Any reccomendations for 4x4's that have 7 seats?

iamana1ias

MrsE wrote: »

A woman I work with has a Lan Rover Disco & it has a special setting for ice;)

It makes it grip:D

No it doesn't. It distributes the power differently if it detects a skid, but nothing on any car (apart from special tyres or possibly heated wheels) can make a car grip ice.

goldspanners

code-a-holic wrote: »

I think anything would be better than the picasso, 4x4 or not! I followed my neighbour home the other day, her in a santa fe, over ice and inches of snow. She was doing 40mph and had no problem, any time i went over 20mph the traction light was flashing, back end wiggling and wheels spinning. Tyres are all 3 months old too.

driving over inches of ice and snow at 40 mph is a bit stupid to be honest, 20 mph sounds a bit better for those conditions.
in weather like this it isnt really a race,just getting there in one peice should be good enough.

i saw a guy in a vauxhall meriva tailgate a merc sprinter van at 50 mph on a completely frozen M8 this morning at an outside temperature of -6 degrees,even after we passed the tesco artic that had ended up facing the wrong way in the ditch and closed the opposite side of the motorway he still never took the warning.

slowly but surely does it in this weather.

Rallydriver

MrsE wrote: »

A woman I work with has a Lan Rover Disco & it has a special setting for ice;)

It makes it grip:D

I'm not a 4x4er but its probably using a diff lock. Very good in low traction conditions but you need to know how they work and how to use them, you can't just jump in and use them, something about transmission wind up. I'd like to take up proper 4x4ing sometime just for fun and to learn about these things.

marlot

Premier wrote: »

Well I wouldn't hold your breath.

Probably the most well known company to first produce off road vehicles, and still doing so today, and one which in independant tests usually beat all the competion for durability. (e.g. did you see Christmas top gear?)

And one of the worst, year after year, for reliability - unfortunately. If they were more reliable I'd be at the front of the queue.

Rallydriver

HO87 wrote: »

Snow tyres are excellent but they are designed to be driven just on snow and soon get ripped to shreds if you drive them for long on normal dry roads.

Are you talking about a kind of specific snow tyre or just normal winter tyres?
I'm not finding that with my Toyo Snowproxes, which are winter tyres really, but they survive fine on dry tarmac.

More generally, modern Citroen's suspension won't cope with rough tracks. They may have won several WRCs, but unlike with Mitsubishi and Subaru none of the technology filters down to the road cars.

Another suggestion, if you can cope with the 6th and 7th seats being rear facing child seats? Volvo XC70 D5 with a set of winter tyres. Only 4wd when you need it so 2wd economy when you don't. Suspension will cope and they handle like a car, not a 4x4.

Millionaire

I'm no expert on 4x4's, what about the Volvo XC90 Diesel D5? I think it can have 7 seats.

wobbley

Lurchtheengineer wrote: »

I don't think that 4x4 and economy can be said in the same sentance......

Wifey has a C4 Grand picasso like the OP, she gets 25mpg. My Landrover 90 does 28mpg.
Fuel economy is only one factor of running costs. My 90 is very economical to run, but thirsty on juice.


If you go for a Landrover you'll never get stuck. Later ones can be not quite as reliable as you'd wish for. But, they are very cheap to fix and get parts for.
If you plump for something like a Shogun or Landcruiser they will tend to be more reliable (not always though) but servicing, repairs and parts are very expensive.
Make sure you thoroughly test drive whatever you intend to buy as most 4x4's can take some getting used to.
We used to have an old 110 Landrover that had 12 seats ! It was great fun but so slow it didn't need a speedometer, - just a tape measure and a calendar,,,

DaveMacD

jeannieblue wrote: »

My vote would go for the Land cruiser, biggest one if you can afford it! Avoid the Mitsubishi's - parts are horrendously expensive. And Land Rover haven't quite got their act together yet, which is a shame..

Mitsi bits don't have to be expensive if you know where to look In fact, there is a place on EBay (SDN Direct) that stocks a load of parts for a wide range of 4x4's, and to say his prices are reasonable is an understatement.

Kilty_2

marlot wrote: »

And one of the worst, year after year, for reliability - unfortunately. If they were more reliable I'd be at the front of the queue.

Company I work for has some '09 plate Defenders as part of their fleet - lost 2 of them to complete engine failure at about 4 weeks old :rotfl:

Not to mention we managed to break into one of them using plastic wedges and some wire (apprentice locked his keys in it :rolleyes:)

marlot

Niece has just spent 20 minutes trying to lock her 09-reg freelander at the service station where we were meeting up. Apparently it happens to her regularly and the dealer can't find the cause. She can't use the key as its keyless entry!