Help with new vehicle for Mrs

Challenger? Not much bigger......

Pathfinder?

Hi Ron

Doesn't eliminate Vitara (grand) , has low range , not bad either.

We recently went thru that senario at Xmas and brought A RAV4 runout model, the last RAV with true 4wd.

Took the new Suzi into bush and it wasn't bad but on balance we found that the RAV4 was better, and got auto for towing and the odd recovery. (bit hard on transmission -but it does do it.)

Robin Miller

My GQ Diesel Auto would be her best bet.. going cheap too :)

The racv has a comparo test on 6 smallish 4wd vehicles.
Subaru forester came up well,tows 1400kg and comes with low range in the manual.

A Forester might be too small, but the manual ones have low range boxes.

Not sure how much you want to spend but the Forester is a great car. Maybe even the turbo model if you want some go. I think they both have low range gearing

Disco driver, great to see you have now one of the best. My wife owns the manual Forester, I am on my 5th disco, having had a series 1 V8, then 4 TD5s (the last an HSE manual) and now have the latest HSE TDV6 auto which is just brilliant. At 2500 revs it is doing 150km. 6 speed box and is just the best design you can imagine. This will be the forerunner of all new model 4 wheel drives built from now on. Pretty expensive, although you can really work on a good deal. (As with most new cars, do not take the list price as anything more than a start point.

My wife drives Jeep Cher limited
loves it to death great to park
great towing cap heaps of grunt?

Thanks for all the replies,

Its old as in high km, well for petrol anyway, got bout 220,000 on it now, bit of play in diffs etc, clunk if not very careful with clutch.

I explained the rebuild, would need transmission worked over, and prob recon donk, that would cost prob 2-3k for trans and bout 4k donk, shes bit scared to spend 7k on it, tried to tell her itd be like new..... women know otherwise.

Body quite good, no rust, but it previously lived on Fraser Island and had heaps of sand in when we got it. I think it'd prob be easier to trade it.

Challenger... Pathfinder, wheelbase too big, same as Trucksters, she likes the Paj SWB as time after time she sees fourbies trying to get into spaces in town, and giving up and driving off, she then nips in with paj no trouble. Its just small nippy agile, and with full diff locks, a very serious off road vehicle, not to mention all the gadgets on it, its GXL? I think.. adjustable shocks from cab etc

Might need to try get her to see sense in spending dollars on it

Might look at that racv comparison though.

Thanks for input

Ron

How about the baby Pajero the "IO", I have one for sale in the trader section !

Does Kia still do the Sportage with a low range?? if not a 2 or 3 yr old Sportage would have the low range. Would fit the requirements of towing and size just not sure of asthetics as that is something only you can answer.

Cheers, Trevor.

Hi there Ron, you say this eliminates viitara, whys that ?? They have a low range that is probably better then some of the others, I know my 2litre vitara had a tow range of I think 1100kg ( I think ) for memory, I know I towed my inboard ski boat behind it and it was 1230kg. Maybe I was over the tow limit (possible) ??. I cant remember the exact tow weight but wouldnt be hard to find out. They are a top 4wd, just on 100kw of power my wifes was a 5 speed manual great on fuel 9L per 100 on the open road, great air con, didnt struggle towing the boat with air on, yes you knew it was there but no drama's ever. Just a thought. Regards Steve M

Hi guys,

This is my car we are talking about here. I do SOOOO love it!!!

It is a 1993 NJ top of the range job. Power tinted windows, sun roof, HUGE tyres, electric arial, every button you can think of and it has a big pipe on it and sounds really cool.

The paint work is good, there is no rust to be seen. The interior is in good shape too. When we bought it a year ago I found a well used map of Fraser Island in the pockets on the back of the seat. The screws that hold down the trim inside have surface rust on them and there was a little bit of sand around too.

It has 208,000 on it. I did the timing belt at 200,000 and it has 2 year old shocks. It does clunk if you aren't carefull with the clutch and it is burning oil. I (husband)changes the oil every 5,000 since timing belt.

I love this car because: I am 5 feet tall and it means I can see past the bonnet and reach the passenger door. I dont feel lost in it. I drove a Patrol wagon once and felt like I was at the helm of HMAS Sydney!!!!

The seats are versatile and offer loads of space for pram and shopping (10yr and 18 month old sprogs).

I can park it ANYWHERE!!!

It LOOKS mean with it's big wheels and it is unique to my town. There are only 4 in town, none of them as mean as mine!

It sounds great!

It hauls arse.

It hauls the caravan no worries ( I haven't been allowed to tow the new Quinnie yet (:) .

The only other new car on the market that appeals to me is the Jeep Cherokee. A bit out of the price range (see new Quinnie:)

Ok so thats the situation.

Please let me know any more of your thoughts, I appreciate them.

Hi Ron,
We went thru exactly the same as you a few months back. My wife ended up with the Xtrail because it has 2000kg tow capacity (500kgs more than any of the equivalents) and the manual had a reasonably low 1st gear (3.416), and I wanted the 132 Kw that the 2005 models had. Would have loved it to have a low range, but many of the low range transfers in these vehicles are not as low as your old Pajero.

My only other thought is the 90series Prado (up to 2002) which are a very easy vehicle to park because they are skinny. They have depreciated quite a bit lately, so are better priced 2nd hand now. The old 2.7 can be bought for a song.

Cheers
Phil