Hey,
For the last week, I have been driving around looking for a small 4x4 not looking to drive off road, but need something cute, reliable and not too big
Still not sure which way to go, any advice or horror stories??

PM'd ya.......................................

some on here have the suzuki swift. nice and reliable but not the most comfortable (IMO)
there is the yota rav 4 which is ok but a little girly.

Jeep wranglers but not to comfy yet tons of fun
The Yeti (skoda) has gotten real good reviews also

Subaru Impreza?

How small?
If you want small small, then a couple of the smallest are Fiat Panda 4x4 and Suburu Justy.

I, personally drive a Renault Kangoo 4x4 (no longer available as new model - so 2nd hand) - although not big, is not the smallest - but has the feeling of big interior space for not too much "ground" area - mainly because of height, and straight sides and back (a bit box shaped).

My car before that was a Suburu Impeza combi (estate/hatchback), which (except for height) has bigger exterior dimensions than the Kangoo, but so much interior space is lost because it's made like a pyramid - sloping up to the roof.

If you're not a family, then the Impreza saloon could be an option.

VW Tiguan?

We have a swift 4x4 they are quite basic but comfy, only down side is they are a bit under powered but i understand they have changed the engine in the new one so that may have cured that. Overall we are very happy with it. Pm me if you want more info or a go in it

..... or the original (and older) Golf 4x4.
Audi also have small 4x4 models.

If there is no budget: 2011 Audi RS3.

If there is a budget: Hard to find nowadays, but shouldn't be too expensive: The probably coolest volkswagen since the mk1 bus: the "Golf II Country"

After a lot of searching around for something similar we found the following "small" 4x4s:

Suzuki Jimny
Suzuki Swift
Suzuki SX4
Fiat Sedici (same as the SX4)
Subaru Justy
Fiat Panda 4x4
Subaru Impreza (a bit bigger - the 1.5R Swiss is AWD)

We eventually went for a Mini Countryman, which isn't really that small (more Golf size).

Wow, I was going to suggest buying a BMW 3 series wagon with AWD. That car is very good in snow and rain and such yet it still has ground clearance. Plus it gets decent mileage like a car rather than a wannabe truck.

OTOH, If I had seen this golf when I was looking I might have bought it. Very cool looking.

Skoda Yeti may be worth a look.
What's the budget, BTW?

I drive a Daihatsu Terios ( stop your laughing now LiB ) and have been very happy with it.
small, full time 4x4 ... a little underpowered perhaps but perfect for commuting and weekends away.




p.s... [salesman_voice]buy a Terios and you get not one, yes I said not one, but two of these free.... [/salesman_voice]

As others have asked, how small is small? We have a Toyota RAV4 and Jeep Wrangler (2 door) at the moment. Toyota, while you would not call it a small car, is actually not that massive either, easy to park, love it to bits. Very comfortable to drive, enough space for a whole family and a couple of big dogs as well. No problems whatsoever so far.

Jeep: positives - reliable, small, fun to drive in the summer without the roof (has both soft and hard top). Negatives: not much space, especially on back seat, just enough for 2 people and couple of small shopping bags (4-door is of course bigger, but won't be a small 4x4 then). Quite basic, not that comfortable to drive for longer distances. But if it's just a short trip, I prefer the Jeep.

they actually get pretty good write ups, its just the badge snobs that don't like em