Brabus Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Chaps, Need some transport for the winter to get up to the mountains and the M5 doens't fit the bill. Even if I get winter wheels/tyres there is a chance of getting stuck with such a heavy car. Plus I want to avoid dings, salt, grit etc. So...for the same price as a set of snow tyres/wheels why not get a 4x4 banger? Criteria: Reliable Must be ok for motorway trips Reasonably fuel efficient So far in the running we have Subaru Legacy Subaru Impreza 1.8 300 TE 4matic (scared as the 4 matic is probably expensive to put right) Audi's (lots of them: A4's, 80's, A6's) Any other ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Whats your budget Brabus ? I'll beat Tipex to it - The Legacy ticks all the boxes I reckon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Out of your list i'd go for the Merc 300TE. For your prescribed use though wouldnt you be better off looking for something like an early Range Rover / Landcruiser / Defender / Suzuki that has real off road potential rather than a 4 wheel drive car that is still going to get stuck in more than 5cm of snow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Subaru Forrester Audi Allroad or Mk 1 gen A6 quattro - they sat pretty high up anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Depending on budget, either a Legacy or a Forester. Legacy will be the more relaxed cruise on the motorways and will cope with almost anything you could throw at it on the mountains (with the right tyres/chains). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted October 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Forrester/A6 Allroad would be out of budget for this purpose. Don't want a Jeep type of vehicle as they wouldn't be comfortable for motorway runs, at least not those in the budget Im looking at. Legacy best bet at the moment. Are these quite reliable then? Anything to look out for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Forrester/A6 Allroad would be out of budget for this purpose. Don't want a Jeep type of vehicle as they wouldn't be comfortable for motorway runs, at least not those in the budget Im looking at.Legacy best bet at the moment. Are these quite reliable then? Anything to look out for? They have a great reputation, but I've never owned one, Garc or Tipex will fill you in. Bit of a q-car IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Legacy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Get an old Impreza WRX and get performance as well as practicality to boot. Plus, it'll make the snowy mountains a real hoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon690 Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 It's got to be a Subaru WRX or if you want a diesel then an Audi with Quattro is hard to beat and has outstanding snow capabilities (the video might be a set up but it's still a good indication of ability). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted October 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Get an old Impreza WRX and get performance as well as practicality to boot. Plus, it'll make the snowy mountains a real hoot Again, tempting but I have to be firm (ooo-er) with the budget I've set. Otherwise I'll keep increasing it and end up buying an Evo/Wrx or something similar. There something strangely appealing about cheap motoring which I miss from my yoof, running around in my Fiat Uno. Leaving the car parked anywhere without caring if someone opens a car door on it, salt/grit. But....at the same time i don't want to end up stranded on the side of the motorway on a sunday evening with a knackered car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelwind101 Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 There is probably an endless supply of durable V70's in your budget with turbo charged engines and 4x4. T5 and T5 R models might be a pricey. They are not bullet proof but a decent example should last well and not cause you any major problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 If you're looking at banger money I would steer clear of Imprezas - cheap ones have invariably been ragged and/or badly modified and poorly serviced, which effectively removes their reliability and turns them into a potential money pit. Legacy estates, on the other hand, may have had a tough life as utility vehicles but most won't have ragged within inches of their lives (except Tipex's obviously... ). A Legacy with a decent servie history should be reliable whatever the mileage and pretty much whatever you throw at it. Jap spec GTs are tempting (2.0 Turbo similar to the Impreza) but a Euro spec 2.5 4 cam would be the sensible option. One word of caution - even the Euro spec 2.5 will give you about 25mpg, so you'l lbe spending on fuel some of what you'd hopefully save on repair bills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soapsuds Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Cheapo Forester 2.0 S-Turbo.... Loads around and quick Or even a non turbo 2.0. Will run forever..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teacake Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Legacy best bet at the moment. Are these quite reliable then? Anything to look out for? Legacy all the way. I've had two Mk Is, a non-turbo that got to over 230,000 miles in mine and my sister's hands with no major problems, and a turbo that was still going strong at 190,000 when I sold it. Best car I've ever owned. I also had a Mk III twin-turbo that still felt new at 120,000 miles. What to watch out for on early cars (MkI up to 1994): Most of the body is galvanised, but some bits can rust, particularly if damaged and badly repaired. 2-litre engines are very reliable, and can take 300-400,000 miles with no problem. These were much in demand for home-build light aircraft, because of their light weight, low profile and ability to run and run at high revs. Very early cars had 1.8s, but you won't see hardly any of these now. Power output: 123bhp for 2-litre non-turbos, 197bhp for single turbos. The hydraulic tappets on early quad-cam turbos are self-adjusting, and after about 100,000 miles they tend to become intermittently a bit noisy. This is not at all a problem, and the engine will continue to soldier on forever. I tried fixing mine by changing the oil pump and type of oil, which helped a bit, but the only real cure is swapping to modified WRX heads, which is big bucks. Subaru UK sent me some tappet additive, which also helped, but in the end I just learned to ignore it. Front brakes are dual-pot on turbos, and can sometimes suffer a sticky piston, which causes uneven pad wear or brake binding. Not expensive to fix. Rear screens sometimes leak on saloons. Small camshaft and