Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hey all

The boss wants a new car - ideally a 4wd but happy to settle for AWD if the price/specs are right.

Will be 99% on road driving, city driving being a large portion of it - he doesnt want to get a van and wants to be able to tow trailers/boats etc.

i made a poll a while back with a Suzuki GV vs. Kia Sorrento and the GV won hands down... but now he's thinking down the lines of the holden captiva or dodge journey (7 seats being the advantage).

Whats everyones opinions?

How much does he want to tow?

A GV is a great option but it's towing capacity might be a limiting factor.

small to medium sized boat that he doesnt have yet... lol its just a future planning thing "just incase" he gets a boat.

Ford Territory is hard to beat (I don't know if they fit in the price bracket), I have heaps of friends with them and they are all happy.
Peter.

X2, or a forester.

Steve.

funny you should say that steve - he has a forester at the moment - an 01... the diff and tcase is on its way though.

territory is too expensive, and thirsty on fuel by comparison to some others.

foz

i have a 05 2.5 .

easy in the $$

With the terror story check for rust, especially where the tailgate seals.

alien wrote:funny you should say that steve - he has a forester at the moment - an 01... the diff and tcase is on its way though.

territory is too expensive, and thirsty on fuel by comparison to some others.

Factory Gas, although they improved the economy immensely in the second series of Territory. Like anything you still have to be nice to it though.

Kia Sorrento is a good option for towing IMHO. Reasonable sised car, low range & cheap (value for money). I say the low range bit because some boat ramps are ordinary & he may want to launch a boat og the shores of a lake someday.

Also remember the Captiva is made by the Daewoo arm of GM. They seem to be better then the last crop of Daewoo's that hit our shores but the mud sticks sometimes.

Next door neighbour has one & likes it although he cannot get near the 8lt/100 out of it that was claimed on the ADR81 label.

Problem with all these "staion wagons" these days is that a Falcon or Commodore sedan has more luggage space. Unless you go LC or Poo you cannot get a real station wagon.

Territory by far!!!
fuel consumption can be good if you drive them well, i even had a customer i sold one too say he was impressed with the economy of such a large car although he was doing alot of country miles. there is no "factory" gas set up for them but there are alot of gas places converting them for approx 2500 after your rebate. a very low k 07/08 ford demo in a tx awd will set you back approx 33+ orc. The AWD comes with the 6 speed auto that does help your fuel economy. the tailgate seals that do play up dont cause rust because they attach to glass and is more for looks. built on a ford platform they are strong, reliable and very cheap and easy to get parts and servicing.

if he wanted somethin a little older you can pick up an 04/05 ghia awd with about 70,000k on the clock for about 35 but the earlyer AWD's (in the SX model) only had the 4 speed auto.

Turbo diesel Santa Fe. 800k+ per tank around town, about 1000 on highway...I'd say thats pretty f*cking good actually.

Uncle had one as a work car, he normally drives xr8s and he said he thought it was better at overtaking than his xr8. (I was shocked to here him say that too believe me!!!)

we got my other 1/2 a new X-trail a few weeks ago. Turbo diesel. Seems to be pretty good thus far from unloaded highway driving throught to towing up to it's rated 2,000kg (manual).

Empty it averages about 7.8 l/100 with 1,200kg car trailer inc a light load it runs 11-12 on the highway.

It ran over the $35k you'd mentioned as it's fitted with almost everything but I do believe the cloth spec can be bought for close to that.

Be mindful that the leather seats have more room for broad shoulders than the cloth trim versions hence our need for the leather trim.

Jacked wrote:Territory by far!!!
fuel consumption can be good if you drive them well, i even had a customer i sold one too say he was impressed with the economy of such a large car although he was doing alot of country miles..

mate I go photoin with has one, and its in his words "fawkin horrendous" on fuel. Not sure if its series 1 or 2 as mentioned above Think hes had it 4yrs or so. he works for security company and does plenty of city klms over country klms.

the TD xtrail gets a mention elsewhere as a good thing...
Personally wouldnt go Captiva.. I think there was a thread on the dodge here a few mths ago, someone bought one.
YMMV.

Does "the boss" demand a Brand new car or just a new car?

You'll but a far better 6-12 month old car for $35k than you will a brand new car. Food for thought.

bogged wrote: mate I go photoin with has one, and its in his words "fawkin horrendous" on fuel. Not sure if its series 1 or 2 as mentioned above Think hes had it 4yrs or so. he works for security company and does plenty of city klms over country klms.

they CAN be very bad. his would be the 1st series. although the 2nd (SY) series is better city driving does hurt them. with a mature right foot you would be lookin about the 12-13L/100.

main reason i say territory (not including the fact that i sell them for a living lol) is for the towing requirement.
x-trail you have little space and who wants a manual to tow once in a blue moon.

Santa Fe will depriciate to 4-7 grand in 3-4 years time.

Kia is in the same boat so to speak

and the dodge i wouldnt trust being the first modle in the country in terms of servicing etc.

As sierrajim sais a 6-12 month old is deffinatly the way to go so long as you buy from a reputable dealer or you get the vehicle checked out by a mechainic or RACQ i think it is up there.

from the sounds of it he doesnt NEED and AWD he just WANT's one. i never had a problem pulling a 16ft loaded up boat up a ramp with a semi submerged sedan. the larger size of these type vehicles does help stabilize towing at high speed though.

Jacked wrote:... with a mature right foot you would be lookin about the 12-13L/100..

he struggles to get 17-20/100... and its regularly tuned/servied.

the 2.5 foz will do 10.5L/100 almost always cept on hwy where it drops to 8s

Bogged. sounds like something seriously wrong oxy sensor etc etc or its just a lemon lol.... but this goin off topic. maybe he should sell it to aliens boss. make it someone elses problem

Go a Forester
The new model is heaps bigger then the model it replaced
They are very reliable and have excellent re-sale value

bogged wrote:

Jacked wrote:... with a mature right foot you would be lookin about the 12-13L/100..

he struggles to get 17-20/100... and its regularly tuned/servied.

thats funny, 2 people i know that have them, one a 56 year old tupperware rep both say they get about 17L/100.

Jacked wrote: from the sounds of it he doesn't NEED and AWD he just WANT's one. i never had a problem pulling a 16ft loaded up boat up a ramp with a semi submerged sedan. the larger size of these type vehicles does help stabilize towing at high speed though.

Come to Eucumbene then, the one at Anglers Reach is about a 1 in 50 gradient at the moment due to the water level & the one at old adaminaby has such a slight gradient that you have to reverse 50m into the water to float the boat.
Luckily its the old road so you might getaway with a sedan as it is hard packed.

bogged wrote:

Jacked wrote:... with a mature right foot you would be lookin about the 12-13L/100..

he struggles to get 17-20/100... and its regularly tuned/servied.

I know a guy with a turbo territory. He said it does 16 in "normal" driving and gets a real funny expression on his face when describing it's thirst in city driving.

16L/100 for a territory turbo is pretty good. i had one for a weekend and got alot more then that with alot of "spirited" driving.

the older modle with AWD and 4 speed use more then they should and 17-18 wouldnt suprise me. if you drive em like nan on her way to church then 15-16.

the current modle is stated by ford 12.2L/100 and the awd at 12.5/100.
real world should be approx 13.5-15L/100 city driving.
most of our company cars bring up about 14L per 100 normal driving (not cbd crawl) with drivers that dont need to pay for fuel.

they are a big family car that if you are doing city driving ONLY i deffinatly would not recomend.
they do how ever tow excellently and have good resale value. might cost you a lil more at the pump but you get that back and more when it comes time to sell it again.