Thread: 4WD / Family Car

The above list & two more , good fuel economy & cheap price .

Easy get a Hyundai Santa Fe , a 2009 -2012 , price around 12-15k , they seem very reliable , brother has one so does my farmer mate , both swear my them , both have high Ks .

Available in 5 or 7 seat layouts .

Originally Posted by Mauser308

Here's a startling comment, I'm sure to start something with this. There is utterly no reason I can think of, to pay the current second-hand car price for a clapped out crappy Toyota. They are about 4-years or so behind anything else comparable in the country in terms of model advancement, ride quality and noise and cockpit layout, and about the only reason I can see for the popularity and hence the higher prices for a used version is a decade or so of a seriously well thought out ad campaign.

They aren't any cheaper to fix than anything else (some models cost more than they should), and a lot of people have this attitude that they don't break so they don't need servicing. As I said, it was a bloody good ad campaign...

As far as that goes, if you decide that you want a Toyota great just buy the vehicle not the propaganda and the owner's BS stories.

If you're looking at 7 seats, you are in the market for a Santa Fe, Prado, Ford Terrortory, or something like that in the 'soft roader' class. A Patrol or Landcruiser size 4x4 won't be the car for your missus if she can't handle a manual - she's likely to be a 'jump in and it goes' kind of lady and the Patrol's and Landcruisers in the 7-seat versions are bloody big vehicles for car parking buildings and the like. It takes a little bit of touch parking to learn where the bits are at either end...

My wife is quite a good driver, I've seen her do some bloody good emergency and defensive driving and apart from sailing into an intersection and expecting to stop the vehicle in 2 feet, she is pretty good in normal driving too. She hates my Ford Ranger PX, and refused the LWB Safari I used to have just because of the size and the hassle and lack of visibility. It's not because she can't drive them, quite the opposite it's just she doesn't like the extra stress of the larger vehicles.

Her current car is a Tuscon/IX35 sized Hyundai, bloody good and underrated little softroader 4x4 and a great car for her with all the safety features - except the damn thing doesn't fit carseats either. You really need that next size up which in the Hyundai range is the Sante Fe, or similar...

Yep never thought I'd own a Hyundai, but drove our new one from Tauranga to Masterton and back to Taupo the other Sat. Plenty of poke and enjoyed the drive, a little touchy in the steering but he'll it ain't a European! My wife love the bloody thing it's an XI35 diesel

Originally Posted by MattyP

The grenade, huh? Well i'll be staying away from that sucker then! Thanks for the heads up .

I've heard (from a diesel mechanic) that the ZD30 melted pistons are generally caused by a dodgy earth on the MAF sensor, and can be avoided by wiring the earth better.

However the fuel pump will probably still give up around 160-180k, and its a $5k engine-out job to replace it.

father in law has a Hyundai santa fe, tows his boat with it and can't stop singing about the fuel mileage.... despite my protests it being a Hyundai ..... I now agree with his choice.
ended up buying a i30 diesel for the other half and intend upgrading it to an ix35 when the kids get bigger.
a lot of car or soft 4x4 for the money, dunno about the river crossings though lol.

I'd rather walk than drive one of those Hyundai things but that's just me


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IF I get a Hyundai , it may look very std & plain & ugly , BUT it will be cheap & reliable , and when I fill it with AI rifles & Bender scopes , IT will maybe raise the coolness factor a tad .

And not being European , IT will last a long time & not breakdown , or need a cam belt every 3000km like the bloddly Audi does ,

Originally Posted by ChrisF

IF I get a Hyundai , it may look very std & plain & ugly , BUT it will be cheap & reliable , and when I fill it with AI rifles & Bender scopes , IT will maybe raise the coolness factor a tad .

No it will be even gayer.


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Originally Posted by BRADS

I'd rather walk than drive one of those Hyundai things but that's just me


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Thems was my thoughts, it's as hard as changing your sexual preferences and that ain't gonna happen, but I did buy a Hyundai!

Originally Posted by BRADS

No it will be even gayer.


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Spose ya own a Fiat tractor or something just as gay?

Originally Posted by ChrisF

IF I get a Hyundai , it may look very std & plain & ugly , BUT it will be cheap & reliable , and when I fill it with AI rifles & Bender scopes , IT will maybe raise the coolness factor a tad .

And not being European , IT will last a long time & not breakdown , or need a cam belt every 3000km like the bloddly Audi does ,

I still have my VW Golf and it would out drive the Hyundai 10 to 1 but my wife's still smiling, the Golf goes on the block this week. European cars are hard to beat as drivers cars, of course the cosy was well above everything I've every owned