Car Question!

[iCraig]

Right, I am hoping some of you knowledgeable lot can help me!
As some of you may know I drive a Skoda Octavia, and its not got the highest ground clearance at the front, infact its pretty fucking poor as standard.
And now I am using my car to go onto green lanes, and bad roads, its touching down all the time.
So my question is what cars have high ground clearance, that are under the £2k mark, are economical and cheap to insure.

I have been looking at 4x4's but other than the extra ground clearance they don't fit. So any ideas?

[neatbik]

Difficult one....
My first thought would be a Subaru Legacy, but they arent very economical.

Maybe a Subaru Justy?

https://www.tapanen.net/justy_01.jpg

4wd and not bad ground clearance, but getting on a bit and might be a bit small for you.

Or you could go crazy and get a Panda 4x4...

https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1041/1366401386_5510bc7e9c_o.jpg

[Robby]

Given your love for all things VAG, what about one of the audi or skoda saloons with four wheel drive and bit more clearance.

Why are you driving down green lanes anyway?

[iCraig]

[Faldo]

Suzuki Vitaras are quite cheap, or a Shogun (But insurance might be a bit more expensive than the Octavia)

{EDIT} Citroen Xantia has /very/ adjustable ride height, but only get one if the Suspension Hydraulic Pump has been recently replaced!
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[yen_powell]

https://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b165/yen_powell/P1050801sm.jpg
Ford Maverick (Nissan Terrano with a Ford badge) petrol, 2.4 injection, MOTd till March 09. Definitely greenlanes okay in Essex clay with extra deep ruts. Yours for £650 ono.
https://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b165/yen_powell/P1050805sm.jpg
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[McGee]

Get a Toyota hilux and take on the world.
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Its pronounced Jixxer!

[flat spot]

Subaru forester........... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Forester

[Ste]

Are you geocaching?

For around that price I reckon look for Range Rovers, Discoverys or one of the Suzuki 4x4s.

For gentle green laning you should be able to use pretty much any 4x4 without problems.

[Phoenix]

How about taking your front bumper off.

[iCraig]

[binge]

I second the Toyota HiLux. can pick up an old one for next to nothing.

IIRC they are classed as a Commercial Vehicle too, So Tax wont bugger your arse!

[AJI]

A few suggestions... all the ones I'm mentioning are lower than group 10 insurance. I've picked 5-door versions of all as I'm assuming you want something reasonably practical, if you have an Octavia at the moment

Honda HRV
https://www.cvt.co.nz/images/cvt.cars.honda.hrvcopy.jpg
Believe it or not these do appear at under £2k, because I've recently been looking at them myself. Seem pretty reliable, good for a bit of green laning but not heavy off-road stuff, but good on the road too. Around 33mpg quoted.

Honda CRV
https://www.vmrintl.com/reviews/reviewpics/97-01honda_crv.jpg
Same deal as above, but proportionally better on the rough stuff and not as good on the road (though still better than many 4x4s on the road). Can be found even cheaper than the HRV as it's been out longer. Bigger engine but still 30mpg.

Toyota Rav4
https://images.automotive.com/reviews/images/96rav4.jpg
One of the first 4x4s that did a good impression of a car on the road. Absolutely loads about under 2k. Over 30mpg again.

Suzuki Vitara
https://www.quality-cars-direct.co.uk/Cars/SUZUKI/VITARA/1.JPG
Loads of these about too. Roughly 30mpg again. Reliable. Proper off-roaders too.

As well as these, there are numerous pickups etc but they're hardly car-like to drive so assuming the majority of your driving is done on the road still, the ones above are probably better options. Fronteras, Mavericks etc are great off road, but hopeless on it, and probably more to insure.
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[iCraig]

Thanks for the advice guys, but 4x4s seem really expensive to run.

Also I don't go off road alot just green lanes, so it'd be wasted unless I did take up off-roading which I'd love to. Really the main thing is ground clearance and economy for me, I don't mind paying abit more for tax and insurance but I resent paying for it at the pumps too seeing as I do about 12000 miles a year.

[Robby]

The 4WD cars are sufficiently rare that one of them will cost you as much as a 4x4 to run, or won't be worth owning.

A lot of the ones above will give 30mpg, some of the diesels might nudge 40. The only thing I can think of apart from them would a audi A4 quattro diesel, but you'll pay through the nose for it and it may still lack ground clearance.

CRV/HRV seems best suited to your needs.

[Ste]

Get a 4x4 and come off roading.

[.Chris.]

https://www.carpages.co.uk/suzuki/suzuki_images/suzuki_jimny_21_01_05.jpg

The Suzuki Jimny might suit you - it's a 4x4 but only has a 1.3 engine so is fairly economical for this type of car (the 'official' figure is 38mpg). You should be able to get one for £2k - in fact it's probably worth getting a pre-2001 model for tax reasons, because although the engine is small it has a relatively high CO2 output (according to Gordon Brown anyway).
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Chris
1985 Kawasaki Z550F

[Harold_Shand]

From https://www.whatcar.co.uk/news-special-report.aspx?NA=229782&EL=3226233

"Perhaps the best all-rounder, though, is the Skoda Octavia Estate 4x4 Scout - it has 29mm more ground clearance than the standard car at 180mm, and relatively low emissions of 167g/km."


I used to like the Suzuki Ignis, worth a look... High-up Hatchback, 1.3, there is a 4x4 version too. Have a look on the autotrader website, you'll easily get a good one for under 2 grand.
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Harold_Shand's theory might be the best explanation.

[iCraig]

[Robby]

[Phoenix]

[Misc]

What about one of those Grand Cherokee's? I know Mcgee had one & they look cool.

[st3v3]

[McGee]