Used 4x4 (or maybe not..) - 3-5K Budget

jsilverni

Hi All!

I am looking to replace my aging car. I have to do a fair bit of travel. I drove my friends Nissan Pathfinder and honestly was amazed at how the difference the 'high up' seating and general 'having a lot of car around you' made the journey fun again (I'm old).

I'm looking to buy a car with a high driving position that is nice and chunky, but don't want to spend the earth (I realise that adding 4x4 in the title may make that sound ridiculous!).

Doesn't have to be 4x4 - Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

J

nickcc

Freelander TD4 or RAV 4 not bad motors and early ones should be within your price range. Personally I would never look at discoveries or petrol Freelanders.

steve-L

You need to do the research... some 4x4's can quite easily develop faults costing more than 5k to fix....

System

If you don't require it to be too big (compared to a car) then you can easily find a good Suzuki Grand Vitara or a Toyota RAV4 in your budget. There is also the Jeep Cherokee which comes with a V6 if that floats your boat.

On the larger side there are the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Mitsubishi Shogun. These are closer to the pathfinder in size.

joerugby

Pathfinders are great in mud, ice and snow and excellent for towing. Comfortable on motorways but a little "agricultural" round town. Mine averages 23 mpg

oldtoolie

My wife loved her RAV4. Also try some of the small MPVs -- Suzuki SX4, Skoda Roomster, Seat Altea. How about a Honda Jazz?

diesel_dog

You have quite a few options. It's nice been in a 4wd/soft roader for the extra all round visiability but the extra running and servicing costs aren't so nice.

Have a look around to see what you like the look of and then do some research on either "what car" or other review sites to see what potential problems are repair costs. One mans limo is another mans banger, etc, etc.

Me personally and if I was in your position, I would look at the soft roader models - CRV, Rav, Freelander, Xtrail, etc. Although there all different in there own way, they have a 4wd system that could prove handy at some stage with out lovely weather

nickcc

Don't know if you're into DIY mechanics but the Freelander with the early rover Diesel engine is within the DIYers capabilities, the later TD4 with common rail injection can be more demanding as its the BMW engine. Freelanders do suffer from rear drive line failure which can be expensive although this type of failure can easially be prevented. I have the Freelander automatic TD4 which has cost me app £500 in DIY repairs and maintenance over the last 2/3 years.

Hintza

Grand Cherokee with the 3.0l Mercedes CRDi engine over the Cherokee anytime. I've had both and am currently stuck with the Cherokee 2.8 Mitori engine which is bit of a guzzler.