4 wheel drive for winter

snapdragon69 · 14 Aug 2015 at 18:50

VW Phaeton 4Motion with decent tyres? At least it has proper torque sensing mechanic 4x4 and not some kind of reactive 4x4 'lite' system.
Not sure of the budget, but here's a cheap one
http://goo.gl/JpE9kp
and they go up form there.

Rizo-UK · 14 Aug 2015 at 18:53

Isn't the phaeton just 4 motion? FWD with hydraulic lock up for the rears when needed? Totally different to the torque sensing quattro system used on Audis.

Dogbreath · 14 Aug 2015 at 19:50

The XC70's are pretty reliable, there are loads of them around with double that mileage. They are amazingly comfortable as well.

Edinho · 14 Aug 2015 at 20:21

If ground clearance isn't an issue then any AWD will do depends what you want away from the dirt track.

A spec b for me then I am biased - I have one.

opstrat · 14 Aug 2015 at 20:37

a complete curve ball suggestion. a nissan murano? with decent mud/snow tyres should be ok.

Dis86 · 14 Aug 2015 at 20:58

Forester would be my shout too.

mjt · 14 Aug 2015 at 21:58

Subaru makes sense here.

That, or a mk4 Golf 2.8 v6 4 motion

telewebby · 14 Aug 2015 at 22:51

3.0 outback would be my choice, stick a set of yoko g012s on and you'll be fine

snapdragon69 · 15 Aug 2015 at 10:22

Rizo-UK said:
Isn't the phaeton just 4 motion? FWD with hydraulic lock up for the rears when needed? Totally different to the torque sensing quattro system used on Audis.

Only on smaller FWD-based VAG cars.
This is the same system as Audi A8 and Bentley Continental (T2 Torsen).

FiremanSam · 15 Aug 2015 at 11:32

Have a look at the Mazda CX-7 2.3 petrol, the same engine is in the 3 and 6 MPS.

Dr Who · 15 Aug 2015 at 11:49

Dis86 said:
Forester would be my shout too.

Same, great cars. Get the ST/b or STi

Conscript · 15 Aug 2015 at 13:40

Nissan X-Trail.
Not quite a full 4x4 (selectable 4WD) but big tyres, high ground clearance and generally pretty rugged. Ideal for light off road use like muddy tracks and fields, just not designed to cope with the really heavy duty stuff (although I have heard some owners have been impressed with the offroad ability). Basically a jacked up estate car.

I have the 2.2DCI which is not quick but pulls well enough and has so far been reliable. Have owned it since Novemeber 2013 when we bought it for £5k (55 plate, about 110K miles). I imagine the petrols might be the better choice for you, but I know little about them.

Dave85 · 15 Aug 2015 at 15:31

Some great suggestions guys will be looking around autotrader over next week or two so thanks

Fuzz · 15 Aug 2015 at 21:31

V8 Range Rover or V8 discovery.

xs2man · 15 Aug 2015 at 21:56

Fuzz said:
V8 Range Rover or V8 discovery.

While I do agree that either option would make for the most capable of off roaders, this :

Dave85 said:
I want something reliable and under 6k ish and not as slow as a tractor. Not bothered about MPG so prefer petrol to diesel.

Puts a dampener on things. He'd be looking at either a Disco 2, or early L322 RR for his budget. Doable, but neither could be classed as reliable really. Heck, there aint really very much out there from Land Rover that could really be classed as reliable. Certainly not south of around £30k.

That being said. I'll be looking for something exactly like that in a few months.

Siliconslave · 17 Aug 2015 at 09:54

FiremanSam said:
Have a look at the Mazda CX-7 2.3 petrol, the same engine is in the 3 and 6 MPS.

this plus a BBR chip will give you 290bhp for the money