Which (smaller) 4 X 4?

[** Pending Removal **]

Done 20 thou in an A6 Allroad and played like a child in the snow over the past couple of days. Fantastic car!

Mine is still going like new and has now got 115,000 on the clock. (Smile)

 

[Will Hewland]

Any four wheel drive with the right rubber will be just right.

It's the tyres that are the key.

Sorry, just re read that . (A few wines last night). Of course better tyres will assist in stopping; but its little do do with 4WD.

 

[Hamster]

An X5 on 10" rims entertained us all day last Monday with 4" of snow in Perthshire. Took six people to stop it sliding into a gully on one hillside. Got a film of a 200yd run up to get out of a field and then the engine shut down as it thought it would help.

The X5/3/6 are not up to the job in snow or off road, neither are the Porsche Cayenne or the Touareg although they could be improved with full snow tyres. All made for a totally different market than true dual purpose 4x4's. Clarkson hates most things without a Ferrari or Ford badge so he wasted no time in burying an early X3 axle deep in mud just to prove what everyone knew anyway.

 

[40UP]

Yes I was watching it from a V8 diesel Range Rover which never put a foot wrong. Gave 28/29 to the gallon all the way back through Cumbria, 4 up on wednesday. Wales up past St Asaph this wednesday could be interesting too. :hunter:

 

[Jeremy Baker]

Winter tyres on any car will greatly help even the most muppety driver in snow.

I haven't skidded once on normal rubber in my 2000 kilo Jeep in the snow.

Speed, road awareness will keep most normal drivers out of trouble.

 

[ianmaney]

Well I've got an X5 and mine hasn't faltered in 5 yrs of snowy winters, suppose you can either drive in the snow or you cant really !!!

 

[Skeet UK]

That's the whole problem, in snow and ice you have to SLOW DOWN!!! Correct tyres, appropriate speed, correct gear to keep vehicle under power!!! Two years ago up here we were all driving on compacted snow and ice for three weeks, I was taking the farms Land Cruiser places nobody else could go, just had the right tyres on, don't get me wrong, you had to leave twice as much time to get there, be creative with the handbrake to bring the back end round corners a few times and even had to bang it into reverse then back into drive to get her going straight down a hill more than once. There were 4x4's with the wrong tyres stuck all round Cumbernauld, seen a guy in a BMW 5 series (rear wheel drive) with full snow tyres going back and forward to his work every day, no probs!!!

The correct tyres make a huge difference, that's why it's a legal requirement to fit them for the winter in Norway, Germany and a few other country's who get heavy snow fall...

Nice post, thanks.  And thanks to everyone else, some good stuff.  I would love a HiLux...ultimate off-roader to me!  So a HiLux Surf eh?  Nice Old one I guess...I suppose they just don't go wrong?

So, what about tyres then?  What are the right tyres for a a 4x4/off AWD vehicle, that can cope ok with normal roads, but will also cut it on the snow and mud?  Obviously I am aware of Mud Diggers and such, but any recommendation for a tyre?

Compacted snow and Ice.  Are you just as screwed on a corner as you would be in a normal car?  Assuming one drives sensibly for the conditions etc?

Cheers for your collective help guys, something I really know little about, and so much bull and myth surrounds the subject.

 

[Fuzrat]

Quite honestly, if its only for the tiny bit of snow we have each year just buy a set of snow socks I got rid of my L200 as all it was doing was costing me a small fortune in fuel for 360 days a year. 4x4 just gets you going and keeps you going, doesnt make a jot of difference stopping. For the getting going I've got my trusty spade in the van and I get double the mpg

 

[Maxum]

My Landy discovery mk ll has been everywhere in this snow and not got stuck once. The right tyres and a bit of driving knowledge also helps.

Got discovery mud & snow tyres on it that are on it all yr round not just in bad weather.

 

[ianmaney]

If its a second car you can pick up an old Disco for peanuts, £1500-£2000 and it will plough through anything, just general M&S tyres for summer and winter and your sorted, I had 3 Discovery's before the X5 and would have another at the drop of a hat and not one of them ever let me down!

