My thoughts are you may get some good info from a 4 x 4 forum. Assuming you are wanting a 4 x 4 version that is....

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Dont own one but a mate had one and he wasnt keen and swapped for the x-trail but now wants a freelander 2 after driving mine, I drove the qashqai and it wasn't bad but didn't feel like a 4 wheel drive and i didn't like the looks but he never had any trouble with it. If its the 2wd version I personally would give it a wide berth cos you can get more economy from others which also have the high driving position, unless of course you really like the looks of the car.

 

Was discussing this with my friendly mechanic yesterday as I picked up my 10 year old focus from its MOT with dire warnings that it was about to collapse.

I'd thought the qashqai 4WD would be useful for some of the rough tracks I cross going fishing. I'm told, however, that they really don't do that job unless you put off-road tyres on it. You wouldn't want to use off-road tyres on the road as they'll be way too noisy and won't last with that kind of use. I'm told that this style of car is really for folk who like the high driving position or for commuting across roads in snow where the 4WD is very useful. Not much snow down my way! The suggestion was to buy an old, cheap landrover for rough work only.

I put that suggestion to a colleague who is also a scout leader and who has three old landrovers. She confirmed the mechanics advice but also said that to own an old landrover you have to be prepared for it to need lots of TLC and to break down. That's not me. If I'm four or five miles away from the nearest mobile reception at 11 o'clock at night, I want the car to start! I was advised to get a small suzuki which would have enough ground clearance to take all-terrain tyres. I'm told they are bomb-proof.

At that point it just got too complicated for me, considering I only cross the rough tracks about 4 or 5 times a season. If they get washed out again, I'll look to borrow a landrover instead!

Just to be clear, I know nothing about cars, this is just the advice I have received.

Neil

 

Your right about the qashqai it is a softroader but suzuki will handle the rough stuff, many 4 wheel drives on sale today wont handle proper offroad cos they are built on chassis of saloon cars of the same make, You dont have to put proper offroad tyres on when going offroad but they make things better. If you buy a landrover they give you a one day offroading course free (or they used to) and you can use your own car with its own tyres on.

 

I own an Xtrail, now fitted with off road tyres, and use it off road extensively, and it's superb. I've driven all over fields in cumbria, up stupidly steep tracks in rain so heavy it was like driving up a waterfall, in the snow this week it didn't miss a beat wheareas my works Hi-Lux was all over the shop. It's not a land rover off road, but it's much more comfortable, much better on road, and much more reliable, and it's good enough off road to cope with anything I've ever needed it to do. The qashqui is based on the same chassis, but I don't think it's quite as clever with the 4x4 system or with ground clearance etc, so, just buy an X trail. There are only a few softroaders with genuine off road ability, suzuki jimmny but tiny, Daihatsu Fourtrak still small, the x trail, and the freelander, everything else is all slap with no knickers........

 

noel have a look at the hyundi ix35 deisel4x4 lot cheaper but very good value
and decent mpg .

 

That's what I have and it does a good job including off road. Real cheap and dirty but also gets the job done is the Dacia Duster although Lord only knows if it will stand up to prolonged use.

 

I do keep hearing good things about Hyundai's, including the 4x4 for some light off roading........

 

What about the Kia's


I am going to seriously look at these plus the Hyundai's.


Neighbour has the XC90 - lovely motor but bloody thirsty at 30mpg on diesel!


Benjamin

 

What about the Kia's

I am going to seriously look at these plus the Hyundai's.

Neighbour has the XC90 - lovely motor but bloody thirsty at 30mpg on diesel!

Benjamin

Kia's are more pricey than hyundai although the same model of car with a few cosmetic differences, I had santa fe (new model) before freelander but it was no offroader although a lovely car, Think you pay more for extra 2yrs warranty on kia which is 7 and hyundai 5, Had a sit in the x35 and the cabin is nice, body looks similar to kuga and would have bought one if engine had a little more power and it had a higher towball weight for the caravan. But for everyday use it would be great.:thumbs:

 

I had the XC90 as a company car and for that it was great but no way, no how would I have called it an off-roader and as you say it just guzzled diesel like there was no tomorrow.

