Small 4wd's

The Feroza may look like a "girly" car and many people use them that way but I had one and it's more man than any of those suzi's. Much more heavy duty, but because of the IFS they handle nice on the road and the little 1.6EFI has plenty of poke.
Be a great option, they are also a lot cheaper than the Suzi's!

Had a Sierra.

Great car, would have one again tomorrow if we didn't need the room of a dual cab :(

That is really the only major drawback to them, they only have a couple of inches of luggage space at all unless the rear seat/s are folded up out of the way. Which makes life difficult when you have kids.

Fuel tank is a little on the small side, but workable. First gear (L4) is a little higher than I would have liked.

Go almost anywhere, options and accessories aplenty, reliable and pretty good on fuel.

4WD stuff like diff locks, spring over conversions, lift kits, bullbars, winches etc. are all readily available if you do decide to really go at it.

SuziSport & ARB have heaps of gear for them.

And if ever you need to re-power, the 1.6 Vitara engine can be slotted in by changing little more than a bell housing and an engine mount. Somewhere in the vicinity of a 30% increase in power over stock by memory.

have you considered a Subaru, my daughter has a 1989 wagon and its a great little bus - dual range , 4 doors , plenty of room , rides like a , economical and goes fairly well off road , clearance would be the only limiting factor.

Regards

Alan

I agree that the Feroza is a great wagon but I still think a Vitara is a pretty good choice. Lots of aftermarket gear available, plenty of dealers and wreckers for parts, IFS is nicer on the road than a Sierra, more around to choose from, great reliability and good resale. I've just bought my 3rd.

If you're looking small, the Subaru Forester would have be a strong contender. The only thing lacking is a bit of clearance. Other than that, great round town and capable off road.

Rob

Justin,
Just to discuss other options - the Subaru Forester and the Honda CRV are the tops of the small 4WDs in my opinion but you're going to pay $20K. 97 model CRVs are $20K. The Forester 89 models are also - well here in WA they are.

Have you looked at the older Rav 4s (pre-98) are going to fall closer in your price range and a great car.

We've previously owned a JLX soft top Vitara. I see the model we had (96?) for around $13K. Very girly and true dual range.

Have you looked at the Kia Sporage? Surprisingly, this vehicle has a good reputation. A 4WD trainer here in WA who sees all sorts of vehicles turn up on his weekly training days is actually quite impressed and has decided to replace his wife's Sierra with a Kia. A 1999 Kia Sportage is about $16K. I test drove one with just 60,000 km and was stunned at how zippy they went (light). It drives like a hoon mobile compared to my big cruiser I currently drive. For the money, its a good buy and also dual range.

Good luck!
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