We’re looking for a new (secondhand) car, which is going to have to be a 4x4. Reason being we have horses and for the first time we’ve grown our own small bale hay for the winter. So once a week I’ll be dropping half a dozen bales into the feeder, which will involve getting them from the bottom of a very soft, rutted, unsurfaced track, and delivering them to the middle of a churned up horse field at the top of a steep muddy track. All of which will deteriorate badly as winter wears on.
So, we need something more than a soft-roader (I’m thinking transfer box and a centre diff lock at the least), which can fit 6 small bales into. Doesn’t bother me if I have to take rear seats out to do it, but at the same time, would be happy to look at a pick-up.
It’ll also be the main family wagon and while we’re happy to bounce along in something fairly robust, it’ll need to be up to a 600-mile weekend every couple of months (visiting family) as well as going on holidays, etc.
It’ll replace our trusty Fabia estate in which we’ve done 150k completely trouble-free miles, and we’re looking for something we’ll be able to put a similar mileage into (on top of whatever it’s got when we buy it) before we need to throw too much money at it.
Budget is up to 6K, maybe 7k max. Oh, and I want a manual.
Thoughts so far are around:
Shogun 3.2 DiD (don't mind SWB / LWB)
Landcruiser (as recent as we can get for the money)
Hi-Lux (ditto)
Suzuki Grand Vitara (the 2006-ish model)
Ford Ranger (post 2005, I think)
I’d love to hear if anyone’s had experience of any of these, or ideas for anything else which should be on the list. Thanks!
Nissan Pathfinder?
Should pick up a decent one for that sort of money that is unlikely to have been abused off road unlike a similar age pickup.
I had one for 7 years and loved it.
Would a quad with trailer be up to the task? That would leave you a car for longer journeys, better economy etc.
I have much the same requirements as you, once a week down a muddy (in winter) track, Other times just normal road use. I used to have a Subaru Forester (old shape), now have a Nissan X-Trail. Both have been fine off road, the Forester had low range box, which was good, the X Trail has a diff lock, which is better. I changed the tyres to something a bit more off road, but I'm not sure how much that helps.
Both were (are) reliable, I sold the Forester at about 105000 miles, the X Trail is on 97000. I'm be looking for some new (used) early next year and will be looking at both of these again (new shape for both). I paid about £8K for the Subaru, £10k for the Nissan.
Depending on how "soft" a faux-by-4 you went, you may find their modern traction control makes them surprisingly more useful than some "real" 4x4s in the wet stuff if clearance isnt an issue. stick appropriate boots on it and you get to keep a "normal" car that also plays farm tractor when you need it to
What about a Farm Mule type vehicle and keep your car in better nick / clean etc etc?
Sounds like you need a cart and one of your horses, make the buggers work for their keep. You could then treat yourself to a proper vehicle like an Audi or T5....
Tyres are at least as important; mud and road tyres don't go together
Ground clearance to deal with soft and rutted
Most on your list will need a licence to use a LA tip (free providing it's not over-used), and can be a pain to park in car-sized spaces. Maybe consider a clunky SORN off-road runabout and a car??
From your description, I don't think any vehicle suitable for long trips and holidays (without enduring horrendous tyre noise) is going to cut it, I can't see any heavy vehicle getting the last 20 metres to a feeder where horses have been chopping up the ground (except a tractor, and we all like tractors)
I would be looking for something lightweight to avoid completely trashing your field and tracks, a quad, farm mule or perhaps one of those silly Jimnys that has been hopped up with mud tyres.
Build a shed in the field and store the hay there rather than chewing up the lane in the winter...
and then get another car.
Is the horse tending job all off the road , ie not required tax and insurance? As above get a sorn pickup or similar if it is. I have an old ranger (2000) it is sorn at the moment. Leaking coolant so needs attention.
Thanks for the replies. Lots of food for thought.
I had thought about a quad + trailer before. Thing is, it'd mean one more thing cluttering up the yard (potentially getting nicked) and also eat into the money available to replace the Fabia, which cannot go on for much longer suffering the kind of abuse it has (currently used as the farm hack, as long as the ground is dry).
Same goes for an old SORN pick up, and I'd sooner get a quad for the lack of damage it'd do to the land.
A conventional vehicle would definitely need plenty of ground clearance which might rule out the XTrail and Forrester (and GV from my list), and yes, I was expecting to put proper mud tyres on whatever we got.
Will have a look at the Pathfinder, though I thought I'd read some internet horror stories (and we all know how accurate they can be). I'm good at the negatives, eh?
Can definitely see the appeal of the quad bike option, so I'll have another look at prices. Now, any ideas how to break it to Mrs Pz that we won't be towing a horse trailer anywhere?
ETA: Timba, interested by your comment about needing LA licence for tip runs. I'd assumed that something with 2 (or potentially 3) rows of seats and not a pick-up would count as a car. Do you know if it varies from one council to the next?
VW Touraeg, youll need to fold the seats. Very comfy on long drives. Look for failed drive shaft bearings at about 60,0000.
Reliable, but avoid diesels with high emissions as tax can be very high.
You didn’t say if you were going to tow with it or you have something else for that. If so automatics are better for that (apparently) but your budget won’t get you something with anti sway.
getting something that will do all and still have a reasonable mpg at that price will be a challenge...
I’m a landrover man, well used to be..
had series, Defender, discovery and freelanders
tyres make huge difference
Electronic gizmos make big difference too, remember getting a freelander somewhere a Defender wouldn’t go, basically defender got cross axled but electric gizmos in freelander coupled with light weight kept it going
how much ground clearance you need?
Early duster 4w<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">d, good ground clearance, reasonable load area, can tow. Buy one chaep and move it on if you hate it</span>
I’ve heard a few recommendations for a specific age of Freelander, 2008-2010 I think, based on them being reliable (for a Landrover). They are reputed to be very capable off road.
