Suggestions please - 4x4 needed for a very specific purpose.

[Cavcraft]

6 hours ago, 320touring said:

Hi folks,

 

Bit of an odd one here.

 

A mate of mine has recently retired to A Scottish Island, and has taken on the role of being an emergency switcher for the power grid.

Essentially, he is on call 24/7 to attend any power failures, and is the first line person for diagnosing faults, and isolating them.

He has asked me to look for a suitable 4x4 to be used as his response vehicle.

I have worked out a rough spec, as below.

Key things :-

simplicity - the vehicle will be sitting for long periods, so no complex electronics

proper 4x4 - no haldex etc

short wheelbase - for better approach/departure angles

mechanical pumped diesel if possible, or simple petrol unit

manual - avoids complexity of an auto box

must be able to carry 3-5 adults plus tools - so that rules out Jimnys

easy to get off-road tyres for. Most of the sites are on farmland or hillside, so road tyres won't cut it.

budget is £2000 (preferably less, so servicing etc can be done too)

I'm only looking for suggestions of vehicles - so I can show him some options before I start hunting in earnest..

 

current thoughts

Disco 1

Shogun 

Merc ML

Rav 4

Terrano/Maverick

Jeep Cherokee xj

Isuzu trooper 3.1

Hilux surf

L200 crew cab

Vitara

Hyundai Terracan

MK2 Honda CR-V

Nissan Patrol

Ssangyong Rexton / Musso. 

Subaru Forrester

Landcruiser Colorado

Anyone any other suggestions? No P38/L322/FREELANDERS  or fronterrors

 

cheers

 

 

For reliability I'd ignore the crossed out ones.

Shogun possibly if not the 2.5, but the Patrol, Rav 4 or Vitara probably the best bet, imho. Do they have to be MOT'd to use? If not then you'd probably have a better choice and possibly be less fussy about a bit of rust. 

[320touring]

14 minutes ago, blackboilersuit said:

MK2 CRV has a sort of hydraulic version of the viscous coupling in a freelander. It works well for what it is but not really a proper 4x4 system. Brilliant cars though and will run forever on nothing but neglect. I did 45,000 miles over 6 years in one with no FTP's and nothing bar routine service items.

Disco 200/300 slow dependable old donkey but my fuck do they rot. As already mentioned everybody talks about boot floors but that repair is a walk in the park compared to the utter misery that is inner wings and headlight boxes. 

Maverick, mate had an early one years ago. Miserable rot box but very capable 4x4 system with a LSD as standard in the back axle IIRC.

Most important consideration for a budget 4x4 though is tyres. A good 4x4 on shit tyres is going nowhere when it comes to mud and snow and good tyres cost £££££. In the last decent snow we had in Scotland (Dec 2010) I had a landrover 90 with nearly new 265 mud tyres. I could drive up ridiculously steep local roads through 12" of fresh snow without even engaging the diff lock such was the combination of traction and ground clearance. 

Tyres are a key consideration. He should have the funds to buy new ones on top of the vehicle budget..

[TrabbieRonnie]

39 minutes ago, Timewaster said:

Maybe when they were imported in big numbers in the mid 90s they came over without antifreeze or something? 

I remember them having a bit of a reputation, deserved or not. 

As far as I know, Japanese imports are (or were) usually around the ten-year-old mark.  I think their mot system gets very harsh after that, meaning it's expensive to keep them on the road over there.  Anyway, at that age, they needed a bit of tlc after a few years running around our fair isles, and I don't think they always got it, as Toyota bits aren't/weren't exactly cheap (pre-Roughtrax I suppose!). 

Also, I seem to remember that Toyota used their very own 'red' coolant, that when mixed with anything else, turned into some kind of gloop... not conducive to cooling.  My point is that Toyota are not exactly famous for making unreliable rubbish, and the Mk1 and Mk2 Surf are basically rebodied and turbo'd Hilux pick-ups, good things.  Looked after, they are pretty much unbeatable for the money, and the task at hand.  

