Petrol or Diesel Land rover?

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boot space on the 4 door Grand Vitara is very small, unless you put the rear seats down it's next to hopeless.

Thats what I thought!! :lmao: My fiesta isnt so bad for boot space to be honest! (with the back seats down) Ive always said its like mary poppins bag or the tardis haha!! I once managed to get two sofa seats in there and a small table!!

I might go view one close up to have a look, but I have a feeling that it wont be any more benificial to me space wise than the fiesta :(
 

Robbi

Full Member
Mar 1, 2009
10,244
1,036
northern ireland
look at the earlier Grand Vitaras they have selectable 4 wheel drive, the newer ones don't. i had one for a couple of years, i loved it :) it would go anywhere :) and i do miss it.

but.......

high insurance

high road tax

25 - 30 MPG

same as all 4 x 4's really
 

greensurfingbear

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
cool, i'll have a look at them :)

I know, tis hard to get wanting a landy out of my head, but I have to be sensible about this!! :puppy_dog

I know right! I live in the countryside now so totally need a landy! Hmmm

I need to get pooch in boot and gear on back seat and have room for me and passenger or two :( currently driving a Honda jazz (also a tardis) but its getting old and grumpy and seems to have things wrong with it regularly.....could be describing myself there!

The way things are going I'll want a vehicle to take canoes and kayaks as well as camping kit!
 

lavrentyuk

Nomad
Oct 19, 2006
279
0
Mid Wales
+If you were to get the diesel then please bear in mind that in the long term you have possibilities including fitting the 200/300 TDi engines, Montego Perkins diesel engines, even ISUZU. All involve much spannering but much improvement. When it comes to the heart not much beats a Landrover, whatever the model.
 

peaks

Settler
May 16, 2009
722
5
Derbys
Have you considered a Subaru Forester estate?
Theres lots of old ones around, capable 4x4, low ratio gears, very very reliable, 2nd hand parts available, good load carrying (especially for dogs), good handling, good on motorways as well as country roads, effective heater and does about 25-35 mpg depending on how you drive it.
 
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Jackdaw

Full Member
I suppose it doesnt really, i've never really looked into anything else tho because ive been too obsessed with land rovers :lmao:

Stick with it girl. Landies are a way of life; a calling not a selection. Have owned and driven them since I was 16. Only ever get a petrol 4x4 if someone has given it too you or it is ridiculously cheap.

There is no point having a 4x4 that can't go through water without a lot of prep.

Fuel economy on petrol models a truly shocking. My 300tdi Discovery will do 32 (ish) to the gallon and has done since I bought her 7 years ago. She comes out with me all the time for my ecological work and can easily manage anything a soggy farmers field can give.

The key with buying a Land Rover (like any car) is: unless you are super confident about the model of car you are buying, take someone along. I always take my brother-in-law because, apart from being a Land Rover nut, he is also a salesman by trade and handles all the blagging/haggling that goes on.

A great thing about Land Rovers is that the older they are the easier they are to fix and they can be done with very little spanner experience. You'll lose your knuckle skin but will be able to save hundreds by not taking it to a garage.

Have fun with whatever you get but a couple of websites that could help you out for more information:

www.lro.com

http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?act=idx

Both have excellent articles and normally have picture guides on how to work on the vehicles.
 

Big Stu 12

Bushcrafter through and through
Jan 7, 2012
6,028
4
Ipswich
One thing I will say about a Landrover is maintainability..... the older ones, ie series and the 200 tdi and 300tdi engined ones including the Discovery Series 1... yes I know they have rust... I Have one.... but once under-control, keep on top of it and its no problem at all....

These are easy maintained , and Parts are cheap, also one with the least amount of electronics will take all you can throw at it,

It has been pointed out that the little Jimmys have been seen pulling out Landy's, if thats the case then they were not that stuck, the smaller 4x4's have not got the Power, Weight to give Traction to pull out a "stuck" Landy.. I have seen many try to recover a prperly stuck landy, with quite a bit of off road experiance, most reasons most 4x4 get stuck is the lack of Skills the driver has.

I am a member of Suffolk Landrover Owners Club, we used to run the Suffolk 4x4 show at Rougham Airfield, we had two Off Road course that people can go round, there we used to see all makes get stuck over and over again, due to driver problems,

What tends to be forgotten with a 4x4 discussion , is the fact that ALL 4x4 are only Cars, driven by Humans, put a different human in it and it will achive more, may be less, many a time I have seen a tricked up 4x4 with 5" lift, Air lockers ect get stuck, and some one with a standard one just plod over the obsticall.

What I would say is have a look at what you really want the car to do, most people only buy a 4x4 cause it looks good, work out what you want then go buy it...

I would even dare to say do you really need a 4x4, let alone a landy, if its a landy you want and can put up with their little trates, then go for one, just have a spanner handy, sying that all of mine have never let me down,apart from a wheel bearing collapsing about 4 miles from home and going solid after a long weekend of off roading in a very sloppy, very wet sand pit, under £20 of parts later and an hour of my labour it was sorted,

I over the years have done loads of off roading, if you take a Motor off you they will suffer and the maintaince bill will rocket.

Also have a read around this forumn, yeah its landrover based

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/

Yes Iam a landrover addit, so my head is up a Landys rs.... lol but i hape i have helped a bit
 

Peter_t

Native
Oct 13, 2007
1,353
2
East Sussex
there will only ever be two of us + dog in there

why not get a small van?
i drive an old VW caddy, not very cool i know but i love having a van. taking canoes on the roof, plenty of room for camping kit, doesn't matter if it gets all muddy inside and there is room to stretch out so good for sleeping in too!
its a 1.9 diesel which is a little gutless so isn't expensive to insure and last time i tested it did 48 MPG so cheaper to run than many cars
another bonus with only having two seats is that you are never the one to drive on nights out on the town:)

pete
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
why not get a small van?
i drive an old VW caddy, not very cool i know but i love having a van. taking canoes on the roof, plenty of room for camping kit, doesn't matter if it gets all muddy inside and there is room to stretch out so good for sleeping in too!
its a 1.9 diesel which is a little gutless so isn't expensive to insure and last time i tested it did 48 MPG so cheaper to run than many cars
another bonus with only having two seats is that you are never the one to drive on nights out on the town:)

pete

Your vans only have 2 seats? Kinda defeats the purpose of a van as a family vehicle doesn't it? Or are you talking about a full sized cargo van? That kinda goes bigger than I think she wants.
 

pastymuncher

Nomad
Apr 21, 2010
331
0
The U.K Desert
How about a UAZ469.

TBH if you're doing a lot of miles a 200tdi or 300tdi disco would probably be better, (check for rust).
If you're only doing low milles then a petrol series might work out O.K.

Whatever you look at make sure you take someone who knows about land rovers, not just someone who knows a bit about cars.

BTW its mandatory if you live on a boat, to have a car full of junk, so a long wheelbase landie is required.
 

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