My sympathise to all who have suffered at all from the recent bad weather and flooding. Any property damage is never good at anytime, but especially upsetting at this time of year.

So with that in mind, we have only had a minor inconvenience.

Both Mrs B and I had to leave our cars overnight at our local village hall and get home via some friendly neighbours with 4x4 trucks.
We still cannot get the cars home this morning as the flooding has not subsided sufficiently. Mrs B very hacked off at not being able to get the final bits and bobs ready for Xmas lunch and very strong suggestions are being made by family members to sell the Coupe for a 4x4!

This might be avoided if I can replace our Saab 9-3 for something with 4x4/SUV which can get through a bit of flooding and snow.
Something like a diesel Rav4, Civic CRV, BMWx3 or maybe a Volvo XC90 for a budget of up to say £7500?
Obviously the most expensive time of year to buy, so may have to defer until the Spring??? Knocks on the head though my plan to replace the Saab with a 159!!!

I do not really know much about SUV 4x4s, so any shared experience/recommendations appreciated. I have excluded all LR products on the basis of perceived reliability issues?

After the shenanigans with the Polo, I'd heartily recommend my 2006 Hyundai Tucson diesel. Very well specified, 43k with full dealer history and save yourself £2k off your budget!

www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/2...lent/1042240483

Alfa Romeo 156 Crosswagon is tha answer.

Sorry to hear this but I wouldn't get rid of the coupe for a 4x4 it would have to be the Saab.

As for what to get I'd go for a x5 instead of the x3 a lot more car for the same sort of money and with that budget you'll get a nice diesel either that or a discovery and I hVent heard any bad things about the tdv6 for reliability.

My family have had a power cut since yesterday evening and all the Xmas food is down the pan so not looking good my end either

Very sorry about your families power cut and I hope they get it restored asap.

Agree with you re the Fiat v Saab.
My wife's brother had a X5 until recently, but the auto gearbox failed and it cost big bucks to get fixed.

A VW Tiguan would be ideal or perhaps even a Toureg.
I need something smart but not too pretentious, with decent mpg, comfort and drivability.

I like the XC90 but they are probably too big.

Very good, but I cannot see much water in that pic!

That's a interesting "left field" suggestion.
Not sure about the looks though???

Xc90 would be nice aswell and thanks for,the thoughts.

I run 2 old LandRover Freelanders as winter cars for me and Mrs Wombat. A '99 XDi 5 door and an 02 1.8 petrol 3 door.

The petrol Freelander cost 900 quid off eBay, and in 12 months, passed its MOT with no problems, has had a set of tires, and I did a fluid and belt service. It has not yet let me down!! The XDi was cheaper, but needed a new VCU and transfer box. Again, did it myself, but the parts pushed the annual cost up a bit.

If you know their foibles and are handy with a spanner, they are good work horses and cheap as chips to keep on the road. Get one and keep all the other cars?

I had a 58 plate Mitsubishi outlander, considering it only ever had normal road tyres it was a very capable 4x4, if you are not planning on climbing mountains.
It has pulled 2 ton generators through the snow with ease and pulled many of my colleges heavily laden movano and Vivaro vans out of mud snow and ice etc. although i have no idea about water but recall the air inlet being above the headlights!
My version had the golf tdi engine in it and was a pleasure to drive but was not very economical, perhaps due to always being fully loaded and not paying for the fuel!

It has auto electronic 4 wheel drive and diff lock but no low ratio, clutch was replaced at 109000 miles did not want for much other than brake pads fairly regularly as well!
No idea of costs as was a company vehicle but possibly worth considering
I have just taken delivery of the new model 63 plate but have only had it for 6 days so far, so no idea if its as good or not but it is lovely to drive
Best of luck choosing
And hope Christmas goes well

Just bought a 53 plate Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7CRd Limited for less than 3k with full history & MOT.
Great vehicle, my Coupe roof comes up to the bottom of the windows!!!!! Looks the part, goes the part and very comfortable.
Nice contrast to the Coupe!

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, lots to go on.

Bummer Adam, gutted for you

The Freelander TD4 is really a German piece of engineering. Out went the exciting K Series (really a sports car engine) and in went a safe BMW 320 Diesel lump, but they took out the dodgy fuel swirl things and put in a variable vane turbo which supposedly works well (but a Diesel is a Diesel at the end of the day).
Ours is on about 145,000 miles now. We got it with 30k on and it was like new, just 3 years old and it had depreciated from £30k to £9k The only failure over that time - a £100 Pierburg fuel pump - but as with Alfas as all the important stuff is German I suppose credit where it is due that it hasn't been expensive / troublesome.

Aside from dispelling the myths this one is the Sport version so has a really nice stereo, fat wheels, and low profile tyres (£££ when you need to change them). It doesn't handle or accelerate like a car but it can be hustled and thrown around, and is very comfortable on longer runs. Economy is about the same as the Alfa 1.8 petrol. I prefer it for going through traffic / doing family stuff and the Alfa if I need to be doing higher speeds / flying round roundabouts etc. and the Fiat for proper driving exhilaration.

Probably the car's finest hour was in the big snow of 2010, being able to pull into the thick snow covered outer lane of the motorway and overtake some of the more cautious traffic that should have been in the inside lane.