The guarantees are different on the Hyundai and Kia. Hyundai is 5 years and unlimited milage while the KIA is seven years but with a limited milage of 150,000km. Seeing as how after one year we already have 38,000 km on the ix35 I'm happy I chose the Hyundai plus it's a wee bit cheaper than the Kia. The ix35 replaced an XC60 and I find the ride in the Hyundai to be much more comfortable than in either the XC90 or XC60.

Now if you want the best for off road then the best choice has got to the Land Rover Defender although after a long drive your kidney will be shot and you'll be p*ssing blood!

Terry

 

I had the XC90 as a company car and for that it was great but no way, no how would I have called it an off-roader and as you say it just guzzled diesel like there was no tomorrow.

The guarantees are different on the Hyundai and Kia. Hyundai is 5 years and unlimited milage while the KIA is seven years but with a limited milage of 150,000km. Seeing as how after one year we already have 38,000 km on the ix35 I'm happy I chose the Hyundai plus it's a wee bit cheaper than the Kia. The ix35 replaced an XC60 and I find the ride in the Hyundai to be much more comfortable than in either the XC90 or XC60.

Now if you want the best for off road then the best choice has got to the Land Rover Defender although after a long drive your kidney will be shot and you'll be p*ssing blood!

Terry

Thing is, Terry, most UK drivers have utterly no need for a proper 4x4 and nor do I for that matter but I love the high riding position and it is easier getting a baby/toddler in and out of a high-wheel base car.

For me with a knackered back, it is, again, easier.

The XC's are lovely looking motors, I must say, and so are the Hyundais and Kia's.

I drove the Kia Sportage in SOuth Africa and it was a lovely motor but I found it rather gutless.

I will have to pick your brains over the Hyundai now

Bests

Benjamin

 

The discovery 3's + 4's are good offroaders too or for less dosh the 2 series td5.

 

have a squint at Mitsubishi ASX. I just got an ASX4 2WD. Initial thoughts

great vehicle.

 

Just go with the front wheel drive version which is even cheaper! The seats on the Hyundai are also real comfortable as testified to by both my Dad and Father in Law who both have serious back issues. One of the few cars where I climb down after six to seven hours of driving and I'm not stiff with a sore back.

 

Hi Noel, if youre after one for 4wd capabilities then there are better out there. As has been said these are more about a higher driving position.
Ive been looking at getting an 80 series Landcruiser amazon. The very best 4wd in the world. Get a LPG conversion and these return 35-40mpg and do it in perfect comfort. :thumbs:

 

Dont know about others tried a Jeep Compass CRD LTD in Sept 2011 liked so much brought the demo I tried.Great MPG, merc 2.2 engine love it.

 

That both suprising and very interesting. The one thing those Jeeps are slagged off about in reviews is their 'agricultural, fuel inefficient engines'.
They are so cheap, that if they had good MPG I'd consider one when replacing my current XTrail.
What kind of MPG do you get?

BTW, someone said XC90 was thirsty at 30mpg, well we recently got rid of a LWB Shogun. Never went above 20mpg, and was regularly down at 17mpg or so! Replaced it for a Mitsubishi Outlander 4x4 at a more respectible 40mpg on average (can get up to quite a bit higher than that)

Bri

 

My wife has a Qashqai and I love it. Great for the the number of miles she does ( a lot) and the foldaway seats in the back are a real bonus when carting around a car full of kids. But it is a soft offroader. Excellent for the snow and ice and handles farm tracks well but I would not want to really take it off road. I would be tempted by a Discovery . I had one a few years ago and it was unstoppable.

 

Thanks gents have driven 4x4s all over the middle east, u.k and eire.
Used to be QA/QC in the oil and gas industry building pipelines and refineries.

 

All week due to the snow up here ( live off an unmade farm track )I've been using our 09 Freelander 2 instead of the company repmobile. we bought a second hand no nonsense GS spec auto 18 months ago to replace the second Defender 90 we had stolen. The Freel2 is a great car even on standard tyres and using the Terrain Response program will get you through most things that a sane person would want to go through in a car they have bought with their own money. Go pretend you are interested in a new one and blag a free voucher for a " Land Rover Experience", you will get 4 hours on and off road with an instructor in one of a number of fantastic facilities like Coniston Cold in N.Yorks( you can fish there too:thumbs . I think they are the only manufacturer who have the confidence and facilities to put the cars they sell through such a comprehensive test. not one of the most economical cars to run but it's one of the best all rounders you can find.

