Landcruiser v Patrol

"You'd be mad to buy a Patrol"

Hi Plasnart,

My first coment would be both vehicles are very good, and it possibly would come down to the following:

- Patrol 3.0ltr good power for little engine, high tech
- Patrol 4.2 same power as 3.0ltr, low tech
- Landcruiser little less power but can be fixed in the bush with a bit of wire. Probably a little bit more truck feel than Patrol

If you are looking to trash the car in the push, and comfort and speed are not as important as reliability, then I would suggest the Lancruiser. But if you are over 6 feet tall, maybe cruiser will feel a bit squashy

I say this being a non biased Patrol owner

Thanks

TonyG

Forget the brand and look at which vehicle suits your requirements and pocket.

I was in the same boat as you 2 years ago, and If I were to do it all again, I'd be happy with either vehicle.

If you are buying new, you're actually considering 3 vehicles - the new 79series replacement will be out early next year with a turbo V8 diesel, and maybe an automatic option.

In favour of a 79series factory TD:
- more payload (1240kg) and stronger chassis than Patrol
- Efficient 24valve TD motor - will get 2l/100k better than the Nissan
- Max torque at 1400rpm; and you can add a Dtronic; Patrol's max torque is at 2000rpm
- resale is very good
- old fashioned timeless styling if thats what you want
- slightly narrower
- Better view over the bonnet - you will sit higher
- more rom in the cab than 75series Cruiser
- Nice ride - better than the Prado I owned before
- Easily accommodates under tray toolboxes; tanks and spare tyre
- Can easily add a 3rd fuel tank to take it to 270litres.

In favour of the Patrol:
- Simple motor, with minimal electronics - Toyota motor is EFI
- Choice of coil or leaf rear springs; but coil spring housings can crack unless reinforced.
- Slightly wider track
- will take a 1950 wide tray - Cuiser trays are usually 1850.
- "modern" interior, and exterior styling if that is your preference
- I think you now have an airbag option.

I decided on the LandCruiser because I like the TD motor, and the strong H150F transmission, and the payload.

Cheers
phil

Bite the bullet and buy an F truck,
After all Ford did win Bathurst ha ha ha ha ha

Kev

toyota= good body and chassis and driving position

patrol= soft body and not as good chassis but excellent engine trans and gearbag

(but factory turbo toyotas good a lot better than factory nissan turbo)

Have you considered a good second hand subaru brumby? Honest little 4WD ute!!! ;)
Just kidding......great car but not what you really want

Cheers Stefan

Well since you mention Niva how about a Niva ute

Oh for gods sake stop mucking around and buy a Holden Cruise :-)

Go and drive both.. see which you like.

driven far to many Tojo utes that never see blacktop to consider anything else

Plasnart i was in a similar boat a few years ago (80 seies or GQ) it came down to preference as both were suited in different ways. The 80 won in the end.
Have you thought about a series 2 niva? There the ones with the rear demister to keep your hands warm when you pushing it!
cheers geoff

Have owned both through the years. Found the Tojo's "easier" to drive, the cog-box is a bit more user-friendly ( but it broke earlier too ) The coil cab Patrol rode better and felt better at speed, but was a tad gutless ( non-turbo ) and prone to getting warm. The Tojo was easier to work on. The Patrol electrics seemed better than the tojo. Tojo had better fuel economy. I'm a big bloke and the Patrol fitted me better than the Tojo ( but the tojo had more head room ) I used both the utes mainly in the bush/station work, tojo's body stood up to it better though the patrol's drive train and suspension took more. Own a patrol wagon now, but if I had to decide on a ute again, it'd be tough but i think the tojo might win. Purchase price is the only cocern.

I own a '94 Toyota Hilux and a '04 GU Patrol wagon. I love the patrol but the biuld of the toyota is far better than the nissan, if your choices are for the same $ toyota has a "quality" edge. When looking for a new wagon we looked at the patrol against toyota prado as they were in the same $ range the cruiser wagon (diesel/auto) were way too expensive, and in the wagons the patrol is the only one with a live front axle, which was a prmary consideration. The nissan ute has coil rears which is a bonus. I drove the 4.2 when looking for wagons and found it a bit lacking, but as we were after an auto it didn't make our short list. Look at everything thing you want in your vehicle, prioritise 'must haves' then consider 'would likes' then make your choice. If everything is equal including price go Toyota. I suspect the Nissan will be cheaper and this may make it more attractive, it certainly represented the best value for money in our case.

