Thinking of buying a 4x4...any suggestions appreciated

[wench]

I have been toying with the idea of buying 1 4x4 for a while, whilst not only being useful horsey wise (towing!!!), I work on building sites (mud, bumps, ruts, more mud), and live on a farm!

However I can do anything between 20 - 25k miles a year. I know they are expensive fuel wise, but my gorgeous little astra is just getting hammered and gutted.

I am a big landie fan, and ideally I would like to buy a 90, but I know they are somewhat more expensive than other models.

I would either be looking at a 90, nissan navara (crew cab pick up) or ford ranger. I have max of £8k to spend, and need something with relativley low milage ie 15,000-20,000 due to the miles i will put on it.

Answers on a post card pls!!!

 

[Pasha]

We have a Discovery and love it to bits - it's Diesel so not too expensive to run

 

[zulu705]

Isuzu Trooper 3.1TD
I had one and it was great towing. Get a LWB one though as not having back doors in the SWB really annoyed me!
Don't get a Frontera as its really awkward to hitch with the spare wheel attached.

 

[rema]

I love the Landie's and we have a 90 tdi.But as you said they are fairly expensive but would be ideal for your job,towing and the farm.For a 90 with 15-20k on the clock you would be looking for a newish model.We got ours with 75k on the clock and on a 98 plate for just over 8k.

 

[Chumsmum]

I've got a Trooper and love it. I've got the SWB 'cause I thought they looked cutier

but wish I had bought the LWB now. It's a lot better than my old 4x4 on fuel - however that was a 4.0 Grand Cherokee so not much competition really! Troopers are great for towing and feels tough like a 90 but not as 'agricutural'?? However, I have got a soft spot for Landrovers - we had one when we were kids

 

[lizzie_liz]

my parents love the Isuzu Trooper 3.1TD, we had one which we had for 6 years and put 100,000 miles on the clock, but its near the end of its life, but has pulled 2 16hh horses 230 miles every 6 weeks and in the summer be pulling them several times a week. it pulled really well.

dad has just bought another Isuzu W reg off of ebay with 90,000 miles on the clock as he loved the previous one so much.

you also have plenty of space in the whole car with a good size boot

 

[filly190]

Buy a four track, they two 3.5 tons and are just as good as landrover. They are not made any more, unfortunately as I would be the first the buy a new one. Mine has done 120K, tows my Ifor with two 17h middle weights and I cant feel a thing. I bought it this year for £3.5K, best money I have ever spent.

I only wanted something to tow with and a friend in the motor trade found me, my four track.

 

[Blackhawk]

Thoughts on a Shogun 3.0 TD LWB?

 

[Molineux]

Well if you buy a brand new Disco then you get a trailer free at the moment

 

[sunnylynn]

I have a Nissan Terrano which I love.
I would suggest having a look through what car? magazine, it will tell you all the info from MPG to insurance to price guides.

 

[cariadssogreat]

Ditto Filly 190 - Fourtraks are fab - we're actually gutted we got rid of our x reg. Was the best we ever had!

 

[Marilyn]

Toyota Hi Lux, my husband has got one and it's amazing. It's a double cab so seats four and you've got space at the back for hay and that. The steering is amazingly light, tows anything no problem and really good on fuel. We had a Disco but it couldn't hold a candle to this. It's also fairly quick too and it's a 2.4 TD

 

[seabiscuit]

Dhiatshu Fourtrack everytime. If you read all the reports on them they are the best for towing and are also the most economical on fuel. Shoguns, Troopers, Jeeps are STUPIDLY thirsty on fuel- they only do 14-18 miles to the gallon .Discovery's are unreliable cars,break down a lot, and swerve on the motorways etc, and are also thirsty.

Toyota Hillux Surfs are lovely cars but they do NOT really have the towing capacity- towing capacity is only 2150 kg so would only tow one horse in an Ifor Williams trailer and would be very close to the towing capacity- too close- really you want the car to be just towing 80% of its towing capacity. Dhiatshu Fourtrack tows 3500kg so is more than capable of towing 2 large horses in a trailer.It also does 25-30 miles to the gallon. Tows superbly- gives the horse a super ride and you do not feel you are towing. It is also great for zooming about town on. Fab car.

 

[LEC]

We had a fourtrak its good for towing but not as good as the landrover defender we have now. Also the fourtrak is very uncomfortable for long journeys if you need it as a car as well. Mind you ours was K reg and we sold it last year so might have improved. The landrover is brilliant tows like a dream, never gets stuck and its actually really good on diesel. We have towed over 100 miles on 25 quid.

 

[lornaA]

Can I just say be very carefull in checking the towing capacity of 4x4's. We changed ou car last year and we shocked at how low the towing capacity is for some of them. Some of the models i regularly see towing 2 x 16.2 horses are bearly legal to be towing one big horse or 2 ponies. I had my heart set on a nice 4x4 but when it came down to it we settled on a ford mondeo 2litre tdi which tows my trailer and one horse for fun and has the capacity to tow my horse and a pony if need be.