Best multi-use 4x4 to buy?

bigjl

If you want load lugging, room for dogs and off road ability it has to be a Disco.

Though at your budget a more realistic target would be a Freelander.

How did you fit 6 dogs in a Kia Rio?

I had a Pathfinder which was roomy and a proper 4x4 aswell with a seperate chassis.

Though best to go for a Euro 3 model (07 and older I think) as they are far superior to the later Euro4 models on diesel, mine averaged 22/23 mpg over the 3yrs I had it.

Never had any DPF problems despite lots of local running about. They are prone to camchain problems if neglected or treated to 18k miles oil changes with lots of local running about.

Disco can also have problems.

There are likely better options but I like those two.

BeenThroughItAll

bigjl wrote: »

How did you fit 6 dogs in a Kia Rio?

Chimera

Feral_Moon wrote: »

If you're familiar with Kia already have you considered their Sportage model?

did look at them, but seem to be more trendy than functional

Chimera

bigjl wrote: »

How did you fit 6 dogs in a Kia Rio?

We don't... at present we don't have to, as they are all working dogs, and we moved too far away to make working them feasible.
We have had an old sportage and defender previously, but the upkeep was sooooo expensive, as they were OLD

Realistically we could fit 4 spaniels and 2 terriers in the rio, but it would not be a pleasant experience, lol

Stevie_Palimo

Chimera wrote: »

did look at them, but seem to be more trendy than functional

6 dogs in tow look at one of these :-

Ranger8

Chimera wrote: »

Thinking of a Toyota Hilux.. Any opinions?

A safe and secure choice, the newer the better, I`m averaging a genuine 35mpg with my 13 plate 3.0d

burlington6

You don't get much better than a Hilux. As already stated, you don't see ISIS driving round in Defenders ( because they're crap ) ( cue the abuse )

The problem is that many of them are exported your money doesn't go as far as it's rivals

jimjames

Toyota landcruiser, there's a reason why they're the car of choice for UN and others in rough terrain. Seeing them driving across desert with no trouble or failures in 10 years gives an indication, disco or range rover is unlikely to be that reliable

Marktheshark

The Toyota hilux are a bit thirsty 28mpg on diesel 35 on a run, but other than oil change and the odd bulb once every few years, you dont have to spend thousands on mending things that break every other month like range rovers or landrovers.

Marktheshark

jimjames wrote: »

Toyota landcruiser, there's a reason why they're the car of choice for UN and others in rough terrain. Seeing them driving across desert with no trouble or failures in 10 years gives an indication, disco or range rover is unlikely to be that reliable

Because if you break down in a warzone, you are now a hostage.
With stark choices like that on the table, you buy what gets you back alive.