Recommend me a 4X4 folk's

[Bonzo]

After attending Stoneleigh show this year, it has become blatantly obvious that I can no longer drive a normal saloon, long distance.

By the time I arrived at Stonelegh, I was trashed buy the 5 hour drive .... Talking serious pain here, almost to the point of blacking out every time I encountered a roundabout or sharp bend :eek:
Even more wrecked by the time I got home again .... Still feeling a little wonky but look forward to re-starting my build later this week.

Was it worth it, I hear you say ..... Hell, yes & would do it all again tomorrow :D

I missed Exeter show last year because I was unable to endure the 2 hour + journey in my car .

This brings me to the point of this post.

Most likely, I would benefit greatly from a more elevated driving position ( That's the theory anyway )
Hence my interest in the 4x4 scene

I know a people carrier would be an obvious choice but personaly I hate them ( Sorry if this offends any drivers of them )

Being as I have yet to complete the Roadster, my budget is going to be rather limited & will be no more than 3k'ish

Looking at the whole 4x4 scene, I realise that I am not going to get an all singing dancing motor for that sort of cash !!

Searching the likes of Auto Trader, The Landrover Freelander jumps out as being the most bang for buck.
I know the petrol models are known for head gasket problems & I guess there is a reason as to why they have a low re-sale value !!
Discovery looks a better option but only going to get a cruster for that sort of wonga, Don't want to be spending half of my life on maintainance.

All of the Jap stuff seem to hold their value well ( For good reason I suspect ) So would have to settle for an older model but don't really want to go any older than my 1998 Mazda.

My annual milage is very low, in fact, I arrived home from Stoneleigh with half a tank of fuel left & the petrol gauge on the Mazda is still showing 1/4 tank ( That's as much as I use the car ) !!

The only criteria I would have other than comfort to drive, would be the ability to tow the Roadster safely on a trailer.

If you have any thoughts chap's, I would be pleased to hear them.
Perhaps there are some real gems out there that I havn't thought of !!

Finally

I know what all of you are thinking .... If he can't drive his car .... Wait till he gets in the Roadster :D

That is giong to be my one luxury in life, My toy to be used as & when I am able to do so.

If it were up to me, I would beat arround in an old Transit but her indoors will have none of that !!?? :rolleyes:

[gingea1pom]

Ronnie,

My 98 Range Rover is 2.5l diesel and cost me £3500 about a year ago (I think it might have gone up in price a little now), It is by far the best 4X4 I have owned, had a Discovery, two Defenders and an old Range Rover. I feel like lord Ginge when I am cutting about in it. I only get 23 mpg but like you I don’t use it much, walk to work, it only gets used to tow our 1.9t caravan (like a dream) and if it is snowing.

My two pennith worth.

Cheers Ginge

[Davey]

Just to throw you a curve ball on your thinking why not get a medium sized van and do a basic camper conversion? That way when you do get to Stoneleigh you also have somewhere warm and dry to sleep, gotta be better than a tent:p .

D.

[Bonzo]

To be honest Davy, I would quite like to take that route ;)

Can't see any way of persuading my good lady that this would be a cool idea.
Bless her soul, she has been so, so supportive of my Roadster build, don't want to go & push my luck :eek:

Ginge

The good ole Range Rover is cool, just a tad on the large side, besides, er indoors is only 4' 10" & will need a step ladder to get into one of those.

On the other hand .... If she was wearing a mini skirt. I could be a true gent & help her in :D :o

[HandyAndy]

On the other hand .... If she was wearing a mini skirt. I could be a true gent & help her in :D :o

:D Trust you Ronnie, but as always, you,re a true gent:D

I,ve never owned a 4x4 so wouldn,t know which to go for.

cheers
andy

[tkpm]

Have you given thought to a VW Transporter or Vito, as they are very close in size to a large car (just taller).

I now what you mean about transits, i drive one for work and i still use it evenings instaed of my car.

Terry

[Headshot]

How about a double cab 4x4 pickup, chuck a cover on the back and its a sturdy van with seating for 5.