 

I've been through the same deliberations when I bought my last (current) car 3 years ago (a 2nd hand 3 year old BMW X3) and as chance would have it, after going through the same analysis again, I have just bought a new car yesterday (1 year old VW Tiguan, I pick it up on Wed).

At the risk of stating the obvious, it really does depend what you want it for. For me its mainly road/business use with light off road fishing/camping. So I don't want something that drives like a van as I do nearly 25K miles/year in it. The BMW X3 was superb and has strong residuals, the only reason I have not got another one is because the new X3s are still around the £30K mark which is more than I want to spend on a car. This time around I has my eyes on a Honda CRV as a cheaper alternative but driving it was a disappointment. Then I spotted a great looking and specced Mitsubishi Outlander, 2 years old, very tempted but running costs high with a ridiculous 9000 miles service regime on the 2.2 diesel engine and service costs are high. For me it still got 2nd place to the Tiggy I went for though. The Tiguan was a year newer and tad more expensive but cheaper to insure, cheaper to run, stronger residuals, the option of going on to a long life service (more suitable for my mileage) and perfectly adequate on-demand 4WD for what I do, plus the local VW dealer did me a great deal on it. Overall, barring disasters, I reckon it should work out more cost effective as well as being a higher quality vehicle and it was closest on-road driving performance to the X3 of the ones I drove.

The Hyundai's, Kia's, Jeep Compass and their ilk (ie the cheap ones) are great value to buy BUT residuals are poor and check those service intervals and service costs as they can have a sting in the tail, especially if you do a lot of miles like I do.

It really does depend what you want but look at the whole picture and running costs not just the windscreen price - it sometimes tells a different story. Ignore so called expert reviews on car sites, read the owners reviews for the real picture. For example, the X Trails used to get great reviews but I can only assume the "expert" reviewers never sat in the back seats as their is eff all headroom for anyone 6' or over.

 

It's just to get me back and forth from work and my fishing trips as this will be our last car we don't need 4x4 . Thank you all .

 

You can get most of the softroaders/SUVs in 2WD now Noel, loads of choice. Most of the so called 4WD versions spend 99% of the time in 2wd anyway, with the rear wheels only kicking in when slip is detected in the front wheels.

sent from my private jet using Tapatalk 2

 

Hi do any of you fine people own one and if so what are your thoughts.

Changing car next year .

Nothing like planning early - That being said big :thumbs: for the Freelander2. If you are thinking of a 4 x 4 then perhaps buy in the Summer. Prices always high during Winter months especially after snow.

 

Hi Noel, i have owned my qashqai from new(2007) .its a great car, i have the 1.9 diesel, very nippy, excellent torque and very frugal, the computer tells me i return 42mpg.
i have 2wd. i use road/track tyres i use it for fishing, shooting, gundog work, and all our usual car needs, including long distance holidays- belgium, scotland etc. it hasn't let me down, extremely comfortable, very well spec'd (my model is the middle one- Tekna). done 50,000 miles. still as good as new.
i still prefer to drive it to my 4wd pick up.
i have had it off road, farms, tracks shoots, if driven sensibly has excellent ground clearance, better than some 4wds.
any questions, just ask.

 

Thanks hornet etal

 

Does the Qashqai come with a spare wheel? It really annoys me how many cars don't these days, even SUVs, just a can of that next to useless squirty sealant which, even if you do have a tiny puncture which its possible to treat, will ruin your tyre in the process when it could have been repaired instead. Of the cars I looked at neither the Freelander2, Mazda CX5, Toyota Rav4 or Volvo XC60 had spare wheels (although there is room to stow a space saver wheel on the Volvo for an added cost). Check for that. From bitter experience I won't drive a car without at least a space saver wheel to get me home, even more so if its a car you might use off road a bit when fishing (last two punctures I've had have been from farm tracks). BTW, picked up my new VW Tiguan today, its an absolute belter

...ps, just checked on line and no the Qashqai does NOT come with a spare wheel according to the spec I looked at. Don't know if there is space for one and its an optional extra, probably not though.

 

I have a 1996 Toyota Hilux Surf SSRX with about 140,000 miles on it. It's a little scruffy on the outside, but it has not let me down once in 7 years and does about 35mpg. I'm selling for £1995.00, if interested.