What diesel 4x4 ~3k, needed for boat towing duties.

[Simon998]

The OH's dads Hyundai Tucson has ate a turbo, turn out its beyond economical repair. He uses it primarily to tow a boat a few miles back and forth from the house, he lives in Torquay and up a stupidly steep hill so it needs something with a bit of torque (I tried it in a 1.4 206 a few years ago, and it never drove the same afterwards lol).

What's worth looking at around the £3k mark? He loved the Tucson but any he's looked at in his price range has issues already and he just wants something that will work when he wants to take the boat out.

Edited - He's actually willing to spend 3k, i got my wires crossed

 

[swansty]

Why does it have to be diesel if its very low miles?

 

[JH86]

Why does it have to be diesel if its very low miles?

I'd assume because diesel is 65ppl

 

[swansty]

I'd assume because diesel is 65ppl

Would hardly matter for a few miles. Wonder is running red as big a thing in Torquay

 

[Simon998]

He's of the generation that automatically links diesels with cheaper driving costs, knows absolutely nothing about cars and wants a diesel. I tried explaining that a petrol would probably be better for the short journeys (no DPF etc) but he wasn't having it.

He had a 2.0l petrol Kia something or other before the Hyundai and it wouldn't drag the boat up the hill, so he gave up on that and bought a cheap diesel and loved the torque when driving around Torquay.

 

[Lee]

It's not surprising that he found the diesel to be a bit more Torquay.

 

[swansty]

torquey in Torquay.......

Unless you get lucky, £1000 isn't going to get something decent, diesel, 4x4 and torquey - I bet there is a strong market for that sort of thing. The budget will also rule out anything new enough to have a DPF.

 

[Apis]

For a smallish 4x4, a lot of them probably diesels anyway.
Suzuki Vitara, Honda CRV, etc. Or a big old 3.1TD Isuzu Trooper.

 

[Coog]

Discovery is probably best bet at that money these days.

 

[ChrisL]

Whats the Mazda CX-5 like? 4wd is it?

 

[Artoir]

3.1 Trooper has my vote. Clutches can go to ***** with towing but everything else is bomb proof.

 

[swansty]

Rangerover.

 

[gav525]

What about an old Terrano or Maverick?

Shogun V6 petrol would get my vote though, abused one for years and it was grand.

 

[Turks]

I would say a crv, great towing wagon and the 2.2 cdti doesn’t have a dpf.

 

[Simon998]

Discovery is probably best bet at that money these days.

Rangerover.

Would a Disco/Range rover not be a money pit for about 3k?

 

[Coog]

Would a Disco/Range rover not be a money pit for about 3k?

They'll be a money pit at any money but should do that job the very best and should be plenty to choose from.

 

[ossy2004]

My v70 d5 fwd towed the 370z and big trailer ok and they can be picked up at that money or less

 

[Coog]

My v70 d5 fwd towed the 370z and big trailer ok and they can be picked up at that money or less

View attachment 240041

Might struggle on a damp slipway. All the weight over the rear and the slips tend to be quite slippery. Plus is that rig even legal?

 

[DriftnSlide]

Isuzu Trooper can be bought for peanuts now.

 

[johnm]

Might struggle on a damp slipway. All the weight over the rear and the slips tend to be quite slippery. Plus is that rig even legal?

Is it not 4t combined total?
Could have sworn I read that couple weeks back.

 

[mrloaf]

2005/6 d5 xc90 would be perfect for that job in that budget I would have thought

 

[JayT]

BMW x3 3.0d can be bought for handy money and aren't as hard to live with as you would think. I've had mine 2 years and 80k and it's not been that bad apart from a few surprises that weren't expensive to fix.

 

[surprising_skoda]

BMWs don't have any kind of diff lock at all though, so it'll just end up one wheeling backwards into the sea.

Whatever he gets, make sure the second half of the name is Rover, and he'll be grand. An old Navara would be a possibility too or the Trooper as mentioned.

Given that he's by the sea, and intends to dip the back end into it on a semi-regular basis, there is nothing that will survive any better than anything else. Rust will eat away the chassis of any vehicle fit to do this job so any reliability concerns are fairly irrelevant IMO. Towing a boat up a steep hill means putting torque to the ground is actually the biggest priority and for that you're looking at the farmer's choices - Shogun, Range/Land Rover, Navara/L200, Terrano/Maverick, Trooper/Rodeo. All have rust problems and reliability problems, so it makes not much odds, but I'd agree with Coogles on the Disco 2 front, as that is the most plentiful and easiest to get a good one within £3k.

 

[Nicky]

Important question: what size and weight is the boat?

I launched my 5.4m rib/75hp 4 stroke engine with my old 2000 Passat 1.9TDi and it was effortless. Heavy diesel engine over the driven axle and the boat/trailer wasn’t heavy enough to cause it any concern. So long as the front wheels stayed on dry standing, it would never have been a problem. The great set of winter tyres would have went it it’s favour had the front end touched water, but never needed to test that theory.

I usually used the Jeep Renegade for launching and again, it was more than up to the job. I’d have been comfortable using it to tow and launch a boat twice the weight, but always engaged 4wd when on the slip way due to the value of the Jeep and not wanting to take any chances...

 

[gerryp]

Surely a Toyota of some sort would do the job.
Older Landcruiser or RAV4 maybe.