on a very short trip.

It drives beautifully and has plenty of room in the boot (I have three pointers), it is the best car I've ever had!
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My friend has the Scout and she raves about it. She's had every 4X4 over the years and this is her favourite. It tows her IW401 and cob easily too.
 
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