what frontera's should i be looking at.

Hi all.

im looking at entering the 4x4 scene and i will be looking at getting a fronty. (mainly as my boss states that he wouldnt touch one with a barge pole with a rubber finger on it).

at the moment i drive a vecy 2.0 dti and live in the hills in wales so this time of year its an arse. i am looking at the 98-00 2.2 dti, are these any god?

on a tight budget atm so what sort of thing should i look out for?

will be used as a road go'er 90% of time.

thanks for your time

if you live with hills then avoid the 2.0l petrol. Been told some of the other petrols have head gasket issues.

I've got a 2.8TDi, love it and great for towing. My friend has a 2.2 DTi and its quicker than mine and better on fuel, plus the engine is much more refined and better on roads i think (or could just be my truck thats a bit of a growler) haha.

Just look out for the dash/display problems on the B series.

I'm sure others will be along soon with their opinions too

(oh, and make sure you've got a nice set of tools as they'll get some good use whilst owning a frontera :lol:

)

My B series 2,2DTi has been spot on and only required minimal upkeep however always check the history, as already mentioned the dash clocks are known for failure and the fuel pumps are very sensitive however if it has been replaced it should be fine... Other than that its the usual things when buying a car. Oh and check the vac pipes and ABS faults are common but generally simple to resolve.

thanks for the reply bud. I will be staying away from petrol anyway as pockets are not deep enough lol

i am edging towards the 2.2 as will be used as a daily. your truck is nice, i would benefit from the LWB as have a little boy and another on the way.

thanks for the dash advise :thumbup:

and have a good collection of tools anyway as have a vecy dti lol

well i had my swb 2.0 petrol in wales and it did the hills no prob anc i used to get about 40mpg untill i moded it to hell, then i got about 30
so dont allways discount the petrol's

Where abouts in North Wales are you Dan ?

2.0 Sports do struggle up the hills more than a turbo'd diesel obviously. The plus point is that you can go for a walk around the engine bay on a 2.0 sport.

2.2 Dti is by far the most civilised diesel for day to day driving. Wouldn't touch a 2.2 petrol or a v6 unless it was LPG'd .

2.8's and 2.5's are pretty powerful but a little agricultural by comparison to the Dti.

As previously mentioned, you really need one that has had a new fuel pump fitted in its recent past and plenty of service history :thumbup:

40MPG out of a sport!!!! :shock:

Wish id bought that then cos it mustve had an amazing one of a kind engine in it :wtf:

20 - 25 MPG out of a sport is a more reasonable figure.

Thanks for the replys, wow 40 mpg from the swb petrol,i was going by what it states on autotrader thats why i ruled a petrol out.

So its looking like a 2.2 dti will be the one as will be mainly for road use, are these timing chain as is the 2.2 in the vectra?

chains, yes.

40 mpg is easily obtained in a 2ltr if you average out the miles over say a 3 month period and take into account the time and distance spent getting dragged along by a RAC truck.... :lol:

Glad to hear youre going Fronty :clap:

Got a 2000 2.2dti lwb
Some tips for you, I live in Norway and here the morons are using tons of salt on the roads during winter. Look for corrosion attack when you open rear doors.
If you are getting two sets of wheels make sure they all measure the same, I didnt check this and got winter set with a pair of
245/70 r16 and pair of 245/75 r16. Not good for my fronty when engaging 4wd as I have lsd axle (g80 on VIN plate if i remember r)
Test 4wd drive!! Make sure cooling liquid in expantion tank looks good/clear/fresh, the heater matrix clogges up easily and will break/leak.
(I reasently had to change mine)
Listen to engine, ticking noises? could be lot of stuff but 1 fix requires engine out or front axle down

good luck

Thanks for the info. Was just looking at a 2000 reg on the net, im in no rush at the moment so ill hold out for a decent one.

Like i said the main reason for buying is for road use but may go to see what bala is about lol

It was the 2.2 diesel I bought in September. same reason as yourself, to get through winter cause the BM dosnt want to know if it snows and plus some offroading.

Had an old fourtrak Fieldman which I couldnt fault, especialy offroad, was very argicultural though, then a Discovery, Discovery wasnt a patch on my Frontera.

Frontera surprised me, especialy offroad as I heard the comments your boss was giving you. for an everyday motor they are actualy very good as well.

If Im honest I thought it was slow at 1st, but in all fairness to the Frontera it wasnt really that bad as I was coming out an Alpina BM to the Frontera.

Mine has been raised 2 inches and has 31 inch all terrain tyres and you wouldnt know as it still drives well.

I would recomend a Front 2.2 diesel to anyone. as for all the people who slate them, how many have actualy drove one ?