Winter is coming. Unless you live in the southern hemisphere, in which case, disregard this. For those of us on the northern half of the planet, though, the nights are drawing in and the weather’s beginning to turn.
All of which is great news for people who like to dress up in rustly clothing with many zips and head out into the wilderness for a spot of green laning. That, of course, requires some proper off-road hardware, none of which comes particularly cheap in the new car market. These days, the cheapest thing you might plausibly use for some semi-serious off-roading is the £24k Dacia Duster 4×4, and if you want to get into the really serious stuff – Defenders, Grenadiers, Land Cruisers, Wranglers – you’re looking at well over twice that.
We turn, then, to our old friend the used market, and its multitude of capable budget 4x4s. Here are 10 you can pick up for four figures, ranging from stuff that’ll happily splash down a muddy track to titans that’ll take you to some of the farthest-flung corners of the world.
Daihatsu Terios
Daihatsu Terios
We miss Daihatsu. Its downsized takes on everything from sports cars to campervans are almost always a delight, and the same goes for its pint-sized 4×4, the Terios. Two generations of it were sold here, but we reckon the second is your best bet.
That’s partly because it’s more numerous, and partly because it employs an unusual chassis construction that’s somewhere between a car-like monocoque and a proper off-roader-style body-on-frame setup. Combine that with an ultra-tough 1.5-litre Toyota engine and a kerb weight that dips below 1.2 tonnes, and you’ve got a charming little 4×4 that can skip its way across the landscape rather than bash it into submission.
Fiat Panda Cross
Fiat Panda Cross
Speaking of light-footed 4x4s, they don’t come much more delicate than this. The humble Fiat Panda may seem an unlikely candidate for an off-roader, but all three generations of it have offered four-wheel drive versions, and all of them have proven time and again that they can mix it with the big boys.
The Cross versions of the second- and third-gen Pandas pair four-wheel drive with a jacked-up ride height and some rufty-tufty plastic body cladding. This both gives them a sort of extra-tough, bulldog puppy vibe and means you’re less likely to care if you do bash a bit of it into a tree.
Jeep Cherokee XJ
Jeep Cherokee XJ
The last few Jeep Cherokees have been crossovers of varying degrees of miserableness, but that wasn’t always the way. The first-gen Cherokee proper, the XJ, is a true off-road hero. Built right the way from 1983 to 2001, it combined a ladder-frame chassis with a monocoque body, and topped it all off with a touch more luxury than you’d get in something like a Wrangler.
Combine that with some delightfully boxy looks and the option of the completely unkillable 4.0-litre AMC straight-six. The more economically-minded of you can also get a 2.5-litre turbodiesel lump. Throw on a lift kit and some knobbly tyres, and you’re laughing.
Land Rover Discovery 3
Land Rover Discovery 3
Yes, we know what you’re thinking. You can still get an original Land Rover Defender for under £10k, but given how in-demand they’ve become since production ended, any at this price point has potential to be a bit of a dog. Why not consider the Discovery 3 instead?
It’s still a very capable off-roader – Jeremy Clarkson drove one up a mountain, for Pete’s sake – and when you’ve finished driving through large puddles, it’ll be a far more pleasant thing to drive home in. That said, it’s a mid-2000s Land Rover. You have been warned.
Range Rover L322
Range Rover L322
Of course, if the Disco is a bit… common for you, there’s always the option of a Rangie. The best of the bunch is unequivocally, objectively, undeniably the L322 generation of the 2000s, which struck the perfect balance between off-road chops and cosseting luxury. It had some superb powertrains, too, including the delightfully torquey 4.4-litre turbodiesel V8.
Prices for these do seem to be on the up – apparently, some farmer bloke on the telly drives one, and it’s made other people want them – so act quickly. Oh, and this too is a mid-2000s Land Rover. You have been warned. Again.
Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear
Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear
#VanLife is everywhere these days. You can barely open Instagram without seeing some acoustic guitar-toting, three-day-unwashed couple sitting around a campfire with a jacked-up, kitted-out Mercedes Sprinter in the background. The Mitsubishi Delica, though, was doing van life long before it was cool.
In its lifted, four-wheel drive guise, the fourth-gen Delica Space Gear shared its running gear with the farmers’ favourite, the Shogun. Here, though, a sliding door gave access to swivelling captain’s chairs and acres of space. As stickers on some versions confirmed, the Delica was ‘specially designed for all outdoor players’. If that sounds like you, then act fast, because the #VanLife crowd has twigged onto the brilliance of these things.
Porsche Cayenne E1
Porsche Cayenne E1
What, you might be thinking, is a Porsche doing on this list? Well, here’s a little secret: the first-gen Cayenne hails from a time before car manufacturers realised that luxury SUV buyers just wanted people to think they might sometimes go camping in the wilderness, rather than actually go do it.
As a result, the original Cayenne had genuine off-road capability baked into it, with a suite of terrain assistance tech and decent ground clearance and underbody protection. They need a little modifying to be their best on the rough stuff, but just pop ‘Porsche Cayenne overland’ into Google and enjoy losing the next half-hour imagining your perfect unlikely off-road companion.
VW Touareg 7L
VW Touareg 7L
The above also applies to the Cayenne’s sibling car, the original VW Touareg, which is becoming an equally unlikely but popular basis for off-road builds, with an ever-growing aftermarket. As standard, it got a locking centre diff, a low range system and hill-descent control, while height-adjustable air suspension was an option – all handy for off-roading.
You know what else is handy for off-roading? Torque. And the Touareg was available with a whole bunch of it, courtesy of one of the most ridiculous engines ever fitted to a road car, a 5.0-litre twin-turbodiesel V10 with 553lb ft of the stuff. Plenty of other engines with slightly less ability to bankrupt you were available, too.
Suzuki Jimny
Suzuki Jimny
We’re consistently surprised by the values commanded by the little Suzuki Jimny. You can forget finding examples of the cult smash that is the short-lived fourth generation for under £10k, but there are plenty of the much more numerous third-gen cars around.
With a proper body-on-frame construction and a transfer case, they’re properly serious little 4x4s, just scaled down a tad. Okay, quite a lot. With all that kit, not a lot of weight, and a huge amount of aftermarket support, it’s hard to go wrong with the Jimny as long as you’re not planning a weeks-long overlanding expedition. Just make sure you get it Waxoyled.
Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado
Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado
We couldn’t do this list without a Land Cruiser. For over 70 years, the legendarily reliable and capable Toyota has been the vehicle of choice for anyone who wants to get very far off the beaten track – and be fairly certain they’ll be able to get back onto it too.
We’re thinking of the late ’90s, when there were two Cruisers available in the UK: the Colorado and the Amazon. Either will be pretty much unstoppable with the right aftermarket gear, but we think the slightly smaller Colorado is a bit better suited to the kind of narrow green lanes you’re likely to find in the UK. At this price point, mileage will be high, but as long as it’s been properly maintained, that really shouldn’t be a problem – there’s a reason these things have the reputation they do.
#OffRoaders