Which new 4x4? Subaru or L200 warrior?

[piggy22]

Morning all

I am looking at a new 4x4 mainly due to the practicality of it meaning could still go where i want during the snow/ice months.

I dont do many miles and when i do, they are mostly motorway miles

Ive decides on either a 2003 L200 warrior with about 80k on in black

Or

A 2002 bug eye subaru impreza wrx.....full subaru dealer history with cambelt done at 60k, 93k miles, 1 OWNER!! and completely standard, never been messed with. Its a stunning example in black


Now the insurance on both is about the same, and id say service costs are just the same

Which one would you pick and what do you think of each?

[Punx0r]

I'd pick the car...

[piggy22]

They are both cars

[Mat_clarke]

we got a L200 Trojan at my work, i had it for 6 weeks and i diddnt like it, wouldnt pull the skin off a rice pudding the 4WD system i thort was Sh!t as u can only diff lock the rear diff and not all 4 wheel so in the snow u just seem to go sidways everywhere,

it had only done 70K and it needs a new engine as the pistons diddnt feel like being in the block any more, always sounded like its being hammerd, and in low gears it diddnt want to rev past 3K rpm but if u back off and then back on it would (somtimes) just never liked it, best think about it was cold aircon and the heated mirrors work very well

never owned a subaru

[piggy22]

Any cons with the impreza?

Its never been modified and has full history so i would expect it to be uber reliable even at 93k

Its a sensible 5 door car is it not? With the 4wd, i can imagine it being good in all situations

[MarkCoupe]

Any cons with the impreza?

Its never been modified and has full history so i would expect it to be uber reliable even at 93k

Its a sensible 5 door car is it not? With the 4wd, i can imagine it being good in all situations

I would not be expecting any Impreza to be 'uber' reliable at near 100k.

L200 for me.

[Punx0r]

They are both cars

[piggy22]

Any cons with the impreza?

Its never been modified and has full history so i would expect it to be uber reliable even at 93k

Its a sensible 5 door car is it not? With the 4wd, i can imagine it being good in all situations

I would not be expecting any Impreza to be 'uber' reliable at near 100k.

L200 for me.

With it not been modified or the original power increased and with the full service and inspection history by main dealers, what could go wrong?

The L200 just looks the beers

[mike88]

With it not been modified or the original power increased and with the full service and inspection history by main dealers, what could go wrong?

[maestrovdpt16]

the 4X4 nature of the l200 will soon be outweighed by poor mpg even if you do low miles, and the benefit is on average similar to a car with a/c. Around 2 weeks you will find it slightly easier to get around.

I'd stick to a car and get some winter tyres to switch to if and when it gets a bit sketchy.

LOL at the idea a service history and 'subaru inspections' will do much good on an engine that has done 100k when the engine lays on its side scoring those bores nice and ovular!

[Stealth213S]

Car every time. Especially if you consider a 4wd car, the only thing a 4x4 has over it is ground clearance - which you don't need in snow. In fact, high centre of gravity is probably a bigger disadvantage than the 4x4 system is an advantage.

Tyres are where you get the grip from, so probably a 2nd set of wheels with either winter or gravel tyres depending on how much snow you think you'll get.

Nowt wrong with flat engines at high miles. if it hasn't been abused then there isn't any reason it should be any less reliable than anything else.

[Punx0r]

I don't know what the forum did with my previous post, but the gist was:

L200 = commercial vehicle, WRX = car

[rovermadman4825]

Get a evo

[piggy22]

Get a evo

I did look at an evo 8...... But im only 22....too flashy

[rakester]

Any cons with the impreza?

Its never been modified and has full history so i would expect it to be uber reliable even at 93k

Its a sensible 5 door car is it not? With the 4wd, i can imagine it being good in all situations

I would not be expecting any Impreza to be 'uber' reliable at near 100k.

L200 for me.

The impreza is one of the most reliable cars you can buy if looked after. Especially if it has FSH. My classic was a 98 with with full dealer history, had over 110k on it when I sold it, never been rebuilt etc. It made 240bhp, it was only meant to come with 220 (was a turbo2000, so pretty much a wrx as it was a UK model not an import) . The only mod on the whole car was a backbox which I put on. It never skipped a bit, not a single problem with it. Drove better than a lot a of cars with a quarter of the mileage on 'em

4wd scooby power ftw

[gbs100]

I work at a subaru main dealer and they are very over rated +over priced .
i have a mate who had a L200 it had done well over 100.000 miles it he has had no problems with it.

