Bit of a car quandry right now.

 

I have been invited into the world of field sports. I'm getting licensed for a boom stick and will need to buy various green coloured bits of clothing (but not cammo that's uncouth).

Getting to the shooting spots involves a bit of off-roading. Not Rubicon trail extreme off roading but some fairly poor farm tracks. Certainly nothing the BM or the Mini could handle.

 

the 335d has just been serviced, full set of brakes, Aircon recharge and is going totally fine at just under 60k. It does everything I need except skip down a farm track.

 

I can either get a cheap 3rd 4x4 car or I can spend a bit more and get a 4x4 as my main car. I don't really want a 3rd car but neither do I really want a 4x4 as my daily driver.

 

Car swap -

I considered getting something interesting like the new Ford Ranger Raptor. I actually drove a Ranger Wildtrack on a demo at the weekend. It was surprisingly decent. Quite car like and the acceleration was ok. I could live with it as a car probably. Downside was that a flatbed might be good for lugging bails of hay but not so good for a week's shopping at Tesco.
 

I could look into used Range Rover or Discoveries since they could be a pleasent enough family car as well as handling a rough track.

Downside is they are fearsome exensive unless ancient, and hardly have the best reputation for reliability. The new Defender is crazy expensive.

Other things like Landcruisers or Shoguns might just feel too boring inside and out to live with.

Soft roaders are no use, we'll go thorugh a lot of mud so a locking diff is a must

 

3rd car -

Jimny - not that cheap, not that reliable, not that great in mud apparently

Terios - cheap, nasty to drive. TBH a 4x4 Terios is probably top of my list for a 3rd car despite being the worst car I've ever driver

Jeep Wrangler - Rare at low prices. Would actually be quite fun to go to the beach in as well.

Old Defender - expensive, unreliable money pit bt a classic and probably won't lose much money

Unimog - Might need to get a truck license

 

 

Just lookisng for thoughts or suggestions

 

 

 

A Jimny is great mud on the proper tyres not the Bridgestone Duelers they come on.  Stupid prices now though.

A Vitara with AWD is good, again on the right tyres.

Everything needs the right tyres for mud including the pickups.

A Jeep Renegade on the right tyres and right spec will do the job.  So that needs to be a AWD one. 

Not sure though on buying as a 3rd car.

 

Time you were looking down to Port Edgar. 

Some lovely stuff there.

http://engine710.com

 

Edited 14 September, 20205 yr by e-Roottoot

I should pop in, Port Edgar is only 20min away.

On 14/09/2020 at 17:33, e-Roottoot said:

Everything needs the right tyres for mud including the pickups.

yup.. or snow

or gravel

or heavy rain

 

 

@mac11irl  Exactly,

and yet so many supposed SUV's / AWD's are on wheels that need changed to sensible sizes to get All Terrain / Mud tyres for.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-PANDA-CROSS-0-9-T-AIR-90-4X4-AMBULANCE-RESPONDER-EVENT-CAR-2015-15/114381868115?hash=item1aa1b0cc53:g:MZ0AAOSwKdVfUROn

 

Cheap and could double up to get the casualty to hospital when you accidentally/otherwise shoot one one of your fellow gunslingers?

On 14/09/2020 at 17:33, e-Roottoot said:

Time you were looking down to Port Edgar. 

Some lovely stuff there.

http://engine710.com

 

 

Where did they come from?  They weren't in Port Edgar when we lived in SQ up until 8 years ago.   Looks like there's a woman called Laura involved somewhere.  

I'm reminded that John Wylie who was the propietor of the Hawes Garage had a daughter called Laura who ran the business for a while.  

Is it her or is that a stretching the power of coincidence?  

@Schtum

No idea.

I would say there has been Land Rovers there for around 6 years at least.

I went there for my breakfast regularly and to the ship chandlers.

Edited 15 September, 20205 yr by e-Roottoot

A SWB Vitara 2.4 would be great. There is a diesel model and I think a smaller engine, but the bigger engine has low ratio and a proper centre diff lock (electrically switched, so no rocking about with a lever-mpg is of the "you ask how many mpgs, then you can't afford it"  . I think lesser variants of it don't have the same credentials. Mine was great in heavy snow, on the beach  up muddy tracks and in very swampy fields that were meant for car parking but were severely flooded

 

I have spent a bit of time in Lada Nivas and they really are fabulous off-road vehicles and a little bit left field ('Left' field...see what I did there?) and a LHD version (cheapest) wouldn't really be a handicap as you won't be overtaking anything.

 

If ground clearance isn't a major issue you could get a Sedici/SX4 Allgrip (mk1) for not much and they too have an electronic locking centre clutch.

 

Or how about a Fiat Panda 4x4/Cross? A car that was always on my wish list but could never find one for the price I wanted. 

I have looked around for Panda but they seem to be in the "rocking horse doo-doo" level of availability. I'm not sure they'd have the ground clearance either. Haven't looked for the Secici tbh. SX$ much cheaper than Jimny.

 

Vitara might be an option.

