I want a family-friendly and daily driveable 4x4 / AWD with much space. I would need to fit two adults, two kids, two large dogs, plenty of sporting equipment, and other luggage. The car needs to be available in Europe and be able to drive off roads.

We are moving into a remote place where our road will not get plowed often, and the snowfall can be huge. The road is also bumpy and muddy, and sometimes flood so the car needs to be able to handle water crossings. Our outdoor hobbies also take us to bad mountain and forest roads.

My budget is quite flexible, lets say between 15 - 50 000 euros, and I am looking for the best value for money. I can purchase the car with cash if it's in the lower end of the budget or finance it if I need to spend more.

Looking at options myself, I see that a 4runner could be a nice choice, but it is not available in Europe. A newer Land Rover Defender would be nice, but it is quite expensive. The Subaru Outback / Forester could work, but I am unsure if it has enough off-road potential. Ford Bronco would be cool, but it is not available in my country (Finland). Ford Ranger is a possibility if I would cover the truck bed. Land Cruiser or G-wagon would otherwise work, but they are ridiculously expensive here.

Any other suggestions? EDIT: I would prefer used car.

Alright i need this settled whats better blocks or springs for a lift

Looking to gain more ground clearance in a common 4WD SUV and wondering if I should do it with increase wheel and tire size, suspension upgrade, lift kit, all three, or a combination of them?

So I’m getting baby bowser (a 2017 Mk1 Dacia Duster) ready for an off-road rally. (Speed, endurance and crossing the Sahara - so some interesting challenges).

This will be my eighth crossing or ninth Crossing of the Sahara, but only my second on a speed/timed rally. In the past I’ve always gone for bigger engines, like V6 or V8s (loved my petrol shogun for that!)

That said, this year we’re going to go with something much lighter and smaller… total opposite of the scale, but it should be interesting.

I’m now looking at shocks, I see mudster has some Koni shocks with a 3cm lift; while bilstein make a “oem replacement” shock B6 yellow (so no lift, but slightly better performance and apparently much better on corrugate)

What’s the consensus? Lift it, go with the stock height on the Bilsten B6, or something else?

Does anybody have experience with buying stuff in Australia and sending it to Europe?

When I’m looking for some accessories for my truck, Australians have vastly wider offerings of bumpers, hardtops and so on, but nobody is shipping to EU. Is it even viable?

I am gonna rebuild my 75 Bronco. It is idle right now with a busted spider gear in the diff.

I have an extra 9" diff from a 68 Bronco sitting around.

I am wondering whether there is any difference between the 9" diffs over that model year range that would make me want to stick with the 75 diff.

A long time ago the 75 diff cracked around the weld on the rear of the diff and it was rewelded, not by an expert, but by some guy who had a welder. I suspect some slag popped inside the diff while he was welding and it never got cleaned before he put it all together and later, within two years, the spider gear shattered. I can easily be wrong though.

Anyway, if the 68 diff is in good, rebuildable condition and has never cracked, etc can I just build that one and roll with it or am I better off going with the 75 diff?

I'll hang up and listen now, thanks.

I'm new to learning about 4x4. I know my way around cars pretty well, but never paid much attention to axles and differentials. Here's what I think I know, but am open to corrections.

I understand the concept of a differential: the wheels rotate at different speeds to accommodate turns.

In the old days, “Posi”, or limited-slip differentials were an option. This system was a bit of a semi-lockup, if I understood correctly, to feed more equal power to both wheels while still allowing for different wheel speeds in turns. The hot-rodders liked these.

So is a “locker” a mechanism that locks the axle so both wheels rotate exactly together, like a solid axle? Can it be activated or deactivated?

How about the connection between front and rear axles. Is the transfer case a solid connection in 4wd compared to AWD? Is there slip like a differential? Is that where a center locker comes in?

I see some trucks have front and/or rear lockers. What is the reason for not having them on both? Just cost?

Thanks for helping me understand this.

Hey yall I gotta question for you. So for those of you to go through Wharton state forest in Nj, how difficult was it? How “essential” is it to have proper 4x4? The reason I’m asking is I have a 2012 Denali with the AWD system and I would like to explore the forest while I’m in the area. I want to know if it’s a pretty easy place or I will be screwed?

I got way too invested into this haha. But it was a fun little project. I'm really pleased with how they turned out (aside from my attempt at a red coating turning neon pink).

hey y’all, i’m in the market for a new 4x4 that was also make a good daily driver. preferably under 10k, but im a bit flexible. i’ve been mainly looking at xterras, monteros, and 4runners. is there any other cars i should be keeping an eye on? i don’t need to climb crazy mountains or drag boats out of mud, but i do drive on a lot of northeast woods roads for work. thank you in advance!