 

[Ray]

I use a Freelander and it seems to cope well with a decent set of boots on it..  :nyam:  

 

[Clanchief]

Nice post, thanks.  And thanks to everyone else, some good stuff.  I would love a HiLux...ultimate off-roader to me!  So a HiLux Surf eh?  Nice Old one I guess...I suppose they just don't go wrong?
 
So, what about tyres then?  What are the right tyres for a a 4x4/off AWD vehicle, that can cope ok with normal roads, but will also cut it on the snow and mud?  Obviously I am aware of Mud Diggers and such, but any recommendation for a tyre?
 
Compacted snow and Ice.  Are you just as screwed on a corner as you would be in a normal car?  Assuming one drives sensibly for the conditions etc?
 
Cheers for your collective help guys, something I really know little about, and so much bull and myth surrounds the subject.

Tyres ? Ok for a second car and several thou a year go for BF Goodrich. You can have two choices, go anywhere off road, noisy on road and vibe but the best available or the same make but more everyday will be what you are after. Driving a 4x4 is more than vehicle and rubber, You can put a Hi Lux with no weight and bald tyres where a Defender and good tyres and someone with no offload hours can't imagine they could go.

 

[Clanchief]

Oh and yes the Vogue has its probs, this morning when I went clay shooting in the Saab. My housekeeper found the Vogue with a flat battery, reason,,,,,, too many short journeys while, switching on the heated seats, heated steering wheel and air suspension as she likes to lower it to get out , me I just move the seats and the twenty or so motors it takes to get to my position. Told her to fill it up more so I can take it on longer shoot journeys.

 

[sibaldib]

Gary, for what I guess you want it for you wouldn't go far wrong with a Rav. Put some BF Goodrich All Terrains on and it'll do most things.
I love Toyotas, having done 500,000+ miles in six different Land Cruisers over the years.

The Mrs runs a Hilux pickup for the stables and with the Mud Terrain tyres it goes pretty well anywhere. 150,000 miles, T reg and still going strong

 

[wylye]

Had three Subaru Foresters and all of them were excellent. The last one had a PPP conversion and had about 285 brake. Went like the wind and humiliated numerous BMW drivers. Sounded like Petter Solberg in the Stang in November. Happy days.

 

[Skeet UK]

Had three Subaru Foresters and all of them were excellent. The last one had a PPP conversion and had about 285 brake. Went like the wind and humiliated numerous BMW drivers. Sounded like Petter Solberg in the Stang in November. Happy days.

Nice...what's a PPP conversion?

 

[wylye]

Its a Prodrive package which includes a bigger intercooler and suspension mods. Nothing visible from the outside apart from a tailpipe like a dustbin!

 

[Les53]

For the past two years I've had a Saab 93X Hirsh. It has whats known as "XWD" (cross whell drive), same system as a Bugatti Veyron (which is a Haldex Generation 4).  It has a Hirsch software upgrade which means it goes pretty quick, but the best thing is that nobody ever seems to know what the car is and I get a lot of questions about it from some rather puzzled people. OK it's not quite as quick as an Imprezza, but it does not hang about! :hyper:

 

[ips]

Ford Kuga

On demand 4x4 but works a treat off road particularily if you turn the ESP off I get 40 ish mpg out of mine and have done 95k with no problems. Best looking SUV by far yes I know its not a true 4x4 as no locking diffs etc but great vehicle. 

 

[Skeet UK]

Spent a huge amount of time looking at winter tyres the other night...cost myself a promise...gutted.

It appears that actual WINTER tyres, what you might call snow tyres, can actually just be used during the entire winter season or all year if you like.

They work better in the lower temps that we tend to get a fair bit of (less than 7C) and are for cold roads, wet, ice, snow slush etc.

Might be worth a set of them.  From what I have seen they make a HUGE difference.

That said, just noticed the Fiat Panda 4x4 comes highly rated!

RAV 4 is possibly a good idea too...choices choices.....