I must defend Jimnys on road,

they are what they are short wheel base, rear wheel drive, revvy engine, coil sprung and great fun on road with the right tyres.

One i have owned now for 10 years and 60,000 miles is still like new,

no wheel bearings or any other problems in that time.

Any off roader needs maintenance when being used offroad.

I have traded in quite a few Jimnys since 1990, but always point out that test driving is most important,

certainly not to everyones liking.

(like a little black dress, a little Jimny is always handy to have, useful for all occasions..)

george

Always wanted a Lada Niva.

I know a guy with one in Czech and he literally can get that thing anywhere. Its totally basic but great at off roading. See if I can find a coupld of videos of the stuff he gets up to.

http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/james-may-vs-lada-niva-2011-02-15

Yes the niva had great reviews

I must defend Jimnys on road,

they are what they are short wheel base, rear wheel drive, revvy engine, coil sprung and great fun on road with the right tyres.

One i have owned now for 10 years and 60,000 miles is still like new,

no wheel bearings or any other problems in that time.

Any off roader needs maintenance when being used offroad.

I have traded in quite a few Jimnys since 1990, but always point out that test driving is most important,

certainly not to everyones liking.

george

Only needed for this time of year really this is the second time I've been caught out, and we are about to move to a off the beaten track house so no Tarmac road

I keep half considering a jimmy for a cheap hack/****ing about off road. My uncle had one and loved it, closest to his old SJ he could get now days. They have a strange charm to them. Would I fit in one at 6ft? I know the rear seats are basically non existent.

Go for an s3

A quok mobile ? Noooo

Edited 21 January, 201313 yr by seboni121

re 6ft and fitting in a Jimny, yes no problem.

For anyone just needing a 2 seat AWD work horse,

plenty of those around at various prices.

eg

Thanks George 2 seater would be fine and second hand what's those Mitsubishi like

As with others I'd go small and cheap - I always had a hankering after a Niva as they were pretty much go-anywhere, dirt cheap and built to last the russian winters so dmage wouldn;t have been an issue. Now though, if needed as a daily driver it'd be the new Panda...

re 6ft and fitting in a Jimny, yes no problem.

For anyone just needing a 2 seat AWD work horse,

plenty of those around at various prices.

eg

I'd agree with that. I'm 6' and never had a problem with the headroom.

Can't comment on the ON road abilty with a standard car, so apologies George.

Mine was specifically built for off roading use, so p'raps I was being a bit harsh on them generally..

I'd still highly recommend one though regardless.

Have a certain charm about them and as previously stated, miss mine greatly. Such fun in the winter when it's snowy too.

Presumably mine only 'ate' so many wheel bearings due to the fact that I'd be regulary driving through deepish mud and water.

Edited 21 January, 201313 yr by Mr Ree

Lada Niva is a really great virtually unburstable 4wd.

I know someone with a fairly new one that he got froman importer that specialises in them down south somewhere.

Less than 10k for a new one, and they're also fantastic off road.

LHD only now though apparently, and older 2nd hand rhd examples are pretty rare.

Lada Niva is a really great virtually unburstable 4wd.

I know someone with a fairly new one that he got froman importer that specialises in them down south somewhere.

Less than 10k for a new one, and they're also fantastic off road.

LHD only now though apparently, and older 2nd hand rhd examples are pretty rare.

Linkie here to the importer...

http://www.markkey.co.uk/

These are cheap and rare :

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/daihatsu/sirion/15203/daihatsu-sirion-rally-iv

Depend what you need it for! Jimny is very capable off road and in snow (like any vehicle the right tyres are essential), short wheel base, light weight, good ground clearance and angles of attach/departure (can't think of the right phrase) make it an off roader of choice for the like of game keepers who don't intend to do a lot of road miles - it is quite utilitarian.

want something to do more road miles - Panda, Vitara, Dacia Duster (just launched and cheap as chips)

^ tested by fifth gear recently...guy with the funny 'tash. Said he liked....

Depend what you need it for! Jimny is very capable off road and in snow (like any vehicle the right tyres are essential), short wheel base, light weight, good ground clearance and angles of attach/departure (can't think of the right phrase) make it an off roader of choice for the like of game keepers who don't intend to do a lot of road miles - it is quite utilitarian.

want something to do more road miles - Panda, Vitara, Dacia Duster (just launched and cheap as chips)

Is the Dacia any good though?

Is the Dacia any good though?

Seems to be getting a good reception. The Renault connection would make me nervous though.

A the French connection

Was tempted last year to but a Subaru Justy 4wd to mess about with but never got round to it. Only a 1.2 but still a good laugh

I had a go in the last shape Panda 4x4 and was quite impressed on the limited "off roading" I put it through. My biggest gripe with it was there was only one trim level, which was a little sparse, and the 4wd seemed to sap the already limited power of the engine. A good honest car and hopefully they've addressed these with the new one...

Chris

A quok mobile ? Noooo

:moon:

These are cheap and rare :

http://www.autoexpre...sirion-rally-iv

My mate had one of those. He's 6'5" and to watch him fold himself in/out of the thing was a sight to behold. I drove it a few times and although it was reasonably willing to be thrashed - and you had to to get it to go anywhere - I wasn't a huge fan. The Panda is much nicer to live with. I can't comment on the latest shape, but I had a few of the Mk2 as a courtesy car when I had the Octavia. I loved it's honesty as it wasn't trying to be anything else other than a Panda.

I had both the 2WD and 4WD variants on loan and loved every minute of it. I used to own an original Panda way back in the day and knew people that had the Sisley. As you may have gathered I'm a closet Panda fan, but they are cracking cars.

An old ignis 4x4 is another option.

:moon:

Not all are cook mobiles grr666 not all