Lots of face lifted Freelander TD4s advertised within 50 miles of me at around the right money, but for some reason I fear they would let us down???
My perception is a similar aged/cost diesel RAV4 would be a better all round bet?
Nissan X=trail should be on my list but I do not like the central instrument panel!
A well cared for Rav4 would tied us over until we are ready to purchase something more recent, such a Tiguan or Kuga?

bought a 06 jeep cherokee 2.8td cat D 75k for winter run around. £2600

c crosser, 4007, outlander(2.2 engine) are top end of budget and good wagons

jeep patriot 2.0td also a easy to run alternative, year and half faultess driving, though very plastic to many alternative

had a 2012 freelander td4 for a few weeks, i would find it hard to justify its price tag

Freelanders definitely not the most reliable in the bunch, but all have their little failings. Common Freelander issues seem to be door electrics, ABS/Hill Descent system, VCU after 75k miles, and then if not dealt with, the transfer box. Replacement VCU is 200 quid but a relatively straightforward job if you do your own spannering. Transfer box is also surprisingly easy (need a bit of muscle and grunt if you are doing it underneath and on your back), but if the VCU has stiffened up and lunched the transfer box, a recon unit is 600 quid (ouch).

Electrics are all very easy if you know basic car electrics and again, do your own spannering. I have seen a lot of LandRover posts on the ABS/Hill Descent, but the problems that cause the systems to fail are the same on all cars - ABS sensor gone, HD switch on gearshift gone, reverse/first gear switch or brakelight switch gone. ABS ECU has to be cleared to get rid of most of the error codes though.

So the LandRover message... Unreliable but dead easy to keep on the road if you are doing the work, otherwise scrap value!!!

How can you be unsure of Hovedan's Hyundai's look? it's butt fugly

My boss has a Honda CRV and round here last year in his village, in the floods and snow, it performed brilliantly never letting him or his young family down once. That's what i'd be getting anyway, I even considered getting one to replace the Coupé recently, but opted for the M3

I am biased, but what about a Mazda bongo 4x4? They are cheap as chips, easy to drive and on the weekend you can go camping in it !

Yeah they are getting old, but they are very easy to work on.

Merry christmas !!!

Cheers Gripped. Hopefully you enjoyed your Christmas day.
Must admit a bongo hasn't been on my radar

Looking on Autotrader, very little appeals just at the moment at the right money.
Maybe I should revisit the idea of a 2.0 diesel 4x4 Quashqui? Trouble is not many of those about.

Not really needing full on 4x4 ability, just good traction around our muddy lanes and when the snow falls, but also a decent wading ability, lowish emissions and good mpg???

What about an Audi A4 or A6 Quattro estate (Avant). If you want a bit more rugged and taller, you could look at an Allroad. The Diesel engines are good too. The 2.7 V6 tdi is a gem though the 2.0 tdi would be better on fuel.

The good thing about the A4 or A6 Quattro is that they are "normal" cars but you have 4x4 when you want it. Depends how tall you need it to be.

This is my first winter without my old A6 Quattro which never let us down with the floods or snow!
I'd like another as it was a great ride over our pot holed lanes around here.
Spent so long looking for a new one, I have forgotten to include it in the latest shortlist!
Mine was petrol and even got us home from Cornwall in the Summer of 2003 when Glos had the biblical floods....
Not sure if the diesel quattros have the air intake as high up or not as the petrol???

How about a skoda octavia 4x4 ? Very reliable diesel power.

Yes, but have not seen any for £7.5k?

Got an audi rs6 within your budget.
Pm me if your interested.

Said it before but my wifes Fiat Sedici is a terrific little 4x4 thats hardly known here... Cheap as chips - you can get the last ones into the country for about 6k but they were mainly 4x2. Ours is a 1.6 Petrol - The car was jointly developed with Suzuki as they wanted Fiats Diesel Multijet and Fiat wanted a 4x4 drive unit. Not too bad looking (styled by Giugiaro). Jap engine and electrics so last forever. We have put nearly 70k on ours in 5 years and only failures have been a rear wheel bearing and the front wishbone is now going. Starts first time every time. The Suzuki petrol unit is actually very old-skool Fiat in that it needs pushing to get the best and is noisey at speed but will run all day at motorway speeds - returns 36 mpg and is chain-driven. My wife still loves it and its elevated height for its vision. The 4x4 is terrific in the snow - we never got stuck even when we lived down a 1/4 mile private drive in a field that was never gritted. You can get a 2008 car with 40k on it for around £3-4k now...... But something like out 2006 model is more like £2-3k.... reccomended.

I expect the air intake would be in a similar place. An Allroad would be taller and you can increase the ride height with its air suspension.

Nice one Nello.
Trouble is I need the car to also be a business car which inhabits the rarefied territory of being not too flash, but also smart enough that investment clients do not get the wrong impression.
Mrs B would probably be quite happy with a smaller car such as the Fiat/Suzuki 4x4 but, as I bought her a Golf last year for her birthday, I can hardly take it off her!
Such a move may have dire consequences for the Coupe
Ideally the winter weather will abate and I can make the switch in the Spring/early Summer

If you see one locally go and have a look - think you'll be pleasantly suprised........

Heres ours:

If you are ever in the Coventry area you're welcome for a closer look....

Very nice setting there nello!
I'll keep an eye out for one my way
Cheers