Best 4x4 for rural / remote living - UK

[sandbender]

"They were meant to drive across ploughed fields after all."

I have seen some very old 2cvs in some strange places, definitely a car that you can keep on the road with parts and tools that can be found or fashioned locally. A noisy thing to be driven in though.

I didn't really think about the reasons for its lightness, for a cheap car for the countryside it makes sense.

I read once that Citroen had planned to launch it just before the war, cancelled when the phoney war began and buried the prototypes until after the liberation.

 

[demographic]

I have seen some very old 2cvs in some strange places, definitely a car that you can keep on the road with parts and tools that can be found or fashioned locally. A noisy thing to be driven in though.

I didn't really think about the reasons for its lightness, for a cheap car for the countryside it makes sense.

I read once that Citroen had planned to launch it just before the war, cancelled when the phoney war began and buried the prototypes until after the liberation.

Main problem with 2CVs is that the bean tin thick chassis rusts through. Got a mate who made one out of extremely lightweight girders and as the shockers are horizontal the whole chassis is pretty much flat. Once you see them naked (without the body shell on top) you realise that there's not much to them.

I'm not advocating buying one of the French bean tins with an engine, just using them as an example of skinny tyres being a hell of a lot better in snow than low profile tyres.

For years I lived in a fairly out of the way part of Cumbria and we didn't have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, we got snowed in sometimes but a Landrover wouldn't have made any difference when the snowplough got stuck so we went to the local shops on a fell pony.
I've had to sit on the bonnet of my mothers front wheel drive Austin Allegro while she reversed it up a hill before, bounced the backend of a Morris Minor flatbed to get traction and got my rear wheel drive transits past stuck* 4WDs when driving out to the hills to go walking.
I don't have much time for posh 4WD vehicles, they don't seem any better than a cheap 2WD that you don't have to worry about.

Taking it easy and just keeping a bit of momentum up helps a lot.





*Feckless owners more like.

 

[Coldfeet]

A few years back we got caught out in Grasmere when the snow fell heavily for the UK. Had to drive out through Ambleside, past Kendal then the M6 in a full on blizzard. Going up the hill from Windermere heading south I drove past abandoned cars including a wide range of 4x4s. I even watched a fancy 4x4, land cruiser I think, being driven by a major prat over revving it and just spinning out on a slight incline covered in snow.
My conclusion is that in the UK in most places you can get by with anything if you can drive a car properly. We got home that evening by driving sensibly. I was driving an astra estate, the one with an Isuzu diesel engine. It slid around only on a section of the Kendal bypass. I took 3 hours of constant driving to get home, one hour in slow moving traffic/traffic jam due to Muppets driving stupidly. One guy in a Mazda mx5 was revving his engines more and more in response to his spinning wheels. I always thought you went into a higher gear and kept to lower revs to get through snow or ice patch. He only got on with the help of 4 lads pushing him to keep him straight and going forward. He'd have wiped out into the newsagents in Ambleside without them.
Since then I've always thought winter tyres on any car with a good, sensible driver can get you a lot further in snow than a Muppet / idiot in any 4x4! If we're ever going to get over this "everything stops for snow" effect common in the UK it'll take drivers learning to drive in snow or other bad conditions and enforced winter tyres. We should make winter/low grip driving a skill tested in driving lessons. At least make it part of the theory test. I understand some countries make new drivers learn to drive over an extended timescale, over a year IIRC. This is allows them to gain experience in all seasons. Think it was northern European country like Finland that gets real winters. Explains how the Finns make great racing drivers, especially in rallying.

Amen - a tool, even in the most suited and capable car, is still a tool.

 

[Goatboy]

Aye Sandbender it was meant as a farmers car for getting about in rural areas and taking small amounts of produce and livestock to market.

Like Cold feet says tyre choice can make a big difference. I've seen me tootal past big urban 4x4's stuck in the snow in an old VW polo. The ikle tyres helped a lot. Also after years of driving off road at work, and learning to keep old bangers on the road I reckon I can drive a bit rather than the point and squirt that seems to be encouraged my electronics and the divorced feeling you get in some modern cars.

 

[Joonsy]

If you ain’t got/can’t afford/don't want, a four-wheel-drive -- I’ve found that of the two wheel drive vehicles those with front-wheel-drive are much better in snow and mud than those with rear-wheel-drive (they pull the car instead of push the car), with careful gentle use of the clutch/accelerator and proper gear selection I have driven some right old bangers with front-wheel-drive through both snow and across muddy fields loads of times. Those not used to driving in such conditions usually make the same simple mistakes in whatever vehicle they are in, mostly they use the gears incorrectly and the brake harshly and stop/start the vehicle instead of trying to keep it moving very slowly (particularly important on gradients).

 

[Rosahane]

I have to agree with Paul B. Driving skills are hugely important in snow or ice.

I read an article a few years ago that compared the winter driving experience of two Skoda Octavias - one 4WD with normal tyres and one FWD with winter tyres. Overall the car with winter tyres won out, especially when it came to braking.

However, when we had the heavy snow four years ago I found my VW Tiguan 4WD fitted with "all season tyres" was only defeated by deep drifts, the 4WD gave me an advantage when I encountered deep ruts or holes that had frozen over and would have trapped 2WD vehicles.

My brother is an undertaker and, for snowy fallouts, has an old Subaru Outback kitted out as a hearse and fitted with full - but non studded - snow tyres. It can go pretty much anywhere but has frightening fuel consumption.

 

[Polecatsteve]

I had the same issue. Cost was my deciding factor. Got a jimny second hand. REMoved the back seats. Treat plate it all and a roof rack on it. Set to low ratio it goes where you point it. The tyres,shocks and changes I made cost more than the car. But it's bomb proof now.