Freelanders are very good off road, ours has indeed shown up "proper" 4wds as per @backinireland before now.
However, speaking from expensive experience, if they've had tyres with different wear between axels you could be in for a very big bill (front power transfer unit, rear diff, possibly haldex also). Listen for any suspicious whirring that sounds a bit like exaggerated road noise, particularly under engine braking.
Reading this my initial thoughts were for a quad bike or a Mule. Or maybe just a cheap wreck of a pickup with some very chunky AT tyres on and never use it on the road.
After your comments how about a small tractor with 4wd and a trailer? I know it will eat into your car replacement budget but you can now buy a more sensible family car that will be cheaper to run and maintain.
From experience I have ended up getting our Freelander very stuck in a very wet sloping horse paddock on top of a hill in winter when delivering 20 bales in our small livestock trailer. The car is fitted with Michelin Lattitude Cross as it needs a good balance of on and off road. They got very quickly overwhelmed by the wet sticky clay. Ended up getting the trailer to safe spot at the bottom of the field and just about got the freelander out. Went back a few weeks later with a neighbours tractor to fetch the trailer as we had sheep to move.
If you are dead set on a 4x4 to do everything than get something you can easily get some good chunky AT tyres for with nice high profiles - ie nothing with sporty low profile road tyres on silly large wheels.
In terms of bales you might be able to squeeze 6 into a freelander at a push. A Freelander 2 would have a better chance and a be a very nice family car. FL 1 had a bad rep due to the VCU but that is because people didnt treat it as the consumable that it is. It's not bank breaking at £300 + some new GKN bearings and some labour or DIY in less than 2 hours. It's nice and light and yes the electronics do just sort it out nicely. Ours is the BMW Td4 with the auto box and will pull an 8ft sheep trailer with 10 ewes inside just fine.
For bales get a small trailer - just an old trailer tent or something. Your car will end up full of hay no matter how careful you try to be with a tarp. In fact, a Suzuki Jimney with a set of proper AT tyres and a small trailer would be a good and probably cheaper alternative to a small 4x4 tractor.
"ETA: Timba, interested by your comment about needing LA licence for tip runs. I’d assumed that something with 2 (or potentially 3) rows of seats and not a pick-up would count as a car. Do you know if it varies from one council to the next?"
My comment was a lazy no-research-involved comment because it varies from area to area. The dual-purpose status of a used vehicle is something to nail down with the dealer and LA because 12 visits in 2 years might be a problem for you (in my area) where they include all goods vehicles or 12 visits April to March in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. H&W helpfully give examples of non-permit vehicles, including, "4x4 / utility vehicle fully glazed with rear seats and no load bay, e.g. Landcruiser, Shogun, Frontera, Range Rover, Land Rover 110 with rear side glazing and rear seats", and Lancashire just refers to cars, vans, twin-axle trailers and pedestrians
With your budget you will not get anything decent regards Shogun or Landcruiser. Everything will be 12+ years and over 100k on miles . To suit your budget and requirements you should look at Isuzu Trooper/Daihatsu Fourtrak/Nissan Patrol. Decent examples of these work horses can be found in your price range.
My mil has an x trail, it has over 200,000 miles on the clock and has been reliable.
it has diff lock too. I’ve driven it and it was fine as a car.
definitely consider one.
You could get a 06 plate Merc Ml for that kind of money. . Will be auto but trust me once you try a merc auto you’ll never want a manual again. Had mine for 4 years 40k miles and only needed a new battery. Bombproof and great off road with proper tyres. Avoid anything Land Rover unless you like fixing them. A lot.
...and don't forget to clean your wheels before you go back on-road, it's an Highways Act offence to deposit mud not that the farmers around here seem to worry. Anything above 30mph with 500g of mud where a 15g balance weight sits is alarming, not to mention the noise of off-road tyres (clean or not) 🙂
Alternative approach - what is the distance you need to travel that currently isn't suitable for a car? 1 tonne of stone roughly equates to 1m of track. Stone prices vary, but our last track was at £18/ton delivered, so for £2k at that rate you could do 100m allowing for digger hire too. Good wagon drivers will spread as they tip. If you're down PZ way, I know someone near Nancledra with their own diggers, quite familiar with that sort of work. Any non-blingy car would manage the track then. A track you could probably put through the farm business too, but that isn't my area of expertise.
Land Cruiser sounds the best of your list. Or get brave with a Discovery, at least there is more of a scene for repairing them.
I use a wheelbarrow. Hay run every day while walking the dog - 1 bale a day. About 200 metres from barn to field, uphill all the way.
Just make sure you buy something with air-con. With Tyres like the ones you’ll need you can’t go over 60 with the windows open. I’ve got a Hilux Surf that will get most places you point it., it’s mine and I love it but it’s not to everyone’s taste.
For that money I’d spend £5k on nice Skoda Octavia for the family and £500 on an MOT fail fourtrak/hilux/L200 every five years.
UPDATE....
Decided that the STW hive-mind had got it right (as always). So we've kept the Fabia, and have added a Suzuki SJ410 to the farm fleet. So far it seems hugely capable, it's a soft top so we can just stack it as high as we need to, and it's got a tow-bar anyway, in case we want to stick the bales on a wee trailer.
Thanks for all the advice, it really did help get my head round what the issues were going to be.
And Mrs PZ is happy that it's not going to be towing anything horse-sized around. In fact, she loves it. Probably shouldn't tell her that I've been eyeing this up...
If I wanted a cheap 4x4 that was reliable and capable off road I would be looking for a late Nissan Terrano II 2.7 diesel. Failing that an old Disco series 2 with the Td5. Plenty of well loved older examples about.
Good shout on the SJ410 😉
