With the 3 dogs, a double cab pickup would probably be a good idea. Obviously your budget is rather limiting, but there are options out there. Couple of old shape Ford Rangers with a years MOT on Autotrader I'd maybe consider, and while you'd need to obtain a canopy/truckman top, both are under £2.5k.

Edited by badbusdriver on 09/10/2024 at 20:11

re the ford ranger, or any pickup I wasnt sure if you got a cab the window between the cab and back seats could open so we could talk to the dogs

also re a pickup , aren't they really bad if not fully laden..ie back-end skidding even in wet conditions ?

Most double cab pick ups have a solid rear window (think i might have seen some Mitsubishis with the rear window rolled down), wouldn't be a massive job to replace it with a slider, similarly you can find pickup tops with front windows, we ordered a sliding window fitted to the hardtop on our then Hilux pick up, that was mainly so i could get access to clean the rear cab window and the front hardtop window to keep an eye on our dogs and for safe extra ventilation.

Re handling, yes some pickups can be skittish (especially those with limited slip rear diff, ask me how i know) so tyre choice is very important, some of the best i and many others have found so far for wet grip are Yokohama GO15 All Terrains, which also happen to be winter rated all season tyres, are well priced and have lasted years, will happliy replace the ones on our 120 Landcruiser with the same if and when the current set are shot.

As for room for dogs, our square shape 2008 Forester is plenty big enough for our 3, 1 medium sized Viszla, 1 very large Cocker, 1 medium Cocker and we also stick daughter's Whippet in too when she stays with us thouygh we don't travel very far with all 4 on board, the previous Outback wasn't really much bigger boot wise though more comfy and quiet overall, your budget might stretch to a 2010 on Outback which is much bigger vehicle altogether, it must be said though that the boot area in 90 and 120 series Landcruisers is huge especially with the 7th and 8th seats out.

Outback wise, the most reliable engine is the 3 litre H6 petrol, yes it drinks like a fish but its chain cam, CHG failure is unheard of lovely auto box and it shifts and handles like a sports car, again pre March 06 for VED purposes with the 3 litre, new models circa 2010 would be 2.5 NA which is obviously a better bet overall for running and tax costs.

forgot about 4Runner/Surf also consider Mitsubishis own version of their pick up, the name of which escapes me at the moment.

Edited by gordonbennet on 10/10/2024 at 10:43

also consider Mitsubishis own version of their pick up, the name of which escapes me at the moment.

Triton or L200

It came to me, in the UK the estate car (or shooting brake) version of L200 pick up is called Shogun Sport, if i recall correctly Mitsi did similar to Toyota (Surf/4Runner) and fitted softer riding coil springs to the rear axle, when the rear axle stays as a live axle or they went fully IRS i don't know.

Something in my memory says they were also known as the Mitsubishi Challenger.

Edit, just had a quick look and the few for sale have frankly ridiculous asking prices, especiallly when post March 06 versions are once again saddled with high ved.

Edited by gordonbennet on 11/10/2024 at 08:04

Thanks for all that research

I like the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento , Captiva and CRV

Are they any good though in tough conditions compare to say a Grand Cherokee or Landcruiser. I dont mean so much green laning as possible rough conditions ( snow, mud etc )

Are they also reliable

Thanks again

What about the Subaru forester..I've heard good things in terms of performance in bad weather and they are reasonably big from what I can gather...but no idea about reliability at my price point

They are reasonably big, but they are also smaller (including boot) than an Outback . A car whose boot you think would be too small.

Your price point is the problem and no assurances can be made about reliability because of this. Assuming you are only looking at cars which are not inherently unreliable, it is going to come down to how well the car has been looked after. Because a car which is inherently reliable could easily be a money pit after 15+ years of neglect. This is the risk you face when considering cars of this type at this price point.

Weird.. I thought the forester was bigger !

Is an outback worth adding to the list then ?

The Forester, being an SUV is taller and boxier so perhaps gives the illusion of being bigger than it actually is (though one seems to accommodate GB's 3 dogs fine)

By comparison, the Outback is a Legacy estate with raised suspension and some extra ruffty tuffty looking exterior trim. But yes it should be added to your list, the more potential candidates on there the better.