 

[Polecatsteve]

And let's be honest. A 2wd becomes a 1wd in wet grass. Once the power is lost in 1 wheel die to mud/water the other tyre will go at 120mph and dig a nice little hole for you. Waffle boards or collapsing sand ladders are handy to keep in the boot / roof rack if you really need them.

 

[cbr6fs]

And let's be honest. A 2wd becomes a 1wd in wet grass. Once the power is lost in 1 wheel die to mud/water the other tyre will go at 120mph and dig a nice little hole for you.

Depends, if the car has a LSD fitted or not

 

[Polecatsteve]

That's true. Without dif lockers in muddy terrain and, as previously highlighter, without proper off-road driving knowledge even a 4x4 becomes a big lump of metal you will end up getting stuck.

 

[Paul_B]

Back when we got caught out by the snow storm I mentioned earlier the number of posers in their 4x4s on steroids all came out. Things like big pick-ups in black with chrome all over and tinted windows. Or big pansies, really new with black and chrome and big tyres and raised suspension. All with racks and radio aeriels too. They just cruised up and down the roads, overtaking everyone who were sat in their cars waiting for some idiot who was spinning their wheels and getting nowhere. They just pulled out and drove up the wrong side of the road ducking in again if a car came the other way.

They were really pissing everyone off. Thing is I've been driving around the lakes for years and have rarely seen any vehicle like those. It's like their owners kept them in some garage waiting for the time they can pose in the snow in them. I really can't see they were ever driven seriously because they all seemed to be immaculate with no dents, scratches, dirt or any signs of wear.

 

[*Dusty*]

Honda Cr-v worth a mention, I've got one which is my first "4x4" using the term loosely and it does the job for me so far.

 

[santaman2000]

Back when we got caught out by the snow storm I mentioned earlier the number of posers in their 4x4s on steroids all came out. Things like big pick-ups in black with chrome all over and tinted windows. Or big pansies, really new with black and chrome and big tyres and raised suspension. All with racks and radio aeriels too. They just cruised up and down the roads, overtaking everyone who were sat in their cars waiting for some idiot who was spinning their wheels and getting nowhere. They just pulled out and drove up the wrong side of the road ducking in again if a car came the other way.

They were really pissing everyone off. Thing is I've been driving around the lakes for years and have rarely seen any vehicle like those. It's like their owners kept them in some garage waiting for the time they can pose in the snow in them. I really can't see they were ever driven seriously because they all seemed to be immaculate with no dents, scratches, dirt or any signs of wear.

LOL. You say that like it's a bad thing.

 

[janso]

I've got a black pick up... Works fine in bad weather, as long as the driver is sensible and competent. I'm guilty of driving past vehicles that can't run in snow, mud, etc.
Aside from it being my works vehicle, I bought it so it keep me going when others get stuck.


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[janso]

I remember driving up past traffic a few years back in a different 4x4 out of Plymouth in traffic and was getting a few 'looks' from vehicles stuck. Amazingly, a few top end 4x4's were also sat in queues when they could have easily helped out the traffic queuing by engaging their gearboxes better. Just shows that it all comes down to the driver with fancy vehicles eh?


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[santaman2000]

Yep. Poor driving is always a killer.

 

[cbr6fs]

I remember driving up past traffic a few years back in a different 4x4 out of Plymouth in traffic and was getting a few 'looks' from vehicles stuck. Amazingly, a few top end 4x4's were also sat in queues when they could have easily helped out the traffic queuing by engaging their gearboxes better. Just shows that it all comes down to the driver with fancy vehicles eh?


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Had a similar experience a few years back when we had a fair bit of snow here, i only had the MX5 then being a front engined rwd car it's not renowned for it's snow driving abilities, but with a few quick adjustments and a couple of dabs of the handbrake i was able to drive past a couple of 4x4's that had gotten stuck and sail past a neighbour in his 4x4 much to his astonishment.

 

[cranmere]

I loved my old 2CV and I took it through conditions that had Land Rover drivers worried. Lots of ground clearance, very little underneath that would be damaged, narrow tyres and a wonderfully low reverse gear - more than once I've gone up really steep hills backwards.

I now drive a Subaru Forrester, the silly turbo version, prior to that I had an even sillier Impreza which as also remarkably good on moderate off-road stuff. If you don't need full off-road capability Subaru produce some very competent vehicles which are extremely reliable. The down side is that they tend to be thirsty and expensive on maintenance and repairs.

Good tyres make a huge difference too. I was shocked by how awful cheap tyres were when I bought a car which had a chain tyre place's bottom grade tyres on it. I reckon I drive pretty well but I had real difficulty keeping it on the road. I changed the tyres pretty much straight away and suddenly it became a perfectly good vehicle. I sometimes wonder how many bad drivers are actually not as bad as they look but are actually terrified of falling off the road because of their tyres. I change to winter tyres too, even in the town it makes a difference to grip when the temperature drops.

 

[janso]

Agreed; good quality tyres make a huge difference. I tend to run on BF Goodrich which aren't cheap whatsoever for each corner but I'm getting at least 60-65000 miles on a set which, when weighed against cheaper sets at around 20-25000 miles is a long term saving.


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[santaman2000]

Agreed; good quality tyres make a huge difference. I tend to run on BF Goodrich which aren't cheap whatsoever for each corner but I'm getting at least 60-65000 miles on a set which, when weighed against cheaper sets at around 20-25000 miles is a long term saving.


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BF Goodrich are my choice as well; specifically the Long Trail TAs for general use. I was getting around 70k to 80k with them on my Jeep (15 inch tires) but am getting a bit less with my truck even though it's tires are bigger (17 inch)