I've seen some Cherokees up close round here, and I think if you even look at them too hard they start to dissolve!  Shame, as they are nice things.  Defenders are a classic, obvs, and amazing in the rough stuff, but daily?  Why would you do it to yourself?!!!  Would love to try a Fourtrak, but the metal mouse is really decimating them now I see.  I also like the Pajero/Shogun, and the old 2.8 lump seems a good'un, but they definitely rust worse than Toyotas of similar vintage.

[blackboilersuit]

Given the expected low use it's probably worth searching out the less popular petrol variants of some of the more popular models. Far more likely to get a lower mileage, better condition and well cared for example. Most people shy away from 14mpg for some strange reason! In reality though the derv equivalent probably only does 25mpg and if you're only driving 20 miles every other week then does it really matter? 

[320touring]

The Reason behind the derv was for mechanical and electrical simplicity, but you make a fair point

[gadgetgricey]

Grand Cherokee WJ 4.0l but LPG'd. ( Mileage you will be doing, lpg not really needed). 

Mine has been one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned and I've not really been that fair to it. Had it for about four years, but only been used for a couple of months over the winter period for the past few years. It's been left unloved and unused on the drive for 10 months, hook the battery up and it starts right up and everything works.

Still impresses me that it can be so good and reliable after being left for such long periods.

It's got deep tread tyres on as well, so had great fun when we had the snow a couple of years ago? Actually was being really stupid as was trying to get the thing stuck (and would have been totally fucked if it had got stuck) but it just kept going. Was actually stopping on steep inclines in heavy snow and it never faulted.

Boot space not the best, even worse if you have the lpg tank in the wheel well. As then you then need to decide if you leave spare wheel at home and hope tyre foam is enough if anything happens.

Just found this as an example.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jeep-Grand-Cherokee-4-0-auto-92-000-miles/202889420730?hash=item2f3d26dfba:g:ljMAAOSw3tdeLuBS

 

[Jim Bell]

https://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/left-hand-drive-ssangyong-korando-4x4drives-wellengine-and-mechanics-in-good-conditioncall-me/1362010046?utm_source=com.example.android.notepad&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_android

 

[Jim Bell]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202002016833923?atmobcid=soc3

 

 

[dollywobbler]

If the terrain isn't too onerous, I'd be going first-gen RAV4 long wheelbase. The lack of axle travel lets them down, but permanent 4x4 with diff lock is a boon, and tyres make a lot of difference.

[320touring]

Thanks for all the assistance folks- I have sent my mate an email with options and some examples of each vehicle - now I need him to decide the ones he likes (and the ones his Wife will let him have outside the house!)

 

I'll let you know what happens!

[Macscrooge]

On 2/3/2020 at 10:04 PM, blackboilersuit said:

MK2 CRV has a sort of hydraulic version of the viscous coupling in a freelander. It works well for what it is but not really a proper 4x4 system. Brilliant cars though and will run forever on nothing but neglect. I did 45,000 miles over 6 years in one with no FTP's and nothing bar routine service items.

Disco 200/300 slow dependable old donkey but my fuck do they rot. As already mentioned everybody talks about boot floors but that repair is a walk in the park compared to the utter misery that is inner wings and headlight boxes. 

Maverick, mate had an early one years ago. Miserable rot box but very capable 4x4 system with a LSD as standard in the back axle IIRC.

Most important consideration for a budget 4x4 though is tyres. A good 4x4 on shit tyres is going nowhere when it comes to mud and snow and good tyres cost £££££. In the last decent snow we had in Scotland (Dec 2010) I had a landrover 90 with nearly new 265 mud tyres. I could drive up ridiculously steep local roads through 12" of fresh snow without even engaging the diff lock such was the combination of traction and ground clearance. 

Agree with the CR-V comments. I’ll add that we’ve had three (mk2 and 2x mk3)and they are great in snow and mildly unpleasant going. Including a ploughed field with a foot of snow on it!

[rickvw72]

Gotta be a Fourtrak.

Most still seem to be alive on remote farms still, rotten as hell but still in use as tractors.

They do rust like fuck. They never die.

Had mine for a few years, not used on road for a while.  Pulled a seized up van on flat tyres out a field recently, at idle!

 

[M'coli]

Shame I didn't think of this earlier - you said that a Jimny is out because it would not easily accommodate 4 to 5 people and their tools.

What about TWO Jimnys...?