Rav4.. Vitara... Need A Girly 4wd! Any Thoughts?

[Kaz200]

Hi guys,

well I'm thinking about getting a 4WD.. honestly you have no idea how hard it is to stick an 18kg puppy in the back of a 180... I think my daughter is getting a bit sick of climbing in and out anyway..

Doesn't have to be a full-on bush beast.. girly 4wd is fine with me.. esp being a girl and all, and will probably end up another statistic.. one of many 4WDs that's never been off road

So not keen to get something HUGE, would prefer if it's no longer than a 180 which is about 4500mm (178in) caus I still need to park in the city etc, besides I just don't want a big soccer-mum-4WD.

So far I'm thinking a RAV4 or Grand Vitara or something similar. I grew up with a Jeep Cherokee Ltd but other than that I don't have much experience with 4WDs so I don't really know what I'm looking for. Actually I drove a 2dr Ignis around Townsville.. that was fun.. but only caus I was flogging the crap out of it everywhere we went and flying over train tracks Safe to say I'm really more of a rally driver than a track/drag person.

Fold down rear seats is good caus I'll miss the space in the back of a 180.. you can fit a dbl futon in there with some tie downs!.. but I'm just so sick of being SO careful all the time, avoiding the tiniest potholes, going over speedhumps at a crawl, turbo lag, taking every driveway at an angle.. bit sick of the whole import thing I guess (tho there'll still be an r32 here to drive).

I'm hoping it's going to be less maintenance, even if the maintenance/parts are not cheaper, just hopefully less frequent, correct me if I'm wrong.

So anything to look out for? Any other suggestions on what to get? Just don't know where to start.

Looking to spend no more than about 10-13k.. or less and make alot of mods

Any advice appreciated!

Cheers!!

Kaz

[ctjet]

budget?

[Rancher]

Another female in a car that has a shitty center of gravity, and could roll at the blink of an eye (Think simpsons.. Canyonero~!). Why dont you consider like, a wagon or something?

More space, safer to drive, Easier to see over and around... Wont roll when you try to take evasive action at 100KM/H. And if your not really gonna take it off road.. then whats the point in owning a death trap? I mean low torque useless 4WD?

Just throwing it out there, I didn't mean to offend.

[Kaz200]

budget?

Sorry I could have sworn I added that already about 10-13k.

[ctjet]

just compared prices of a Rav4 to some other similar cars and i would be going an:

- Forrester XS

My chick cousin bought an X-Trail, and apart form it not being the most beautiful car out there, it really is very comfortable and has heaps of boot space if you drop the back seats... im sure theres way more options out there but these two i recommend through my own experience. But me thinks thats a bit expensive

Edited February 28, 2007 by ctjet

[ctjet]

I tell you what the Honda HR-V is a nice peice of work to... good enough looking, reliable, fuel efficeint as hell and its very simple on the interior. Hence you wont really car about scratching anything and getting it dirty.

Plus it has a lot of safety extras, so thats always one less thing to worry about

[JVP]

Rav4

dont even bother with the Vitara. prone to snapping timing chains etc...

rav4s are great, havnt seen many problems with them.

for about 13k u should be able to get a Rav4, that would be a 1994 onwards model (SXA11) same motor as the camrys, so they are reliable.

parts are easy to get, and suzuki parts can be hard to get.

id take the rav4.

hope that helps

jarryd

[Kaz200]

Another female in a car that has a shitty center of gravity, and could roll at the blink of an eye (Think simpsons.. Canyonero~!). Why dont you consider like, a wagon or something?

More space, safer to drive, Easier to see over and around... Wont roll when you try to take evasive action at 100KM/H. And if your not really gonna take it off road.. then whats the point in owning a death trap? I mean low torque useless 4WD?

Just throwing it out there, I didn't mean to offend.

Woo Canyonero! If only they sold them here!

Wagon is just way too big (long) and not something I want really. I mean if I wanted something purely for practicality/lack of caring I'd just go buy a commodore/falcon/echo like everyone else but that's really not what I want.

I'm not adverse to lowering it or something Anyway I thought the Ignis of all cars would roll at every corner but no...

