What Car? Q&A - What's the cheapest new 4x4?

Q: Could you tell me what the cheapest new 4x4, is please? I need four-wheel drive to get up my steep driveway in the winter, but I don't have a big budget.
Liz Dunn

A: It's probably not the kind of car you're thinking of, Liz, but the cheapest four-wheel-drive car on the market is the Fiat Panda 4x4.

It's priced at £9660, but a bit of haggling with your Fiat dealer should get the price down to around £8500.

It's not a big car by any means, and only has a 1.2-litre engine, but if you don't need much space, the Panda is remarkably capable off-road and should haul itself up your steep drive in all but the worst weather conditions.

Other reasonably cheap 4x4s worth considering include the Suzuki SX4 4Grip (£12,999) and the Daihatsu Terios (£12,995).

Buying new, you do get the peace of mind of a three-year or 60,000-mile warranty, but you pay a lot to begin with.

If your budget's tight, why not consider at a used 4x4? A Toyota RAV4 has four-wheel drive, is extremely reliable and good 10-year-old examples start at around £2000.

So, if anything does go wrong, you can put it right with the money you've saved in purchase cost.