Ideas to the floor please.

Yup, I understand it's Haldex.

As Steve said "Pikey shit"

Not that well built, electrical issues all over the place, and the Ssang Yong electrics on the Merc engine are s**te. Bits are extortionate as well.

Utter, utter, mindblowingly terrible s**te.

They keep going for literally minutes at a time. My brother had a loan of a LWB Frontevil 2.2 when they were new and it was chronically terrible s**te then. The Frontera is the worst car built in the 20th Century, IMO, and they're horrifyingly bad on road, never mind off it.

Heh I remember when I was working there having a run around the hilly roads in my rental Ibiza. Coming down the dark side of a hill unable to slow down as any attempt at braking resulted in the kind of tail slide you wish your car would do on demand rather than at its own will was, erm, fun...

Anyway - I'd just stick winter tyres on the mazda. Or get a non-turbo subaru for winder.

No, when diahatsu charade avanzato would be the right answer...

I'm in 2 minds as to whether I'd prefer an eastern full size 4x4 to a British one. I'd need to try one to see if I could face driving it regularly.

Could be worth a punt but they're not as common up here as they seem to be elsewhere.

50p a Litre plus delivery? Then mixing it with the real thing? Nice "Fuck the system" idea I suppose but not worth the expense or hassle IMHO.

Couldn't live with the stigma of Frontera ownership either. It's like inverse iPod snobbery for me. (c;

I'm sure what with all these farms around, and the prevelance of red juice and kero at my work, there are local sources of all sorts of fun things to run diesel vehicles on if I look in the right places.

Heh, anyway, the stuff stinks and I'd rather limit my exposure to it as much as possible.

I had a 205 Diesel once, which was pretty good in the snow. Gooduns aren't so easy to find these days but I'd consider one.

Why? The XR4x4 was fine in snow.

There isn't an AWD V70 that'll crack 30mpg. And they have tyre issues that make a puncture an expensive problem.

Simple!

Fiat Panda 4x4.

Current shape is, older ones are permanent AWD with mechanical diffs and transfer box - change one tyre, change them all.

They're like a Shogun with a sausage shaped body. A sort of latter day Land Rover Forward Control?

You are Richard Kilpatrick AICMFP!

And they've gone bankrupt, too.

Which will do interesting things for parts supplies.

But which is likely to leave you stranded in the snow? landy/Rangie or Pajero?

Which will get you through the snow everyday, and which will develop a fault and refuse to start and leave you stuck on one side of the snow or the other?

It won't be as nice as a Rangie, but at £2k, it will definatly be more reliable.

Actually daft as it sounds, Doooooiiiiiiiiiiit.

I said Pajero, so we are both thinking the same.

If you're lookign at that size, and you're dropping the 30mpg requirement, get a Ford Exploder. They're fine in snow, good on the motorway reliable and reasonably pleasant to drive for a big tank.

Does "big tank" describe the thing that empties at a remarkable rate when he heads back south for the odd weekend?

Well, seeing as the car I was thinking of we pre the daewoo buyout and dumped by GM when they bought Daewoo, parts from the factory aren't exactly official or supported anymore, but parts are common enough.

If he only wants a disposable 4x4 for one winter, does it matter.

Arrgghhh credibility for suggestion gone now that you're in agreeance.

Still, skinny tyres, simple AWD, raised ground clearance, low mass, small engine. Ticks all the boxes.

And SteveH can laugh at the rust.