crankshaft oil leaks are common at high miles, but rarely weep much. I never needed to top up between services. The manual gearboxes are bomb-proof on the turbos, a much stronger design than the later Impreza, to the extent that some Legacies have ended up as donors to fix broken Imprezas. Autos don't have such a great reputation. The gearing on manual turbos is quite high (about 25mph/1000rpm in top) which makes for relaxed motorway cruising, but means that you can get bogged down away from the lights and it's harder to make steady progress off-road. You can do about 110mph in third gear in a turbo. The non-turbos are much lower-geared (20mph/1000rpm in top) which makes them busier on the motorway, though still happy to cruise all day well above the legal limit, but quicker off the mark from a stand-still and off-road. Manual non-turbo cars have a single viscous coupling LSD between the front and rear wheels with a 50:50 split front/rear. Even with just this, I never got stuck and was able to tow much larger cars in snow, ice and mud. The turbos have an additional viscous coupling between the rear wheels. I'm not sure what the arrangement is on the autos, later models used an electronic diff and an 80:20 split, but I don't know when that started. Some 2-litre non-turbos will have dual-range transmission. Most bits last very well. To give some idea, mine lasted: 190,000+ on its original shocks (still going on them, for all I know) 180,000 on its original exhaust Rear pads at 100,000 discs and pads at 175,000 miles Front pads at 100,000, discs and pads at 150,000 Clutch at 120,000 Fuel pump at 180,000 (ran out of petrol) Steering rack at 150,000 miles. Everything else on the car was original. The Mk II (1994 in the UK) introduced a 2.5 with about 160bhp and dropped the turbo model in the UK, while the Japanese market got a twin-turbo with varying levels of power from 250-280bhp. There was a rumour of head gasket problems on 2.5s, due to smaller gaps between the bores. The Mk III (1998 in the UK) continued with 2.0 and 2.5 models, and added a 3.0 H6 with 226bhp in 2001. This last was only available with an auto box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Has to be the legacy, nothing, and I mean nothing, else will fit all those criteria, mine has had so much abuse you wouldn't believe it, it's on 145k miles now and it's clearly had a hard life, it's not a new car and it doesn't look or feel like one, but, everything still works and it just keeps going. I had the sticky caliper and the intermitently noisy tappets, not bothered about the tappets but the caliper was fixed for free when the pads were changed. Nothing else short of a proper off roader will cope as well in the snow or off road, forget quattro or anything else, they are all carp in comparison. Only downside is Mpg, not brilliant but worth it, can't bring myself to sell mine so I think it's future involves having the interior removed, and if I can find it anywhere, a decent suspension kit & rollcage. Done the brakes already, doesn't really need any more power, but will probably get some once the rest is sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Nothing else short of a proper off roader will cope as well in the snow or off road, forget quattro or anything else, they are all carp in comparison. Bollocks. R6ecBUjlx5A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Sorry sharky, but that vid is clearly bollocks, it's very obviously 2 different locations, the Audi getting up a much smaller and less steep hill, with a run up! Anyway, the Subaru 4wd is still better than quattro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Unless you need the extra ground clearance to go properly off road or through very deep/rutted snow, I don't see the need for a proper off road 4x4. A car with proper 4wd will be just as good. By far the most important thing is tyres (and if necessary, chains). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Unless you need the extra ground clearance to go properly off road or through very deep/rutted snow, I don't see the need for a proper off road 4x4. A car with proper 4wd will be just as good. By far the most important thing is tyres (and if necessary, chains). Agree with the first part, but speaking from lots of personal experience, studded (real winter) tyres will do 90% of the stuff chains will do, and can be used at real speeds on mixed surface types. Chains are a ball-ache. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesK Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 What about the 4x4 Panda in the background Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve2 Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 try an older Toyota Rav 4, Totally reliable and love being chucked around like an old GTI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teacake Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Has to be the legacy, nothing, and I mean nothing, else will fit all those criteria, mine has had so much abuse you wouldn't believe it They really will take abuse and keep going. I took one of mine down a logging track to follow a rally car that had gone the wrong way and which had got stuck. Despite repeatedly thumping the underside on ruts, I never got beached, and the only thing I had to do when I got back out again was to stand in the back and stamp the footwells flat again. None of the important mechanical bits were damaged. Mine have been bounced off grass banks, run through snow drifts, used to pull Volvo 740s out of axle-deep mud, run from the tip of Italy to the top of the Orkneys, and never once missed a beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelwind101 Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 (edited) Ok back to my bag of tricks. Suzuki Ignis 4 Grip! You can even drive them in rivers! Some of you might know this as the Subaru G3X. You wont loose much monies on it and grannies probably had it before you. They did a full on rally version in the UK from the dealers too! Edited October 12, 2009 by steelwind101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Mines been round the nurburgring a lot, at full tilt and then some, with 4 large blokes and a boot full of stuff, several track days, and before I had it, it belonged to Harris Rallying and was used as the recce car and support vehicle, no doubt it went through most of the stages at 90% of the actual rally car! I use it for tip runs and stuff, it'll hold an amazing amount in that boot. Got to get the rear arches sorted as they only have a bit of metal left attached to the rust! Oh, and still need some pads in one of the rear calipers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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