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I need a utility 4x4 for landscaping - what do you recommend?

My garden, at 15 acres with some steepish slopes, is big enough for me to need a vehicle to help with gardening. I had been using a garden tractor with a trailer but when that died, I began to wonder whether I'd be better off buying a 4x4 pick-up for £2000. I wouldn't need to tax or insure it, as it would never leave the premises. Can you suggest a make and model that might suit this use, and what to look for in such a cheap vehicle? Patriotically my first thought was an old Land Rover, but would a Japanese model be more trouble-free? Would petrol be preferable to diesel for a vehicle that will be used for short distances?

Asked on 13 October 2012 by MB, Staplehay, Somerset

Answered by Honest John
There is so much enthusiasm for old Land Rovers that they are expensive. Better a Toyota Hilux, like the one the lads at Top Gear were unable to destroy even after drowning it in the Bristol Channel, driving it though a building and putting it on top of a block of flats that they then blew up. Most are diesel, and pre-DPF so no worries about that. If not insuring it you will need to SORN it. The ideal thing would be a John Deere Gator garden truck, but they are expensive.
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