Recommendation required - which car should I buy ?

Subaru Forester diesel, it fits the bill very well. I don't know how much you can find one for though, sorry. Check out Autotrader.

"Mrcheerful" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Since they're all

yep, they would be good too. I see a good few CRVs for servicing and they never need anything too bad at all.

Pricey to run & generally overkill though. In reality any residence you can't get to with a LSD is going to bog down anything at all in the dark.

Actually that's probably unfair to the CR-V, you can get suprisingly good mileage out of the diesels if you drive like a pensioner

"Duncan Wood" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Can't comment on the "pricey to run" - but whilst you're right in absolute terms (Bakewell Market used to have as many Marina pickups as Landies on a Monday morning when I were a lad), getting down a rough track on a miserable dark wet night is as much about having the confidence that a bloody great big pothole you haven't seen won't take a rim/tyre out and a rock won't take the sump out as actual raw ability.

Non-softroader tin with LSDs tends to be sporty/low-profile/big rims/low. Which is the last thing you need.

Wheras doing it in a landrover just tends to leave yo feeling confident it won't happen until you have to get the bloke with the tractor to rescue you when all 4 wheels are floating free:-)

Any Subaru, but the turbos are very juicy. The petrols will be better, but you're still not talking diesel economy. Volvo XC70, Audi Allroad (both basically estate cars with off road ability) or Honda CRV or Rav-4 would be my runner ups.

Petrol VS Diesel is your choice, but IMO you need to be doing tens of thousands of miles a year to make it worthwhile, and my diesel's just chucked me a big bill because the DMF has died, which seems to be a common curse for all modern dervs.

LSD ?

Landrover (something) Discovery ?

Limited slip diff. A £9000 Discovery won't be cheap to run.

Thank you all for the useful info, it's been very helpful.

Wife has just announced her dodgy left knee is giving her too much grief, so she definitely wants an automatic gearbox. Guess that'll put paid to most diesel options in this area then. Have warned her that as automatic is now a priority then good fuel economy is less likely.

In which case go & try a few. My Mum's driving a CRV because it's the comfiest car for her dodgy knee. But that's going to be entirely personal.

there are several diesel autos that would do the job well. Although something light such as a petrol auto CRV would be excellent and not too bad on fuel. A diesel discovery auto will do a regular 30mpg. Likewise a Teracan, cheap to buy and not bad on fuel in diesel auto guise. I would not usually say a good word about a non japanese asian car but my froiend has one and it is good value and reliable.

Maybe KIA Ceed? Looks nice and lots of equipment. Not very sporty. There is even an estate version for the dog. Haven't tried it though.

I disagree with most of the responses so far.

Buy her a recent Ford Fusion. It will get her to most places, the economy is reasonable and you can buy it in automatic. When the destination is too far offroad, I'd suggest you invest £10 in a pair of wellies for her...

Otherwise, the Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon will fit the bill nicely, just don't expect any change from 40p/mile she'll be receiving from her employer. My sister has similar requirements for her car and loves her Toyota Yaris.