Which smallish SUV for under $20,000 for beach driving?

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I have a 2003 Toyota RAV4 AWD that runs great, but I want something to take on the beach and a few tame trails as I've moved to an area with heaps of 4WD beach access. I love the storage for dogs, bike and surfboards my Rav gives with its clip out seats and would like something similar. Diesel would be a bonus too. I was thinking about an X-trail as its not super big. Do you have any other suggestions with my $20K limit?

For beach and basic trail driving I'd be aiming for something with a locking centre differential, which all-wheel drive versions of the previous generation X-Trail certainly had. Another suitable good value option would be an all-wheel drive Hyundai ix35. Both of which were available in diesel. Any common issues will likely be highlighted on our X-Trail and ix35 problems pages.

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