[RAYLEE29]

HI, I have a 98 lwb maverick cost 2100 four years ago not too good mpg around town 2.7td but better on a good run very comfortable and very solidly built. also known as a nissan terrano2 btw
will tow anything well almost lol.
anyway i love it and does give good prescence on the road especially since i jacked up the front a few inches (adjustable torsion bars)
if you want economy the get a petrol 4x4 with an lpg conversion already done, some are so good you can hardly tell when they switch over
anyway rambling on a bit so
go drive a few and see how you feel after.
oh and side steps do help getting in and out if your having a bad back day
Ray:)

[AshG]

toyota land cruser. smoother than a range and the petrols are wisper wisper quiet. they are big but they have a really good step which makes getting in and out a dream. my mate has one and his wife is 4'11 she loves driving it because its easy to get in and out of and has a nice high up seating position.

[DStanley1809]

The good ole Range Rover is cool, just a tad on the large side, besides, er indoors is only 4' 10" & will need a step ladder to get into one of those.



The suspension goes up and down on Range Rovers ;)

The P38 Range Rovers are really nice to drive around in and aren't nearly as big as the model that has replaced them. It really is like driving an armchair. I got to drive my dads around for a year after he moved to Canada....can't wait until I can afford the insurance again! There weren't many students at my uni that were driving Range Rovers :D

[gingea1pom]

Ronnie,

That is two votes for the P38 Range Rover,:D

As David has mentioned the suspension goes up and down at the flick of a switch, on it’s lowest setting of access mode my kids, 5 and 7, can get in know problem.;)

No pressure you get what you want/need.

Cheers Ginge

[Enoch]

Until last November I had a Range Rover P38 4.6 V8 running on LPG. I reckon it was one of the best cars I have ever owned. It only broke once (aux belt tensioner wheel disintegrated) and did the equivalent of about 25mpg when running gas. They do suffer from expensive faults so a full service history is vital, mine had been subjected to a full suspension rebuild before I bought it. I did about 30 K miles in it, it broke significantly less than my current car - diesel mondeo. It had air con and every other imaginable comfort aid, I could drive it all day without getting tired. I really miss it but could not live with the fuel bill, hence the switch to diesel. If money was less tight I would have another one tomorrow.
Best and all that,
Enoch

[davidimurray]

Ronnie

You mention the freelander and head gasket problems. I thought these had been cured by landrover with a new design of head gasket. Fitting the freelander head gasket to MG/Rovers is now the norm when they let go.

[Twin]

P38A ;)

check all the electrics

or disco II not as rusty as the others.

[DStanley1809]

Faults don't need to be expensive on a P38, working on them is easier than most people think. It's usually the suspension system that gets most people. There is a free program online that lets you use a modified OBDII cable, serial to USB convertor and a laptop to access it.

Using that you can reprogram the ride heights, see and clear faults, depressurise the tank to work on the system etc.

All the usual maintenance stuff is just as simple as any other car. Things hardly ever wrong on ours.

[gingea1pom]

David,

I got my OBDII cable and down loaded the software as soon as I got the Range Rover, touch wood I have never had to use it.

There is a really helpful forum for P38 issues, only read it never posted.

Cheers Ginge

[DStanley1809]

Did you just get a standard OBDII cable or the proper one for the P38? The plug is the same but the wires are completely different. I had a standard one that I used for normal cars but had to butcher it to make it work with the Rangey.

[gingea1pom]

David,

I got a Range Rover specific one of the bay.

I am thinking of selling the Rangy as I don’t use it except for 3 weeks in the summer.

Cheers Ginge

[Blade]

you will regret selling your range rover gingea1pom, i did when i sold mine and sulked for 2 years till i bought another, i don't know why i sulked :confused: it was my idea to sell it,
Ronnie - Range Rover is the way to go , pure comfort, and not that big, just pretend your driving a big mini :D :D

[MightyMouth]

I know you probably have your heart set on a 4x4 but have you considered something like this?

http://img.youtube.com/vi/Zavsd6etz_Q/0.jpg

[Blade]

That's one way of getting more room in a mini and making it more comfortable :D :D :D

[Bonzo]

Thank's for all of the input & advice from everyone :cool:

Been feeling a little crook over the last couple of days .... Got up yeserday morning, read the latest forum posts & went straight back to bed :(

I now have a clearer picture of what to look at, most likely something from the Landrover or Nissan range.

Hopefully i'll feel a little better buy the weekend & will have the chance to do some viewing.

