Help 4x4 your honest opinion!

V

vikkibeth

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 February 2011
Messages
419
Location
Northamptonshire
Visit site
After a bout of pure bad luck we are looking to change this with our next car :-) here's to wish I know!

We had a pathfinder for 5 years, couldn't fault it until last year when it blew its engine, then blew the gasket of its new one twice and then the gearbox started whinning so after spending too much money on it we just didnt want to start paying out for that. So sold it and got a discovery td5 auto (husbands a land rover nut!) and I hate it which is also spurred on by the fact it has spent the last 4 months in and out of the garage (expensive as husband is back at Uni so moneys tight)! Plus it gulps diesel!!! It is our everyday car so must be as good as any 4x4/pick up can do fuel wise, good to pop the kids in as well, we need the towing (it is a work horse as well) so that is a must but above all needs to be on the road more often than off haha!
We have a budget of £5000 Max
We have narrowed it down to old shape l200, Isuzu Rodeo or Kia sorrento.

So let me have it .... Good or bad bits please and if you can MPGs that you are getting would be fantastic
 
I don't think you're going to get a 4x4 that has great mpg to be honest if it’s actually a decent tow vehicle too. However, I think for reliability and economy you can’t go far wrong looking at the Kia Sorrento or the Hyundai Santa Fe (I think the Sorrento has a slight better towing capacity though). My sister just got a Nissan X-Trail (new shape - 08 plate onwards) and that seems good and is a capable tow vehicle.
 
We have an 07 Sorrento and love it.The older models will tow 3.5 tonnes,the newer ones slightly less I think.I tow an old style IF 505 and 2 ponies plus passengers and associated tack and it has never let me down yet.
 
I have a kia sorrento and love it. does 35-40mpg out and about, towing my big mare (600kg) and Ifor hb506 trailer for lesson it costs me £13-15 for 60 mile round trip on little country roads up and down hill. Good in snow last year and ours is 6 yrs old and just had to replace the original battery.
 
We've always had landrovers to pull, best pulling power of the lot, you're hubby is right ( and would get on with mine!! I am a landrover widow :) ). Strangely we have a Landrover TD5 Pursuit and has been great, i towed for the first time on my todd with it and it was fab i must say...and its up for sale!! Fancy it?? :)
 
Lol Mickey I think my Land Rover days are currently over, ours is for sale too :-)
Husband does love towing with it but its all the rest of the stuff like fuel and living in our local garage that does it :-)
 
My Jeep Cherokee does around 29mpg. It's an automatic, nice to drive around as well. I had a Grand Cherokee which was lush but hairstyle.
The Nissan Terranos are also very nice to drive around and do about 30mpg.
I like the look of Kia's as well but haven't had one.
 
For that money I wouldn't buy a kia sorrento, I have posted about it before but I bought one at that kind of price and quickly discovered it needed considerably more spending on it and it wasn't safe to drive.

I was furious and the garage took it back but I found out that major problems with the drive shaft are common but not acknowledged by kia. I wouldn't touch one again.

For your budget I think I'd get a mitsubishi l200.......
 
Hehe, shame sounds like you bought a hiccuppy one...ours has full history etc, never had any problems with it :). Our previous one was a V8 which we had converted to gas, so it started on petrol and switched to gas when moving, more economical and a good runner with more power...sorry but Landrovers are renowned to be the best tow vehicles...in the world ( jeremy clarkson voice) :)
 
I also know far too Many people who have had problems with their Discos as well (all of them said we were stupid to buy one haha!)
Kat thank you for bringing the drive shaft problem up! That's quite a huge thing.
 
My kia has been fab in every way. Economical for a 4x4, comfortable to drive, and very reliable.

Yes the prop shaft did go (assuming that is the same as the drive shaft?!), but that was after doing over 100,000 miles, and have had no other bills other than that in the 8 yrs I have owned it. Also my garage managed to replace it with one from ebay so the bill was only around £500 - after 8 yrs of safe driving and towing, and with no other issues, I am not complaining!

(A thing to note is that the new model does not have the towing capacity of the original.)
 
Another vote for the Sorrento - I bought my 04 for £6k two years ago and it has been worth every penny. Cheap to run in terms of 4WDs, parts are inexpensive and it is reliable, plus the turning circle is amazing - gets you out of all sorts of places when towing. Best vehicle I have ever towed with. It is comfortable and speedy to drive when not towing.

