Reliable car for rural living?

System

You could try looking at a second hand Citroen C-Crosser. We bought one (not for snow because we very rarely have snow, but as a tow car for our big caravan). Have now sold both, but the C-Crosser did a brilliant job of lugging the caravan across fields.

Over the past 15 years or so we seem to have ended up with 4 wheel drive vehicles without really thinking about it (Mazda Bongo, but that has low ground clearance and shocking fuel economy), Ford Sierra XR 4x4 (probably impossible to find one these days) and now we have added a little baby 4x4 to the fleet - a Suzuki Jimny which would probably be awesome in snow and other tricky terrain.

If you think you might need snow chains at some point, hold out for Lidl to get theirs in! Cheaper than Halfords! I think they (or Aldi) also did snow socks one year.

AdrianC

Mrs_Arthur_Crown wrote: »

You could try looking at a second hand Citroen C-Crosser.

Same thing as old-shape Mitsu Outlander and Pug 4007.

Goudy

2015 -2018 Suzuki Vitara with Allgrip (4x4).

Stick to the tried and tested 1.6 non turbo petrol engine and it'll be as cheap to run as a diesel.
Ours nudges nearly 60 mpg on a steady cruise and 44-45 mpg around town.

They do a diesel and a turbo petrol, but the diesel is a Fiat unit and not very good, the turbo petrol is smaller and a bit thirsty if pushed a bit, both add to the price and just aren't worth it.

It's also been totally reliable, nothing has gone wrong in the 2 years, not even a squeak or a rattle and we've flogged it pretty hard, back and forth to the southern Italian ports a couple of times.

The Allgrip is brilliant, it has modes to select to match the conditions, just select what you want and it works out where the grip is all by it's self.

Look out for the SZ5 model as it has some nice kit, Nav, Dab, radar adaptive cruise and autonomous emergency braking work well and a real bonus if you rack up the miles on motorways.

laidbackgjr

Melisandre wrote: »

Yep, we've been asking ourselves that too! It's not an off-chance exactly -- I think we're pretty much bound to have a few snowy days a year -- but would winter tyres sort that out? Or snow chains to get down the bank?

In terms of traction a FWD on winter tyres will do better in the snow than a 4WD on summer tyres - search on youtube for Auto Express tests that demonstrate this.

Melisandre

AdrianC wrote: »

What's everybody else around the area driving?

Here in the middle of nowhere in the Welsh borders (steep, narrow lanes with grass up the middle - gritters totally unheard of), most people drive... perfectly normal cars. But, of course, in the pennines you may get more snow. When we get some, it comes in force, and the only way you're getting moving is with a tractor... And after the tractor's been past and ploughed the line, you ain't getting anything out of the drive without spending plenty of time and sweat shovelling that wall of compacted snow out of the way...

"4wd"/"AWD" are the same thing. If you want to be pernickerty, "4wd" includes vehicles that don't have all the wheels driven, because four of their six are driven, and "AWD" includes vehicles that have six or eight wheels, all of which are driven. But assuming we're sticking with one on each corner, they're the same difference, as is "4x4" (four wheels, four driven). Having all the wheels driven will help you get moving. It won't, however, make the slightest difference to changing direction or stopping moving, and they can be quite useful... Winter tyres are at least as useful.

In snow, the other thing that's useful is ground clearance... The more the better, because you can easily find all four wheels spinning merrily because they aren't reaching the ground - or you're simply trying to push a snowdrift along with what remains of the front bumper.

So you really need to decide what conditions you're going to draw the line on, and simply chuck another log on the fire instead of even trying.

When we had a big dump of snow the other year, we were out in town. We shouldn't have gone - the forecast was dire - but we ignored it and went anyway... We got home without too much issue, in a lightish FWD car with ho-hum ground clearance... and winter tyres. They were what made the difference. We then left the car at the bottom of the drive for two days before even attempting to get it to the top.

I used to live on a steep suburban hill that wasn't gritted, and commute on back lanes. Remember the bad winters about a decade ago? Again, winter tyres were all the difference. We could sit in the house and watch people trying to get up - big 4x4 SUVs with normal summer tyres on were failing miserably, while my FWD car wasn't breaking into a sweat.

Loads to think about here, Adrian, thank you. Winter tyres sound like they'll make the biggest difference. And yes, you're right about those extra-log days, when it's not even worth trying, and it may as well be a Vespa in the driveway.

Melisandre

Goudy wrote: »

2015 -2018 Suzuki Vitara with Allgrip (4x4).

Stick to the tried and tested 1.6 non turbo petrol engine and it'll be as cheap to run as a diesel.
Ours nudges nearly 60 mpg on a steady cruise and 44-45 mpg around town.

They do a diesel and a turbo petrol, but the diesel is a Fiat unit and not very good, the turbo petrol is smaller and a bit thirsty if pushed a bit, both add to the price and just aren't worth it.

It's also been totally reliable, nothing has gone wrong in the 2 years, not even a squeak or a rattle and we've flogged it pretty hard, back and forth to the southern Italian ports a couple of times.

The Allgrip is brilliant, it has modes to select to match the conditions, just select what you want and it works out where the grip is all by it's self.

Look out for the SZ5 model as it has some nice kit, Nav, Dab, radar adaptive cruise and autonomous emergency braking work well and a real bonus if you rack up the miles on motorways.

Thanks Goudy, I'll definitely look closely at this one!