@Aspman

I have a 2010 SX4 currently, (no clearance) so you can forget that,

had lifted Jimny's, had old Vitaras and Automatic Pandas back in the day.

None are vehicles for going to Field Sports / Shooting. 

A more modern Vitara maybe.

A Subaru Forester is a better bet.   Or even a Legacy Estate. 

 

Or drive what others drive into where you are going and then drive out of again, 

or get the same as the vehicle that tows out those that fail.

 

Maybe a LWB Shogun.

 

PS

If you are interested £5,000 will buy my SWB Shogun Van. Comfort @ 26 mpg any and everyday. (That is better than a Jimny on Mud Tyres...)

With 12 month MOT.

3.2 DiD Automatic, 2 seater (Full Leather / Heated) on CrossClimates. 

All the gears and easy to get places without much of an idea about 4x4's.

 

 

Edited 16 September, 20205 yr by e-Roottoot

I had a friend with a swb 3.2 Shogun (had the commercial version with no back windows) and as I remember I think it had not only a centre diff lock, but also a rear axel one as well (optional extra?). We went out in it during a blizzard up in the Pennines where we were staying. Fantastic snow vehicle that's for sure. Ploughing through drifts and very deep snow not even an issue. Nigh on unstoppable with all the 'lockers' on and the engine was just a big soft bungee connected to the horizon  

All  the options except the feather duster.

Most fun in rear wheel drive.

Another vote for a Shogun here.  Mate had a 2.5, which was never going to set the world alight. But as others have said, also wasn't stopped by any of the rough stuff.

 

Or a Landcruiser/Nissan Patrol? (always fancied the latter).

 

Earned some money back when I was young and stupid, pulling people out of floods & snow in a Hilux.  That was quite a capable vehicle.

 

Gaz

In my youth I used to go out in the snow with a friend in his Lada Niva and tow people out of ditches for a few quid  

the only issue with some of those options is the size. I'm not sure I want sone for my main car and I'm pretty sure I don't want some huge barge taking up all the space.

 

 I think I need to keep trying stuff.

 

@Aspman

Probably this is the right time to get a Skoda Yeti then.

The sensible classless choice for the man about town & country, does all that any Small AWD SUV needs to be able to do.

All Terrain tyres on 16" rims, blacked out rear windows. Bolted in secure gun case in the rear and you are sorted.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 16 September, 20205 yr by e-Roottoot

1 hour ago, Aspman said:

the only issue with some of those options is the size. I'm not sure I want sone for my main car and I'm pretty sure I don't want some huge barge taking up all the space.

 

 I think I need to keep trying stuff.

 

 

The short wheelbase Grand Vitara is really small, but like the Shogun, you get a proper raised driving position and genuine off-road credentials. I loved mine, it was just using it frequently meant the mpg hurt a bit. I never saw much above 30mpg and usually less 

Not much experience in 4X4s but what I have noticed here in Germany is a lot of people use either a Lada Niva or a Suzuki Jimny as a 'Winterdienst' car; they whack a plough on the front and make a few bob clearing snow/ pulling idiots out of ditches. Capable and rugged yet basic tugs by the look of things.
Mum had a Grand Vitara V6 and it absolutely drank fuel; filled it twice on the way from Bridport in Dorset to Largs near Glasgow. 

What about a Rav4 with decent tyres. IT's got an electronic locking diff

1 hour ago, Aspman said:

What about a Rav4 with decent tyres. IT's got an electronic locking diff

 

If you squint, it looks like a Rav4 :

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-patrol/254718637846?hash=item3b4e69f716:g:jnMAAOSwbVNfVhg7

 

 

@Aspman

Early RAV4's did well at 4x4 events like Tyro's. 

I have no experience of any built in the past 10 years.

The only thing I know about them is a colleague rolled one and claimed he forgot he wasn't in his Mini Cooper (original Mini)

Ok so I think we're narrowing things down at home.

We don't really want a 3rd car and definitely not a big one. So 3rd car options are probably down at terios as cheap and little.

 

So concentrating on the replacment for the BMW.

 

Things to try  -

 

• I was looking at the new (ish) Jeep Wrangler 4 door. It ticks a lot of boxes, but the NCAP is awful, and it has lots of irritating quirks (lots of things to bang your elbows on) but is fun and very good off road (at least in the Rubicon trim) and not as awful onroad. It's also a convertable which could be a laugh on sunny days and SO isn't horrified by it on that front. Petrol is thirsty but about as fast as my old VRS
• Used RR. Expensive but probably a very nice place to be. Name your price on them really. SO likes these unsurprisingly.
• Land Cruiser not as crazy expensive as the RR but better built. Might bore me to death though as it's slow as a slow thing

I'm not against spending a bit of money on something decent but I'd rather it wasn't worth buttons after 3yr

On 14/09/2020 at 17:10, Aspman said:

I have been invited into the world of field sports. I'm getting licensed for a boom stick and will need to buy various green coloured bits of clothing (but not cammo that's uncouth).

Typical car forum responses above - totally ignoring the 'dapper' element of the question!

Anyway, here's some items I spotted a couple of days ago that may suit a gent of your standing!