Quite lucky that I have a huge car dealer nearby that just happens to have an extensive range of used 4x4's, that should be a good starting point, even if it is just to sit in a few & have a good day dream :D
Anyways, they have a rather nice Nissan X Trail that I want to view.

I could be swayed to take the Range Rover option, to be honest, I have never given them any serious thought in the past.

This brings me to yet another question :o

Have any of you Range Rover fanatics had any experience in dealing with a failed head gasket on the V8 version !!??

I have spotted a really tasty Range Rover 4.0 HSE Year 2000 ( W )
Body super clean, leather interior super clean, all electrics work as they should & already has a LPG conversion.

Bad news is that it has a blown head gasket ( Still Drives )

Now, I am not really phased by doing any mechanical repairs.

What I want to know, is this likely to be a simple head gasket change & perhaps having the relevant head skimmed.
Or is this more than likely to be a completely FUBAR engine ??

Not touched a rover V8 engine since the mid 70's

Any info would be most welcome.

[gingea1pom]

Ronnie,

Sorry to hear you have been crook, take it easy.;)

I can’t give you a considered answer I am afraid as I have always had diesels.

Hopefully a V8 guru will be along shortly; alternatively I have used this (http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/) site before.

Cheers Ginge.

(Rest get better) :eek:

[Bonzo]

Thank's for that link Ginge, i'll have a good poke arround on there later ;)

As said, fuel consumption is not a huge issue for me .... Dragged the Mazdas MOT cert out the other day, just as well I did, it runs out on the 18th of this month :eek:
Only done 3,556 miles last year & my two lads would have done nearly half of that.

Since I have come back from Stoneleigh the car has done only 78 miles & Junior has used it twice !!

That sort of says that I need to get out more :o

Nothing wrong with me that a couple of complete days of rest won't cure.
Sadly still feeling the effects of my trip up to Stoneleigh :o

[DStanley1809]

I don't know much about the V8s either as mine is also a diesel. All I know about them is that both the 4.0 and the 4.6 have almost exactly the same fuel consumption but the 4.6 is more powerful and a bit quicker. The 4.6 does suffer with porous block issues though which can lead to expensive engine rebuilds or replacements.

[Coozer]

I'm riding around in a Mitsubishi Sport Equippe. 2.5tdi.

Its on an 02 reg and cost me £2900 as a cat D.

For sale if anyone fancy's it:)

LG,
Steve

[Bonzo]

I know you probably have your heart set on a 4x4 but have you considered something like this?

http://img.youtube.com/vi/Zavsd6etz_Q/0.jpg


Keith

That really bought a huge smile to me after a couple of miserable days :D :D

Pehaps that could be a post IVA conversion to the Roadster :eek:

[Davey]

If I were in the market for a 4X4 I'd be looking at Nissan XTrail. front wheel drive with part time 4X4 option auto selected when significant wheel speed difference detected. Comfortable, totally reliable, fully independent suspension all round and an economical diesel engine to boot.

I still think you should go for a MWB van, maybe a Mk6 tranny and convert it into a simple camper, decent fuel consumption, Parts are readily available and you can nick off for a quiet weekend whenever you get the chance plus when you go to Stoneleigh next year you won't have to freeze your nuts off in a tent plus its big enough to pull a car on a trailer, perhaps a roadster shaped car?:D

D.

[gingea1pom]

If I were in the market for a 4X4 I'd be looking at Nissan XTrail. front wheel drive with part time 4X4 option auto selected when significant wheel speed difference detected. Comfortable, totally reliable, fully independent suspension all round and an economical diesel engine to boot.

I still think you should go for a MWB van, maybe a Mk6 tranny and convert it into a simple camper, decent fuel consumption, Parts are readily available and you can nick off for a quiet weekend whenever you get the chance plus when you go to Stoneleigh next year you won't have to freeze your nuts off in a tent plus its big enough to pull a car on a trailer, perhaps a roadster shaped car?:D

D.

My bold, I had an L200 for a while which was predominantly 2WD really noticed it on the fuel consumption (not a huge concern for you I appreciate) and much nippier than in 4WD.

Obvious now I am thinking about it but nice to have the option between 2 and 4WD.:cool:

Rambling now.:D

Cheers Ginge