Decent sturdy four wheel drive for under about £12K

[stek]

No joke, they have power steering that's so light you have NO idea which way the wheels are facing. Unstoppable, though

And amphibious with like water jet motors (i.e. not propellers), though I believe they mostly removed that system on the weak excuse that it didn't work.

And how cool to get in through a hole in the roof.

6 cylinder Rolls-Royce petrol engine, what, 4 to 6 mpg?

[vwdan]

And amphibious with like water jet motors (i.e. not propellers), though I believe they mostly removed that system on the weak excuse that it didn't work.

And how cool to get in through a hole in the roof.

6 cylinder Rolls-Royce petrol engine, what, 4 to 6 mpg?

Yep, awesome bits of kit. Dread to think on the MPG - certainly not a commuter truck

[Whorty]

Mitsubishi Pajero is a nice motor and worth a look

[Malcolm Buggeridge]

Mitsubishi Pajero is a nice motor and worth a look

Or a Shogun as I believe it's known round these parts owing to the term "Pajero" roughly translating to in Spanish thus precluding its suitability for sale under that name in the European market.

[jjdarg]

Used LR Discovery 3s in good nick are going for about 12k nowadays. Only drawback is that repair and parts costs are huge unless you know of good independents who are IT-literate.

I love mine, and it is very capable off road with the right tires - got the muddy engine bay to prove it!

[Ramrod]

I had a Mitsubishi Challenger in NZ (2.8L Diesel auto) - absolutely bombproof, equally impressive off road as on a long journey. Despite all Mrs Ramrod's efforts it just would not break. It towed the boat as if there was nothing there, got us to and from the skifields without fuss, and absolutely saved our bacon when our house and street got munted in the 2012 earthquake.

As an aside (since it doesn't really fit your requirements I don't think) I also had a Suzuki Grand Vitara for a while, which was superb off the road, could go through just about anything, and was as cheap as chips.

[tractor]

.....

Yep, I had a Shogun 3l, auto for a few years, was my first 4x4 and a bit older than the Trooper when I got it. I agree it was great, but as it got older, it got very expensive. Praps I was just unlucky. Took it down to the Pyrenees once and it really did eat up those miles.

[TheFaQQer]

The Nissan X-Trail has done us proud for a number of years now. Excellent on and off road performance.

[BolshieBastard]

Get a turbo Forester. Proper 4wd, tough as old boots, utterly reliable and quick enough to leave a Golf GTi behind...

Rarely agree with him but this. The forrester is a good rugged vehicle that doesnt look like a tank.

[AtW]

911 Turbo...