Easier to see.. geez you forget I've been driving a 180 for the past few years.. ANY other car in the world is easier to see out of, can't even see past the car in front of me caus it's so low (at stock height atm too)

[Kaz200]

just compared prices of a Rav4 to some other similar cars and i would be going an:

- Forrester XS

My chick cousin bought an X-Trail, and apart form it not being the most beautiful car out there, it really is very comfortable and has heaps of boot space if you drop the back seats... im sure theres way more options out there but these two i recommend through my own experience. But me thinks thats a bit expensive

An XS cheaper than $20K??

[Wink]

RAV4 is the class leader for a reason

[ctjet]

yes... yes they are

just roam around in there for a while

[JVP]

just make sure that if u buy a Rav4, check the timing belt and tensioners out.

owners tend not to change them

[noone]

Not sure if it girly enough but Go with what you know, get a Jeep. earlyish cherokees r such a bargan at the moment right in your price range if you can stretch it a bit could maybe even afford grand with a v8 ravs etc r crap if you ever do actually go offroad due to no low range gearing.

Was mentioned above but Vitara's Rav etc often miss out on a lot of maintainance timing belts etc tread carefully if you go this way as lots get burnt by not checking these things, seen it happen Sierra Vitarathingo with swift gti motor = much FUN.

There are even turbo kits and supercharger kits that would make that 4Litre 6 go like a rocket, well a big square rocket with aero like a brick. Have taken a forrester on some pretty surprising traks to, cousin kept making me get out n check clearance though as was her baby. Went awsome on the beach to but a little thirsty due to constant 4wd, no worse than my 95 Jeep though.

for jeep info mods etc. look at ozjeepoffroad.com friendly bunch too.

can u tell my other car is a Jeep

Its a Jeep thing,

U wouldn't understand

Edited March 1, 2007 by noone

[Big Rizza]

Small 4WD? I second the vote for a forester, even the older generation. I was put off Vitaras after exposure my mates mid-90's model. On chunky offroad tyres, the handling and braking was terrible in the dry, and outright dangerous in the wet - gently ease up to a red traffic light and you'd find yourself at 90 degrees to where you should be facing. No violent slides or anything, just a gentle rotation until 90 degrees under brakes in the wet, imperceptible (the car has NO feel) other than the view of the scenery slowly turning around the car - kind of funny when there's no traffic around (actually, it was hillarious sometimes), but he rear-ended so many cars before he got rid of it. So yeah, no Vitara ever for me, and I'd suggest the same for everyone else.

[Kaz200]

we just did the tensioners etc on the 180.. damn a whole new engine to learn!

So yeah probably not a huge problem unless its something that fails on a regular basis.. snapped timing belt isn't much fun when you're on the side of the freeway.

But anyhoo, thats handy information, thanks

WOW I can't believe how cheap Jeep Cherokees are now.. you'd hope the steering was fixed tho, alot of them were recalled due to a major defect.

First thing to go would be that ugly wood grain finish!

[noone]

Jeeps were never known for great handling or anything but if you dont lift em to far and are persistant u can make em okay for a 4B and I think the website I meant to post was ausjeepoffroad.com

cherokees really are the bargan by at the moment as far as 4WD's go mine never had the woodgrain though, reading your earlier post though if your tallish u might find that you cant stretch out in the back of em to sleep that tumble n roll type rear seat takes up alot of room.

[Black_Widow34]

if u want a small 4wd go the rav4... fun lil car in the dirt... they r pretty good i reckon... im not a big fan of 4wd in the city so how about something like a libery wagon... i think u can get the turbo ones pretty cheap now... and its awd...

[Marlin]

Personally, I strongly suggest stick to Japanese. Anyone in the game should tell you the same.

Although a Forester/Liberty would probably be the smartest (my mother drives a Forester GT upon my recomendation), I personally would get a '96 to '99 Mitsubishi Pajero 3.5L V6 Shorty (SWB), in GLS spec. I've had 2 of them... they go really well, look good, plenty of fruit inside (sunroof etc), and are good value.

I can vouch for their stabliity, having won several off-road motorkanas in my first one, with only Mud Terrain tyres fitted.

I lovem!

[Esc]

if you got a bit more cash get a stagea.

[gtrchick]

bah rav 4 by far, reliable, pretty good on fuel, and you have still got the comfyness of a car pretty much, and their resale isnt too bad either.

Best off going with something (ie rav) that has a good source of parts.