Frontera - Tell me the truth

[ToolsnTrack]

So I'm considering a Frontera. They look cheap, beefy, and as Cavvy's of the same era are common retro fodder, i don't see why these cant be.

A diesel will be the ideal but should i steer clear of a petrol for any reasons outside arthritically slow performance and alcoholic fuel use?

FYI, i fancy making a Zombie hunter out of one....

So what do you all know? Other than internet conjecture and half-truths about same sex image?

[popuptoaster]

We had one, it was low milege but still not very nice and had lots of small problems over the time we owned it, shoddy interior and it broke down several times, on the plus side it looked ok, was nippier than expected (2 litre petrol) and it was cheap. The missus disliked it from the first time she drove it any distance and we sold it as soon as we found a replacement.

Also both our recent Japanese 4x4's have done three times the mileage and are less rusty/seized up/tatty overall I would say, i reckon vauxhall had them built on the cheap somewhere, I know they were Isuzu based but it seemed to be way worse quality than both our toyota and mazda trucks.

[bigman1207]

I had a 2.0 Petrol Sport manual, think it was a 1994 reg, bought cheap enough no rust but laquer peel on bonnet and top of roof.

Had it a few months and only reason I sold it was the terrible fuel econom, think a tenner was getting me fifty miles or something like that.

Simple and cheap as chips to self service, ride was good and was really comfortable. Mine was bought form a gamekeeper and had been used off road but was in good nick, did not have bull bars etc.

Overall....very happy drove okay all controls really light, felt safe, looked good with roof off downside being the fuel economy.

Cheers

BM

[bigman1207]

oh and whats a zombie hunter???

[IDY]

Mar 19, 2012 17:27:04 GMT bigman1207 said:

oh and whats a zombie hunter???

Shamelessly stolen from this very forum ;D





One of Mystery Machine's creations

[kenb]

I had the 99 T plate version with the 2.2 Eco diesel. Few niggly problems, nothing that wasn't sorted quickly. Have to say, they pull like a train and fairly economical too on a run. My 07 Ranger is no better on fuel than the Fronty. Just be prepared for poor build quality as far as interiors go, and niggly electrical issues. Never broke down as such in the 4 years I had it.
I wouldn't bother with petrol versions personally.

[bigman1207]

Hey that looks like my talivan on a bad day lol !!

[tali100]

Reguarly bottom of JD Power surveys BUT as a response Vauxhall did a gruelling camel trophy style challenge - and Frontera passed with flying colours

[tomti]

As said interior is not the most solid but I had one a 2.8td diamond edition and loved it. 30mpg regularly and enough torque to pull away in fifth. Sold it to a copper that was taking it to Sweden to train police dogs.

Would have another in a heart beat

[dave21478]

I had an early 2 litre petrol SWB. To be honest, it was great. It never did less than 25mpg and often did over 30. The 2 litre 8v engine is indestructable and parts are cheap and easy to get. Repairs are easy as there is loads of room around everything.
Mine didnt have a single spot of rust anywhere, but laquer peel on the roof was bad, so I satin blacked the roof.
On the down side, mine was the very early one which had leaf springs on the rear, which gave a bouncy ride. from about 1995 onwards they went to coils which ride better.
It had an LSD in the rear axle as a factory option and was very tail-happy in the wet.
Aside from a failed alternator i never gave a single days trouble and was very reliable.
The hard-top is a bit of a faff to get on and off though.

[stefan]

Had a 2.4 LWB, 1993 model. It trashed its rear axel but other than that it was great, also had LPG which was nice. It was not fast but I liked it alot first 4X4 I ever had

[micrat]

they are quite capable off roaders, and as with all the ones good off road they are a bit less comfy on the road, it depends what you want! i worked for vauxhall a few years ago and the availability of parts was still good, except things like rear door hinges etc.

i don't know why ive never seen a turbocharged one, they can come with a 2.0 vaxhall lump in anyway, and there loads of room in the bay, could be a laugh in a short wheelbase one with an LSD

[ToolsnTrack]

It won't be a primary car, more a load lugger and snow hack. Thinking of the 5 door though for more towing stability and... well... man girth!

Interesting point raised... Are they better than a Cherokee though?

[OVY871]

My dad had one for about 6 years, bought it in 2000, sold it in 2006 and doubled its milage to about 150,000 the only reason he got rid of it was because it started getting too expensive to run it as we were doing 1800 miles in each school holiday (the 900 each way was done in one go).

Had a hardish life but only ever failed us once but could have been prevented (alternator failing at around 140,000 miles), from being the 'truck' that built a house in France carrying allsorts including around a whole house worth of roof tiles at once (probably about 3 tonnes we guessed from the amount the suspension went down on the Frontera and trailer) and just getting on with it to drifting it around wet roundabouts, rescuing other cars such as Jeeps/Suzukis/Land Rovers/tractors off-road, being chucked off road and being the only car able to beat this off-road course in the depths of winter despite being up against competition spec Land Rovers.

1995 2.2 Petrol with LPG conversion (to take a sting off the MPG) LWB model, overall.... brilliant (even my mum liked it and that's hard to achieve)
House before:

House during:

House 6 weeks later: (picture taken 2 hours before our ferry 600 miles away, needless to say we didn't make it... but we did find out on another occasion that it can cruise at 90mph-ish without too much harm except it being a tad warm when we pulled up, bonnet popped up, cooled off carried on fine but at a slower speed this time )

Here it is with the house that we, knocked down (100 year old rotten wooden house) and rebuilt more or less in concrete blocks and modern roof etc in 6 weeks by our family and some help from friends, a tough 6 weeks with around 3000 miles probably being covered with almost every day a work day for it..... will say it again brilliant car and would reccomend one

[tome30]

Just quickly.....my swb 2.0l 95 was brilliant fun on and off road. Plenty of oomph, and a great giggle!!! Miss it to bits.

[Kieran]

I had a 1997 2.2 petrol long wheel base Frontera. Not too bad on fuel, but the big ends are a weak spot on this engine, and shortly after the hg went, the big ends started to knock, even on 20/50 oil......

I thought it was a great car though, very sturdy and good to drive. They are not brilliant in snow or off road, due to the lack of locking diffs, but not too bad to be fair.

[10mpg]

Here's mine, 2.8 TD all Izuzu mechanicals, went well great on fuel towed well and actually very nice to drive, never had a problem with it either, if i needed a cheap workhorse I'd have another like a shot..

[MWF]

Mar 19, 2012 22:57:32 GMT Kieran said:

not brilliant in snow or off road, due to the lack of locking diffs, but not too bad to be fair.

99% of 4x4's don't have locking diffs. The main difference between the useless off-road car and a brilliant one is the tyres fitted.

[jiminwatford]

They can get up Snowdon (twice)

[popuptoaster]

Mar 20, 2012 10:10:13 GMT MWF said:

Mar 19, 2012 22:57:32 GMT Kieran said:

not brilliant in snow or off road, due to the lack of locking diffs, but not too bad to be fair.

99% of 4x4's don't have locking diffs. The main difference between the useless off-road car and a brilliant one is the tyres fitted.

This is true, I always fit preoper tyres on 4x4s, cant see the point of having one otherwise, and generally when it snows or gets muddy you mange just fine in 2wd with good tyres on.


(not that lockers are no help, but 4 times no grip is still no grip)