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Nissan X trail, Toyota RAV4 - Toyota RAV4 2nd Gen vs Nissan X Trail 1st gen - Cleef

Hi,

I've just moved to north Iceland and will need a car.

I've been looking at petrol 1st generation x-trails and 2nd generation Rav4's mainly. I need something that is quite economical but can also easily handle rougher roads (mainly gravel, some rocky)

What should I look out for with cars such as these? Most used cars of that age have done around 150 - 250,000 km here, seems like quite a lot?

My main priorities are:

  • Reliability
  • Good fuel economy
  • Not too expensive to repair

I'd be keen to hear any advice or other car recommendations that may be worth looking into and buying advice in general

Cheers

Nissan X trail, Toyota RAV4 - Toyota RAV4 2nd Gen vs Nissan X Trail 1st gen - skidpan

Most used cars of that age have done around 150 - 250,000 km here, seems like quite a lot?

My main priorities are:

  • Reliability
  • Good fuel economy
  • Not too expensive to repair

You are never realistically going to meet any of those 3 requirements with an ageing 4 x 4 that has 150 to 250,000 kn on the clock.

  • At that mileage (and age for those cars) you are going to have issues.
  • Its a 4 x 4 thus mpg is going to be much less than a traditional family car.
  • Its an ageing 4 x 4 thus its likely to be expensive to fix when it goes wrong.

Best of luck.

Nissan X trail, Toyota RAV4 - Toyota RAV4 2nd Gen vs Nissan X Trail 1st gen - Cleef

Thanks for the reply

Some advice would be good then if you have any? Of course I understand there has to be some kind of trade off.

What sort of car would you be looking at?

Nissan X trail, Toyota RAV4 - Toyota RAV4 2nd Gen vs Nissan X Trail 1st gen - skidpan

Thanks for the reply

Some advice would be good then if you have any? Of course I understand there has to be some kind of trade off.

What sort of car would you be looking at?

Impossible to help. You don't say how much you want to spend and we have no idea how expensive cars are in Iceland.

Nissan X trail, Toyota RAV4 - Toyota RAV4 2nd Gen vs Nissan X Trail 1st gen - badbusdriver

I'd have thought your best bet for advice as to which car would best suit the local road conditions would be locals. Is there nobody you can ask with more relevant experience?.

Out of the two you have suggested, i'd probably favour the Toyota for its reliability, but that is based on a car used on paved roads!. Whether or not the Toyota would be the toughest and most resilient of the two for the conditions in Iceland is an entirely different question. I guess it also depends on the percentage of rocky roads vs gravel/paved roads, as (relatively smooth) gravel roads should present no real problems. So if there is likely to be a high percentage of rocky roads, i'd probably be looking at something a bit more robust. Such as a Toyota Hilux Surf or Landcruiser, Mitsubishi Shogun (Pajero), L200, Delica.

Nissan X trail, Toyota RAV4 - Toyota RAV4 2nd Gen vs Nissan X Trail 1st gen - Avant

Welcome to the forum. I strongly suspect that you're our only member who lives in Iceland, so without that experience, or any knowledge of driving conditions there, it's dfficult to advise you.

But I would guess that a high priority must be ground clearance, given that north Iceland is remotest from Reykjavik and presumably rural and mountainous. The models suggested by Badbusdriver make a lot of sense, although I've no idea what the comparative volumes of petrol and diesel sales are in Iceland. If fuel stations are few and far between, people are likely to go for diesel. And remember that as you're buying secondhand, you'll be looking at cars from a period when diesel wasn't demonised, if indeed it is at all in Iceland.

Finally, nothing soldiers on quite as well as an old Toyota, so start your search there.

Nissan X trail, Toyota RAV4 - Toyota RAV4 2nd Gen vs Nissan X Trail 1st gen - Cleef

Thanks badbusdriver and Avant, I'll take your advice on board and ask around, which I am doing as well. Seems likes Subarus are used a lot here and parts are available, I was just wondering if there was anything particularly 'bad' about the cars I mentioned. I guess aiming for reliable cars with low mileage is the aim of the game.

Skidpan quite obviously had no intention of providing any help. He must get a kick out of trolling the forum I presume.

Edited by Avant on 05/07/2019 at 18:44

Nissan X trail, Toyota RAV4 - Toyota RAV4 2nd Gen vs Nissan X Trail 1st gen - SLO76
No idea how the market is over there but purely from a reliability point of view and assuming similar mileage and condition I’d have the Toyota all day long. It’s better made and far less likely to go wrong. The Nissan rusts more rapidly and is prone to timing chain issues. A Honda CRV 2.0 petrol is also a worthy option too.
Nissan X trail, Toyota RAV4 - Toyota RAV4 2nd Gen vs Nissan X Trail 1st gen - skidpan

Most used cars of that age have done around 150 - 250,000 km here, seems like quite a lot?

My main priorities are:

  • Reliability
  • Good fuel economy
  • Not too expensive to repair

You are never realistically going to meet any of those 3 requirements with an ageing 4 x 4 that has 150 to 250,000 kn on the clock.

  • At that mileage (and age for those cars) you are going to have issues.
  • Its a 4 x 4 thus mpg is going to be much less than a traditional family car.
  • Its an ageing 4 x 4 thus its likely to be expensive to fix when it goes wrong.

Best of luck.

Skidpan quite obviously had no intention of providing any help. He must get a kick out of trolling the forum I presume

My original answer was intended as helpful. I tried pointing out to you that buying a vehicle pretty much at the end of its life with your expectations was totally unrealistic.

Not a single poster has told you what a good idea it is.

Edited by Avant on 05/07/2019 at 18:45