Thanks all for the input. I am not sure about a Jeep (unless it was a WWII Willy's...) and the used CRV looks quite expensive but maybe it just holds value better as (if their bikes are anything to go by) you get better build quality with a Honda. The Escape seems to get mixed reviews so not entirely written off (though not all of them are 4WD either). Otherwise maybe something Korean then?
I haven't seen any of those Welsh cars over here yet.

Ah, so price seems to be a limiting factor - what about these?

Yes, very good. "Cheapish" was they key word there. It seems all cars (at least from dealers) bottom out at around $10k here whereas in the UK you can still go much lower than that for something half decent. Not that this is my budget mind, just saying like.

I bought my Ford Explorer from a dealer here for about $2000 and apart from needing a broken seat belt latch repairing and a new battery, she hasn't needed any work other than oil change and servicing since I bought her.
She is heavy on petrol and oil, that is true, but it will take a long time before I have used that $8K expenditure deficit on her!

OK, she doesn't look so pretty, but she gets the job done and I don't worry about her getting stolen or keyed!

That $10K mark seems spot on but you can sometimes find some deals privately.

That would be under the classifieds as a "winter beater"

I don't care what you classify her as, she goes; rain, snow, shine.
People are too worried bout what their car looks like.

You pay for looks (which is why my Yorkshire husband married me.)

Dam rights my 98 half ton has 460,000km on the clock and still runs like a train, and for once I find myself agreeing with Helcat - it doesn't matter if it accidentally scrapes a tree / fence or whatever on her journeys - Old Red is pretty awesome.

300k? Still only a youngster then

We sold our 1997 AWD CRV this year for $1k. It's still running fine for the new owner and it had already done 450k when it left us, with no issues. The only repairs it ever needed were the front wheel bearings and a U-joint.

We've replaced it with another AWD CRV (a '99 - paid $4k!) but that one's only done 240k km.

Such a shame I missed you selling that!
Never mind.
Wherever you found your 'new' one, point me in that direction, please!
By PM, though, as otherwise everyone else will get there before me!
I did ask first!

She did too. We have records.

LOL! I've no idea where you are, but it'll be nowhere near me because no-one lives round here - we're in the back of beyond in the BC Rockies.

The 'new' one was via private sale. The problem is that the few people that do live here, all know everyone else in the Valley, so we see the person who bought our old car daily (and each day I see that it's still running, I breathe a little sigh of relief!)

The same with the couple that sold us the new one - they keep asking how it's running... They're starting to make me a bit nervous, actually!

Pontiac do a 4 W D Vibe, its a Toyota Matrix in a Pontiac shell. A 2003-2005 car will run you about 5-6,000. Good on gas and reliable. The AWD is a bit harder to find than a FWD, but not impossible.

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Pontiac/V...howcpo=ShowCPO

Seats fold down into the floor too.

Pontiac's are no longer produced. Parts will start getting difficult and expensive to find.

Not really, no more so than any other car thats no longer being made anyway. Id be more worried if I owned a Saturn or a Saab, and besides that Pontiac is a Toyota underneath.