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They seem to be light enough to "float" over the rough stuff where the heavier 4x4's get bogged down.
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Migmac
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Think you have hit the nail on the head there, people expect car handling. When we got or first SJ’s there were a lot of complaints about them tipping over. We had five in our fleet, four driven like they were being chased by Exocet missiles. We tried hard to get them to tip but happily failed! I once got one on to two wheels though, had nine folk in it!
frank horton
V twins are great but 4"s rule.........
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always seem to hold there value, find a good 1 and use it for a year.........she'll love it......mechanicals never a real prob.......it's just the body.......besides in wet and windy Wales u'll always need a 4x4 up on them thar hill's.......
good luck.......
good luck.......
CKJDJK
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I have a 2008 Jimny from new. Now got 120000 mile on it. Used as daily driver and fully off road and greenlanes. No mods just all terrain tyres. Great all round view. easy parking. Nippy around town. Will go where other 4x4 can't. Pretty reliable and easy to work on. Eats front discs, doesn't seam to matter what make, 20000 miles ish. Calliper slides get sticky but use rubber grease on and in boots helps a lot. Choppy ride due to size. Great little engine but averages out at about 34 MPG. Swivel pin bearings don't last if wading but use waterproof grease and they last a lot longer.
Interior wise, the plastic marks easy. Front seat fairly comfortable as long as your not too big. Rear seat set up is not the best. Not a lot of storage space. Front seat belts don't retract properly if seat forward.
Prone to rust behind front head lights and rear tool tray. Paint thin but galvanised body helps.
They are good in snow being light they run on top of it rather than it build up in front of the tyres. Not bad on icy roads with careful driving.
I would have another when this one gives up.
Interior wise, the plastic marks easy. Front seat fairly comfortable as long as your not too big. Rear seat set up is not the best. Not a lot of storage space. Front seat belts don't retract properly if seat forward.
Prone to rust behind front head lights and rear tool tray. Paint thin but galvanised body helps.
They are good in snow being light they run on top of it rather than it build up in front of the tyres. Not bad on icy roads with careful driving.
I would have another when this one gives up.
winchman
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Just stick these on it
http://www.paddockspares.com/land-rover-wheels-and-tyres/insa-turbo-tyres/sahara.html
It will outperform many more expensive 4x4's. they are light weight and very manoeuvrable
They are a run about fab around town and country lanes but check MPG, motorways whilst they will do it they are not the ideal car for them
Have you considered a Vitara? Diesels are fantastic
http://www.paddockspares.com/land-rover-wheels-and-tyres/insa-turbo-tyres/sahara.html
It will outperform many more expensive 4x4's. they are light weight and very manoeuvrable
They are a run about fab around town and country lanes but check MPG, motorways whilst they will do it they are not the ideal car for them
Have you considered a Vitara? Diesels are fantastic
Burdekin
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They've got physics on their side; light and short wheel base.
Funnily enough I put those tyres on the Defender when I had it, they were great in the mucky stuff but I found they could be a provoked into a slide on wet roads fairly easily, once I stopped trying to drive like an ASBO youth they were okay
Vitara ? hmm I'll have a look into those too, what's the consensus on here on the Vitara then ?
mrsbruce
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I used to have a little 1.5 Vitara, and deeply miss getting rid of it (wiring loom got all brittle, and didn’t have time to fix it). Great 4x4, with a surprising amount of space (I used as a works van, with back seats removed). Handled well once you got passed the ‘tippy over’ feeling, and ok on motorways (it did reach 70mph, just), but garbage mpg on anything but pootling.
Still loved it, though.
Still loved it, though.
I had one for years and it was very reliable. Only got stuck once when the clutch cable snapped as the plastic cover had fallen off. Other then that it only needed oil changes and disks/pads.
As others have said its quite a short ratio box so on the motorway at 70 you are sat at near 4k revs, but they love to be reved and quite punchy at 3.5k plus.
Check kingpins for weepage and they rust by the jack, rear seatbelt mounts and behind the headlights. Newer ones were galvinised but can still suffer so its luck of the draw. Excellent cars though that you can park pretty much anywhere.
As others have said its quite a short ratio box so on the motorway at 70 you are sat at near 4k revs, but they love to be reved and quite punchy at 3.5k plus.
Check kingpins for weepage and they rust by the jack, rear seatbelt mounts and behind the headlights. Newer ones were galvinised but can still suffer so its luck of the draw. Excellent cars though that you can park pretty much anywhere.
Na gotta be small, she didn't like the 3 series beemer I once had as it was too big.
CompoSimmonite
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Panda 4x4 or Suzuki Ignis 4x4 ? Would be more car like 99.9% of the time she will be driving yet have 4WD for the other 0.1%.
lazybones51
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The Panda 4x4 would be a good option, I believe they're not permanent 4 wheel drive either which should aid with fuel economy. The rear wheels are connected via a viscous coupling which engages the rear wheels when the fronts start slipping.
waldershelf
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Don't think the Fabia has ever been offered with 4WD, Octavia and Superb have, plus of course the Yeti, Kodiak and Karoq pseudo off roaders. Actually a 4WD yeti might be an option for the OP they are a bit more car like than the Jimny and have a very good reputation.
Burdekin
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Just had a look and you're right by the looks, the Fabia Scout isn't 4x4, just looks like one of the VW range estate 4x4s.
rcx132
Philip
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I think Jimny's are a bit of a utility car, so she should drive one before she buys because not everyone likes them.
Suzuki's speciality is small cars, so as a small 4x4 they are great.
Historically the SJs (pre Jimny's) were the hardcore utility cars and the Vitaras were the civilised partner. They have no been replaced by the Jimny and Grand Vitara.
One catch though is that the Jimny I think is a part time 4x4 which means you loose a bit of the safety advantage because you're not supposed to have it in 4x4 mode in general use.
Suzuki's speciality is small cars, so as a small 4x4 they are great.
Historically the SJs (pre Jimny's) were the hardcore utility cars and the Vitaras were the civilised partner. They have no been replaced by the Jimny and Grand Vitara.
One catch though is that the Jimny I think is a part time 4x4 which means you loose a bit of the safety advantage because you're not supposed to have it in 4x4 mode in general use.
slim_boy_fat
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+1 on the vitara , had 2 of them myself and what a great little jeep , the other posters already said what i would have said , but going by what you say her needs are i actually think one of the more car like 4x4 panda and so would be better for her , the vitara was fun but not exactly comfortable
