OT - 4x4 automatic car.

[sweetheart]

I would add , this car, whatever I get is to be my OH's Christmas/ birthday present. He wont get anything else. The most likely usage will be to his sisters and back into Plymouth ( and the odd trip for me in bad weather or when I cannot take my own). We live in a village. We are isolated and off the main gritted roads. Cornwall County Council is not to be given bouquests for their ability to clear the village roads ( even A and B roads). Last year they left us nearly three weeks without rubbish collections or any other services or trying to clear the roads but claimed the roads were clear because they had gritted the main A 390 and A 38 and A 30!

[sweetheart]

Which probably explains why my Clio does well. Its a very heavy and stable car. Some " experts" have suggested too heavy in the reviews I have read. Its not a go faster , its a solid drive.

[ARWadsworth]

That's probably what's wrong with him and why he won't help you:-)

[sweetheart]

OK , so what I have on my list so far is Subaru, Freelander Discovery, Panda 4x4 Seidici Dacia Honda CRV ( not sure of the initials) and possibly a Suzuki Vitaria ????

[sweetheart]

Why? dont men like to get new ( er) cars for their birthday when their old one is getting past it? He hasn't asked for anything else and a car is useful to him. I am choosing it simply because he wont go with me to sort it out himself.

[bod]

Sinclair C5

[Roger Chapman]

The landlady at the Tan Hill Inn had a tracked vehicle similar to that. It got an airing on national telly after the deep freeze at the beginning of the year.

News to me that you can drive a tracked vehicle on an ordinary driving licence. My tatty bit of green paper (I have not moved since 1978) gives me groups A and E (moped). A is "Any motor vehicle other than a vehicle in Group X". The excluded group X is "Motor bicycle which is not electrically propelled [part of group D]; road roller [group G]; vehicle steered by its tracks [group H]; invalid carriage [group J]; trolley vehicle [group N]

[Huge]

Rubbish.

[Huge]

In which case, buy a Discovery 3. I have this car. Marvellous bit of kit.

Although, since you haven't specified a budget, it may be a little out of it.

[Huge]

I've never had any problem descending steep hills in any of the automatic LRs we've had. Stick it in Low/Low ratio and it trundles very gently down hills with your feet off everything - slower than it does on the HDC, which actually frightened me, since it goes way faster that I want to.

[Andy Burns]

"Great Britain - Permitted"

[js.b1]

If this is for traction in cold/winter weather, consider the economics.

4x4 have 8 CV joints, CV boots, more complicated gearbox & repairs, lower fuel economy, lower tyre life, higher maintenance costs in general. Plus when changing a car it is always possible to end up with a lemon, and considering the 2008-2010 recession and credit problems people have not been paying out for maintenance so the used market is "a bit rough in places" in terms of buying a heap of bills.

Snow tyres and a cheap set of steel wheels are certainly not cheap, but they will outperform a 4x4 in many instances because they both assist in getting-you-going and getting-you-stopped. A 4x4 is better at getting going, but in general unless you have appropriate tyres you will have not much improvement in stopping. Consider the bulk of scandinavia, canada & usa do quite fine with FWD or RWD cars fitted with snow-tyres. Some do fit chains, but that tends to be for mountainous regions which are not common in the UK.

On balance I would get a set of snow tyres & dedicated steel wheels. That way you can get going AND stop. Plenty of 4x4s in ditches because they got going, but lacked any similar improvement in brakes & grip with which to do much else.

[Nick Finnigan]

I thought you wanted medium sized, reliable, economic?

[Huge]

I've never had any issues with automatic Land Rovers (+), and I live on a farm (*) and regularly visit the Highlands & Islands (%). There's even a PoV that says autos are better since they tend to smooth out jerky control inputs.

(* Drove the (automatic) Disco3 up to the top field to give the pigs some apples last weekend in hub deep mud. Sailed through. There was even mud on the roof when we got back ...)

(+ And I've owned 6.)

(%

)

[sweetheart]

I didnt specify a budget because there isnt one as such. You would be surprised what I could afford Mr!

[Huge]

She doesn't know what she wants.

[ARWadsworth]

[Huge]

Such statements are stupid and pointless on Usenet. We don't know who you are or what you can afford.

[Huge]

That isn't what he said.

[js.b1]

To add, Kia do/did a very good 4x4 (good in that it is actually capable of doing offroad, many are not).

Check crash data on the older 4x4, the suzuki stuff is not very good and I have seen three "front-rear skip" on emergency stops. By skip I mean the shock absorber dampening is inadequate, which combined with certain tyre combinations resulted in the tyres skipping on emergency stops thus greatly increasing stopping distance. Like a cartoon trying to stop, the weight transfer to the front springs on braking caused a rebound-skip-contact-rebound-skip motion. Sounds funny until you see it hit the pedestrians who ran out across the pedestrian crossing, the old escort alongside going faster stopped short. Similar experienced by a colleague in Spain with a hire car, perhaps the shocks were worn

- but I have seen three suzuki 4x4 do it myself in the past 10yrs, only one was an "old" red suzuki, the others were very new white Vitara.

For just trips thro snow, snow tyres win. Modern tyre compound freezes, tyres tend to be relatively low profile & high performance summer rating, shock absorbers have relatively high stiction causing weight transfer off FWD very easily indeed.