Soft 4wd cars worth it or not

[Red Fox]

I use a Volvo XC60 D5 and on the beach/shingle it has not let me down. Had a LR disco and XC90 before and dont regret the change.

[Searider]

Originally Posted by Red Fox

I use a Volvo XC60 D5 and on the beach/shingle it has not let me down. Had a LR disco and XC90 before and dont regret the change.

Is an XC60 4WD?

[Red Fox]

Yep it is.

[Red Fox]

Duz the biz

[Solent Bombard]

Volvos see to hold there value or have very high mileage.

So starting to warm to a Audi Quattro 2.0 tdi A3 Sportback

[andyjcox1]

Another vote for the X trail. I had the same dilemma as you and got the same advise about the discos.

The Xtrail is boring to look at but would say it is one of the more off road soft roaders and easily tows my 6m RIB up slimey slipways.

While not exactly frugal, I like the fact you can turn the 4x4 on and off to increase economy when you need to.

[Xk59D]

i use a 2012 xtrail 171hp for my ribcraft 6.8 and have no problems, great car.

however, i would say you don't want to be towing anything larger than this IMO. I actually got mine re-mapped (not the cheap ebay chip crap) as it was struggling i felt, even though the specs say it can handle a lot more it has to be said, it did need more torque IMO when i got the bigger boat. when i had my old avon 560 it was superb, bags of power. with the re-map i now have considerably more torque and it has transformed the car, i wouldn't bother though for anything less than 1600kg.

the above advice i would be careful with, if you do get a newer xtrail then i leave it in auto mode.

can't leave it in 4wd mode either with mine, as soon as you go above 20-30mph the 4wd disengages unless the computer deems it needs it, not sure if andyjcox has a diff year/model to me though but i've never heard of one staying in 4wd all the time?

auto mode/2wd mode doesn't make an ounce of diff to fuel consumption on mine.

whilst towing i get about 32-34 mpg, on a long run it will get up near 50mpg, can't ask for more really. i should add the remap got me circa 5-10% better fuel economy over standard.

i really doubt there are many better soft 4wd cars out there.

i can say it blows a soft 4wd kuga away, that barely moves the ribcraft as my old man has one.

cheers

[andyjcox1]

Hi Xk59D, thanks for the info about not leaving an xtrail in 2wd or 4wd. I never leave it in 4wd but it spends most of its life in 2wd for the daily commute.

I will check the forums and change my ways to leave it in auto, glad you pointed it out hopefully before a knacker mine (2004 sve model
2.2 turbo diesel)

To save me a lot of reading, would you mind summarising why it is best left in auto.

[Xk59D]

Hi Andy,

Your car and my car are quite different then, i have the "new" 4wd system which adds lots of sensors (more to break!) over the older system.

the reason to leave it in 4wd is basically for safety reasons. the 4wd will engage instantly on mine if left in auto mode as the clutch is spinning already. i.e if things get a bit iffy then the car will sort itself out somewhat if you forget to switch it into auto. i believe the newer system will ignore the 2wd option anyway if it really needs it but depends what tech article you read.

anyways, some good reading here-

Nissan X-TRAIL - All New Chassis | Part Five

i REALLY hope nissan puts a V6 diesel in the new xtrail.....yummy

[andyjcox1]

Thanks for the info

Originally Posted by Xk59D

Hi Andy,

Your car and my car are quite different then, i have the "new" 4wd system which adds lots of sensors (more to break!) over the older system.

the reason to leave it in 4wd is basically for safety reasons. the 4wd will engage instantly on mine if left in auto mode as the clutch is spinning already. i.e if things get a bit iffy then the car will sort itself out somewhat if you forget to switch it into auto. i believe the newer system will ignore the 2wd option anyway if it really needs it but depends what tech article you read.

anyways, some good reading here-

Nissan X-TRAIL - All New Chassis | Part Five

i REALLY hope nissan puts a V6 diesel in the new xtrail.....yummy

[beerbelly]

ford rangers are easily within your budget fairly capable off road shoguns are very good off road but horrific on fuel very comfy things to drive tho

[C-NUMB]

I don't need a off road car but the slip i use is so steep that would need a reduction gear not to burn the clutch. Have been considering to buy a 1998-2000 2,5 or 4.0L petrol Cherokee as a Tow/Toy car(not the grand cherokee). Over here pre 2001 models have very low tax, insurance is not bad either. Parts are relatively cheap and guess they are pretty low tech cars not too bad to repair. The huge fuel consumption does not matter, won't use much fuel anyway as have very short distance to tow.

[paintman]

Use a rope & keep the car on the flat? You might need to consider using a large pulley block attached to a suitable object if you can't get a straight pull.
Seen that done in Coverack, steep slip & several cars have got stuck - clutch slipping - trying to recover so the Harbour Master uses a thick rope tied to the trailer hitch then round one of the blocks used for hauling out the fishing boats & tied to the car towball. Car drives along the harbour & up comes the trailer with no probs.
Same problem used to arise when the slip was wet.

[Markyboyo]

All depends on what you are towing, didn't spot it when I quickly read through the thread...I have an octavia 4x4 and love it. Regularly have it off the end of the slip onto shingle, stones and sand towing a 5.5m humber and no problems so far. Manages 50 to the gallon on the motorway too running solo.

[Tim in Yorkshire]

What engine has the Octavia got?

[br1anuk]

Originally Posted by Searider

Was very pleased with my Volvo XC70.

I was very pleased with my XC70, excellent.

Why don’t you buy a cheap Nissan Terrano SWB with low miles, I had one of those and they’re great too.

Will only do 32mpg on a run though, but thats probably more than a Defender/Discovery.

Brian.

[Solent Bombard]

Originally Posted by Markyboyo

All depends on what you are towing, didn't spot it when I quickly read through the thread...I have an octavia 4x4 and love it. Regularly have it off the end of the slip onto shingle, stones and sand towing a 5.5m humber and no problems so far. Manages 50 to the gallon on the motorway too running solo.

Yep started to seriously look at the Octavia 4x4's now and also the Octavia scouts as well but I'm looking for the common rail engine as the older style PD engines have a lot of bad press/reviews with problems with DPF/EGR.

And the common rails seem to be better on this front.

Also preferring the Octavias over the yetis as the fuel mpg should be a lot better as out Eco greenline yeti struggles to get 50mpg with all its Eco credentials and 2wd

[Solent Bombard]

Originally Posted by Markyboyo

All depends on what you are towing, didn't spot it when I quickly read through the thread...I have an octavia 4x4 and love it. Regularly have it off the end of the slip onto shingle, stones and sand towing a 5.5m humber and no problems so far. Manages 50 to the gallon on the motorway too running solo.

Yep started to seriously look at the Octavia 4x4's now and also the Octavia scouts as well but I'm looking for the common rail engine as the older style PD engines have a lot of bad press/reviews with problems with DPF/EGR.

And the common rails seem to be better on this front.

Also preferring the Octavias over the yetis as the fuel mpg should be a lot better as out Eco greenline yeti struggles to get 50mpg with all its Eco credentials and 2wd

[br1anuk]

Be careful buying a silver Octavia Scout, the largest buyer of them is the Ambulance service, apparently the paramedics absolutely love them.
Ive just got the new one on PCH through Skoda finance, £200 per month.

Octavia Scout 2.0CR TDI 4x4 on an amazing Å*KODA Finance Contract Hire deal at an amazing £166 per month.

Brian.

[buddy]

Xc 70 very good no problems with 1200kg load on many South coasts slip ways