4x4 wanted on a limited budget...

xmillyx

Over the next few months I'm going to be looking for a new car.

I would like a 4x4 with enough power to tow a horse trailer with 2 450-500kg horses in the back. (I have my B+E licence).

However my budget is not huge ideally I would like to be less than £5,000. It would be used daily so I relatively good mpg would be ideal as well.

I've heard the Kia Sorrento's are good?

NeverEnough

Don't want much, then do you? Modern 4x4s are not "cheap" to run or repair, or indeed insure. You need to weigh up all those factors, not just the price of the car. Towing a horse trailer fully loaded with two horses is not exactly going to be frugal, in your price range you are looking at older vehicles, which are not as "economical" fuel wise as new ones.

I have run a petrol 4x4 for over 20 years, but then MPG is not the biggest issue for me whereas the power, reliability and comfort is. Have had Jap vehicles, Range Rover, Land Rover, currently a BMW X5 - all have their plus points and not so great ones. Kia Sorrento might be a good choice if you are looking to buy cheap as their resale from new was never great. Bear in mind it is a HUGEcar though, so not exactly suited to nipping in and out of town centres or local shops. The smaller "crossover" type 4x4 may be better suited for use as a daily driver - perhaps the old style Kia Sportage or early Ford Kuga? Hyundai also made a 4x4 called a Sante Fe which although ugly, is pretty cheap to buy these days.

You might even find an older Volve XC90 - very boring, but also generally reliable and again, rather large......

I would advise steering clear of Jeeps and large American vehicles of similar ilk as they have been known to be unreliable and expensive to repair. Having. Said that, Land Rover probably tick some of those boxes too........definitely avoid the early Freelander and old Range Rovers unless you are. Keen in spending a lot of time and money keeping them in good repair.

BeenThroughItAll

Could pick up a decent Discovery 2 TD5 for that money.

Foxy-Stoat_3

Toyota Landcruiser or Amazon would be my choices.

colino

Getting into the field of horse trailers and horse boxes is almost as financially painful as, well owning horses in the first place. Make a list of what you want that car to do. Will it be for the stables only or does it have to be an economical, reliable, easy to park shopper/school runner? Are you competing all over the UK and Europe or will it be used for the occasional pony club event?
Do your homework in advance, there are too may highly financed 4x4s and boxes sitting idle apart from an intense 6 summer weeks when they are pressed into action.

marlot

I'd look at Mk2 shoguns, and 90-series Landcruisers. Both are available within your budget. Neither will be that economical, though they are at least heavy enough to tow your horses safely.

The Mk 1 Sorento is also worth a look.

xmillyx

Hi thanks for all your comments so far.

The car would be used daily to drive to work (about 15min drive away), I live in the country so it will be useful for when it snows etc.

It would be used to tow the trailer about twice a week, normally one horse but occasionally there may be another.

My OH has a smaller car that would be used if we wanted to go into town etc.

Thank you for all your comments so far - much appreciated!

Andy_L

When you say 4x4 what do you want? Something that can tow the horse box on flat(ish) muddy fields, in which case a 4x4 car with suitable tyres may do & be better for use as a daily hack, or something that can do "proper" off-road stuff?

bigjl

Not sure if a Sorento or similar soft roader would be able to pull what you need to pull.

You would likely need a towing capacity of two ton or more surely?

Must admit that I would be looking at a Discovery Mk2.

They have their issues but there are lots of specialists and forums for advice.

You could also spend less and get one of a Nissan Terrano or similar Ford Maverick, not be later one which was a bit small.

You can get an R51 shape Pathfinder but at your budget it will be an older one. Which is no bad thing as the early Euro3 ones were much better on fuel, think 30mpg as compare to 22mpg on the Euro4 208 models with Dpf, manuals are a little better than that.

Herzlos

With up to 1000kg of horse, how heavy is the trailer? 2000kg sounds about right though.

That probably means you'll be wanting to look for 2.5 litre diesels, which probably doesn't get much for the money. I'd probably be looking based on condition (and the difference between GVW and GTV on the plate) and getting a mechanic to check out that the 4 wheel drive works properly.

Horizon81

The Sorrentos get a good write up as a proper off roader/towing vehicle so that's not a bad place to start.