As Truckster says above, make sure u drive both and see how they feel.

The Toyota driving position is slightly off line, i.e. the seat and steering wheel are not directly in line and I found that a little offputting and something that I thought I would have to get used to over a big while. The Nissan is cruisy, can go all day, get out and feel refreshed.

The yota has the pick of the motors but the drivetrain (gearbox and diffs etc) are not Nissan tough, but depending on your planned use that may not be a worry.

Yota will prolly hold its resale better, but will hit u harder in the first instance, overall both will probably be very close to being equal over the lifespan of the vehicle.

If it was me I would message Al & Mrs Al and buy one of his converted 100 series utes, now thats a car!

Solve your dilema & buy the new 130 landy thats on its way. Far superior vehicle.

Cheers Axle.

Haveing had lots of dealings with both as a mechanic i personally would go the patrol for bush work . Reason being if anything goes wrong with a td42 donk it is a fairly straight forward eng to work on in the scrub you cant beat a pushrod eng for simplicity & reliability. Toyota,s donk is much more complicated with more electrical gizmo's that can really leave you up the proverbial creek in extreme isolation . This is not to say the Toyota's a bucket but it is very complicated . It is reasonably reliable though. If you go a patrol may i suggest you have the radiator refitted with a AUSSIE DESERT COOLER tripple pass & you will have no cooling probs whatsoever.Nis pros...stronger trans & driveline simpler eng (i wont comment on undercarriage because you will probably go aftermarket anyway)Nis cons ...not as well finished as the Toyota (cab )Can get hot due to haveing to smaller radiator (easily fixed )
Toyota cons ...weaker driveline very complex eng , have been known to have multi electrical probs for no reason.Be careful of turbos on this unit. Toy pros..better turning circle, more power.................................I do not really believe either is better than the other it really come down to what you want to do with it & what you prefer to drive ..................666toy

Well thanks so much to all those giving sound advice. There is certainly lots to think about, but your advice might just have helped me make up my mind (one week I'm keen on Toyota, the next Nissan). It has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride as far as my thoughts on each of these vehicles goes, but i think i'll settle on a Patrol (4.2L of course!).

Thanks for your time and advice.

G'day Trevor,

As you may already know, I have been leaning towards both the Toyota and the Nissan at different times.

Right now I'm leaning to the Nissan (4.2L) because I think the following is true:
- Stronger drivetrain.
- Larger front diff.
- Larger rear diff (on leaf sprung model).
- Larger / stronger gearbox.
- Larger section chassis.
- Better internal ergonomics.
- Simpler engine, less electronics.

This is my belief, but I am certainly not an expert and if you think I'm on the wrong tram with the above issues please send me your thoughts. Thanks mate.

Thanks Trevor,

I should have mentioned, I am looking at buying used. Your post has given me added confidence in my choice. It can be very confusing for amateurs entering the scene.

As I am only looking at the 4.2L models, I am finding the hunt for the right one a long slow process as there are not that many on the market. That's probably a good sign though! There are so many 2.8L Patrols out there it's not funny.

HEY....what if I bought a 2.8L Patrol (cheap even with heaps of options on it) and dropped a 4.2 into it?? Surely this has been done before? Is the drivetrain, gearbox, diff all the same as the 4.2 or are they less robust? Someone out there should know about this. Tell me if this idea has credibility or have I finally lost the plot?? (I'm a teapot, I'm a teapot!!)

Thanks.

Thanks for that Trev. I think you're right in saying it's probably too much mucking around to drop a 4.2 into a 2.8 vehicle. I will just wait and keep looking. Your mates vehicle sounds interesting but I'm really looking at vehicles sub 30k. Maybe his will be more than that? Anyway my email is rohans@gardner.com.au. Thanks mate.