My OH's Mitsu L200 needed a lot of maintenance, parts were expensive, it was thirsty and slow. Also ran a bit too hot for my liking when towing. Also terrible turning circle. OH loved it, as it was a proper boys truck, but it took a lot of keeping.
 
Last edited:
Ive just got a nissan xtrail, 2.2d. 55 plate. That was 5k, it tows 2t which is enough for my horse and a trailer. They had fab reviews. Sorrento's tend to be more money, higher tax, fuel, insurance etc. Generally look better inside and tow more though.
 
I have a Nissan Terrano and love it, before that I had a ford maverick (which was the same car) I hardly notice when I've got the trailer on the back and it's nice to drive. Fuel economy isn't brilliant I get 350 ish miles to a tank full.
 
dornrose said:
I have a Nissan Terrano and love it, before that I had a ford maverick (which was the same car) I hardly notice when I've got the trailer on the back and it's nice to drive. Fuel economy isn't brilliant I get 350 ish miles to a tank full.
Click to expand...

I've got a Terrano as well, and apart from the fact that the garage who sold it to me seemed to have no concept of warranty, it has turned out to be very good once we put some minor things right. Drives like a car (80mph on the motorway is just cruising, unlike my beloved old Trooper which found it a bit like hard work) does in the high '20s to the gallon (hard for me to tell because I do too many short journeys). There are different sizes though - to tow any real weight you need the 3 litre and the LWB (the SWB has very little boot room). You should get one easily enough for your budget, just give it a good check over and look for low mileage, some were worked quite hard.
 
I didn't feel the Sorrento I towed with really had the grunt for the job. It just felt a bit under powered. Same with the Shogun Sport which I think has the same engine as the L200. Both did the job, it just wasn't always 100% enjoyable (had to be very picky with gears and going up steep inclines was slow!).

I have a Hyundai Terracan and I love it as a tow car. It is so so as a car car, 32mpg at best and fairly agricultural, but it tows like there isn't anything behind it so I love it anyway.

That said I was towing 2 fatty lumpkins so I imagine if only one on board you'd be fine and as I say, they both did the job, I just prefer my Hyundai!

Plus, all that said, if I didn't have what I have I would have the Sorrento and I reckon I'd be happy with it.

I wouldn't have the Shogun Sport though!
 
Last edited:
Another vote for sorento,
Had a minor breakdown last winter (water got in fuel filter, froze & cracked filter)
Recovery driver commented that he rarely gets called out to sorentos & is so impresses with them he bought 1 himself - says a lot.
Tows 2 15.2 ish natives in an Ifor505 without trouble, 30-35 mpg, but newer ones have lower tow capacity.
 
I have a Terrano which I love - LWB 2.7D; used to tow a HB510 with 2 large horses no problem at all. Fuel-wise, I only get about 25MPG - but my journeys are usually short (yard is less than 2 miles from home) which puts the usage up higher. When I was first looking at getting a tow-car, the Terrano came out tops on all the surveys I read at the time.
 
Well currently we do about 350 on £100 but that's not a full tank but that's our average weeks driving. Same journeys we were doing nearly 460 miles on £90 in the Pathfinder. It's always so hard to make that final decision.
 
Love my Sorento - towing capacity is good enough for my 700kg and 625 kg monsters! Man on duty in the muddy field at the hunter trials a few months back said they were one of the few cars he never needs to help tow out of that very bad entrance.Its a car not a truck, comfy and not too bad on fue. It did have to have new engine management thingy which was costly and other work, but even with that hassle I would buy another. Mine has now done 150000 and has a few funny noises and a warning beep that we cant identify!
 
Jesstickle said:
I didn't feel the Sorrento I towed with really had the grunt for the job. It just felt a bit under powered.
Click to expand...

I'm amazed at that - I tow my Bateson Ascot (1 tonne) plus my two 16.2hh warmbloods with ease - I'm in the Cumbria, so we head up and down some fair hills. Mine is the 2.5TD - not sure if that is all it comes in, but as I said, it tows our two far better than the L200 2.5TD did. I like that feeling of not feeling like there is anything behind you too Jesstickle :)

The only thing I am slightly worried about is that I have a bit of rust starting to come up on mine, but it did live by the sea for a while :(
 
Was probably a different generation pp and like I say, it was number two on my list after what I have so it did pretty well!

Plus mine is a PITA to get parts for etc so the Kia wins hands down on that front. If I had to swap to the Sorento tomorrow I wouldn't be that upset about it :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top