Best car for the great outdoors

[Relayer]

Subaru Legacy estate would be worth considering if you want a car rather than a 'typical 4x4' or van derived vehicle. They are not so common over here but are very popular in New Zealand where most folk are into the outdoors and there are a lot of gravel roads etc.

Hi Stutho, just came across this thread, maybe you got a car already?  Anyway, the above is a good suggestion but the Subaru Forester night be even better for you, but again not so common here.

There is probably a premium to pay for 4 wheel drive, but given the winters we now seem to be getting this might be good for your wife.

[peter jenkins]

FWIW, after having a succession of Euro hatches our current car is a Subaru Forester. Not as 'nice' as a VW perhaps but I have found the servicing costs to be WAY lower and it's a very adequate vehicle in terms of space, comfort and fuel economy. It's 15 months old and we've done 41,000 KM. It's particularly good over gravel roads, pot holes and creek crossings. The higher ground clearance is probably as big a factor as the 4 wheel drive in those situations.

Cheers,

pj

[stutho]

In a world where money was no object.  My number one choice would have being a Discovery3 or 4.  I also gave very serious consideration to the Forester (I have wanted one of these for years and it it was a vehicle just me then I would have probably gone for a Forester ).  

However

As we are a one car family and running costs are all important   I have gone for a car that does not really meet the requirements of the original post -  a Grand Scenic,with a tow bar and a roof rack.  I do like the adaptability of having 7 seats or 5 seats,  and the running costs are really low.  But in my hart I hanker over something more rugged.



Thanks to everyone that posted

Stu
  

 

[kwkirby01]

Stu, I've just had a similar problem, although I was in the fortunate position of being able to buy new (the company rather than me, thankfully).
We're a one car family too so it needed to be versatile. I wanted low emissions and good fuel efficiency, the former being good for tax, the latter for the family budget. I also wanted seven seats for the rare occasions when all five kids are in the car and, like you, for ferrying Scouts around. I've ended up with a Volkswagen Touran 1.6TDi, with a tow bar and roof box/roof bars.
It's a few months before it arrives, but in the summer it will be the support vehicle for the Explorer Scout expedition to the Western Isles, carrying kit, bikes (when the kids are not riding), and towing a trailer tent. It seems fairly  tough so I think it will be up to the job.
Good luck with your Scenic. Kevin

[doug]

My wife remarked yesterday that my forthcoming Audax will probably be worth more than either of our cars.  We decided that was cool.

[stutho]

Every time we fill up with petrol my wife and I comment about doubling the car's value.  (And that is being optimistic about the value of the car!)  

[neil_p]

Sorry Bobs I should have realised, the answer I'm guessing is in the model 2cv. I bet that was good on fuel then! I havent seen a 2cv for a while now.

Actually the 2CV is short for “deux chevaux” i.e. “deux chevaux vapeur” (literally “two tax horsepower”). Thanks Wikiepdia

[Andybg]

The other interesting thing about the 2cv was it was a flat twin with both cylinders firing at the same time. No disributer just one spark to both plugs per cylinder. It was also a air cooled engine having no water cooling system but a large engine driven fan. If you took the engine out it looked a bit like an aero engine with a prop (the fan)

We had one for a couple of years and used it for days out with the kids and dogs. Great fun and great offroad but slow unsafe and quiet thirsty (believe it or not)

Our main car is a 20 year old mk2 Golf Country which is a 4wd golf jacked up on a seperate chassis. Reliable economic and goes anywhere

[in4]

I have a rich and varied relationship with my Citroen C5! It is far to large for me now my four legged best mate has gone to the celestial woods; it is thirsty, cumbersome around town and drives like a bungalow. That said, on a run it is wonderful and swallows my bike whole without a murmur. In the ice and mud  it has some sort of traction control on it and has a great adjustable suspension/ground clearance facility. I've 120k on it now and the engine is sweet as a nut. Each time I think of getting something smaller, more economic, more practical it reminds me how reliable it is and convinces me to keep it. After all new/er car amounts to at least two new Thorns. No contest really!

[misterianbrown]

It's got to be a Volvo XC70 diesel ....gorgeous looking...bags of space ...4 wheel drive... good ground clearance... reasonable economy I have the V70 at the min but intend to upgrade to the XC!

[Danneaux]

Among the most enjoyable cars I've owned for the Great Outdoors has been a string of Honda Civics (I used to repair them for money). Usually of the "S" or "Si" variety, the latest is a flat-roof '89 Si hatchback known as "Spunky" (successor to Sparky, predecessor to Spanky.  You may detect a disturbing trend...).  We've had many adventures together in the back-of-beyond, but his greatest virtue is he color-matches the tandem, always an important consideration (pic with winter/gravel wheels/tires on the car).

Flip down either or both rear seats, open the hatch, and you've got a mini-minivan that swallows tent-camping gear for three and food, water, and camera gear for a week of wild camping.  Sun/moonroof makes it feel open and a bit more "bicyclish" when tooling along backroads.  Best of all, it will just fit one of my full-size tourers inside if I first remove the front wheel and flatten the back seats.  The Folder I'm brazing together (almost ready for paint after a couple more braze-ons!) will fit in the hatch well with the rear seats upright and locked and the hatch closed.

Its always more fun to drive a slow car fast than vice versa, and Spunky is no exception.  Surprisingly capable on dirt roads and such thanks to a narrow track and reasonable ground clearance, light weight and front-wheel-drive help (you can back up hills too steep to climb, thanks to traction-aiding weight transfer and reverse/1st having the same ratios) despite having no skidplates and -- who am I kidding? -- a vulnerable oil pan.  I discovered his limits a couple summers ago as I wound my way to Nevada's Leadville Canyon.  The dirt road gave-way under the left-rear wheel, leaving me with a tricycle full of gear and two passengers.  By the time we got out, there was nothing left for a good meter beneath that wheel; so began the tedious task of shoveling gravel and dirt and hauling large-enough rocks to turn the factory scissors jack into a high-lift facsimile.  Lift-tip-off-the-jack-build-up-with-more-big rocks-repeat became life for the next couple hours 'til I managed to flag down a passing truck with a helpful father-son team, saving an additional three hours' hard labor in 38C heat. Using the reverse psychology common to Effective Parenting, the father bet the son he couldn't go through a dry creek to get ahead of us.  Sonny managed to clear a number of obstacles in his eagerness and used a snatch strap to get Spunky to solid ground while I steered and the front wheels helped.  No damage and a great story as we drove onward.

So, not the best car for the Great Outdoors, but an awful lot of fun and terrific fuel efficiency.  Past legal age and still doesn't smoke.  "A great Camping Car", as my father would phrase it.

Best,

Dan.