[BrackenFox]

Buy a set of snow tyres and be done with it? Should be more than enough to cope with pretty much anything the weather over here will throw at you.

AWD is not a miracle, saw just as many Subarus stuck in hedges (and a very shiny looking Evo 9 upside down! ) during the last cold patch as anything else.

If you really want something superb in the snow, go for a proper four wheel drive (Land Rover, etc) on skinny tyres, or something Swedish with a spare set of snow tyres.

[Stealth213S]

Buy a set of snow tyres and be done with it? Should be more than enough to cope with pretty much anything the weather over here will throw at you.

I'd agree with that, unless you are venturing on uncleared roads in a National Park, fwd and winter tyres is enough.

AWD is not a miracle, saw just as many Subarus stuck in hedges (and a very shiny looking Evo 9 upside down! ) during the last cold patch as anything else.

The reason for that is that people expect 4wd to be better. Grip comes from the tyres, so a 4wd with tyres designed for high speed will be as bad as anything else on high speed tyres.

I'd still say that having 4wd on winter tyres in snow is going to be better than 2wd on winter tyres in snow though. But there are plenty of 4wd cars that aren't subarus - V6 X-types, V70 awd, panda etc.

If you really want something superb in the snow, go for a proper four wheel drive (Land Rover, etc) on skinny tyres, or something Swedish with a spare set of snow tyres.

Don't see why swedish should be any better than any other nationality.

[Sheaf]

As above, buying a 4WD vehicle for the tiny amount of snow we get in this country is total overkill.

It's a few weeks a year, if that. I trundled about in my car and the works Vectra in the snow and had no problems.

RWD cars, yes. Beemers seem to get stuck anywhere. TBH a lightweight fwd car will be fine IMO. Esp if you buy a couple of spare wheels with snow tyres. It's just the lardy cars that have issues usually or cars driven by people expecting to be able to drive really fast.

Plus... it's only acceleration that it really makes a difference on. A 4wd will still lock up all wheels just like any car, or skid sideways on ice.

If I was to buy a 4WD car though, tbh I'd be looking at something like an Audi Quattro I think. Much more likely to get normal servicing costs in a more reasonable high quality car package with reliability than in a massive 4x4 or a ott scooby.

[Stealth213S]

As above, buying a 4WD vehicle for the tiny amount of snow we get in this country is total overkill.

So many people jump into saying they need a 4x4 because of the snow as though they think its some kind of justification. You're right its not needed, but in alot of cases I think its more of an excuse. TBH, if people want a 4x4, just buy one and don't apologise for it - don't hide behind snow as the excuse.

If I was to buy a 4WD car though, tbh I'd be looking at something like an Audi Quattro I think. Much more likely to get normal servicing costs in a more reasonable high quality car package with reliability than in a massive 4x4 or a ott scooby.

Being fair, a UK WRX isn't OTT or likely to be any more to service or less reliable than an Audi Quattro. The best compromises are the part time 4wd systems like the Jag/Volvo which only send torque to the back wheels, 99% of the time they are front wheel drive. 2.5 X-type or 2.4t V70 awd will faster than you expect.

[Din]

As above, buying a 4WD vehicle for the tiny amount of snow we get in this country is total overkill.

Have to disagree depending on which part of the UK you actually live in

My parents live in Alford (Aberdeenshire) its about 30miles west of Aberdeen on the edge of the highlands, my mum comutes in to Aberdeen for work and my Dad can be anywhere at any time in the car tbh as he runs his own buisness.
Now when it snows there (as it was yesterday i belive) it can get virtually impossable to get up the hill towards there house never mind getting 30 miles to work or what have you, so haveing a 4x4 for this reason is pretty much essentual for them at the moment, i agree that its not needed down here, but i do see the need in more remote parts of the UK.

Beacause of this Dad has a Skoda Octaivia 4x4 estate TDi, and Mum has a CRV

To the point, i doubt the scooby would be great in the snow as most likely it will be running performance road tyres, should be ok on mud and snow or snow tyres i imagine.
I cant stand those L200 thinks for some reason, they are nothing more than a fashion statement...

I have to admit i would be tempted by something abit more rugged like a defender

[radddogg]

Let me present evidence that tyres are more important than # of driven wheels when it comes to traction.



Yes that's right a LandRover being towed of a flat field by a tractor.

[Punx0r]

Fail