Buying NEW 4wd advice/help

I work on 4wds all day, BT50 rides hard, good car, Hilux over priced, Mitsubishi good car ugly, Dmax good car, reliable, good value. I drive a landcruiser and a dmax you will never compare the two but in my opinion the dmax best value ute out there they all have horror stories.

Hey Daryl

I have a Hilux and am touring around Australia with it. It's really doing great. I like it for it's simplicity, strength and durability. I think Toyota invest less in gizmos and more in strength and reliability. My experience with alternatives on mine sites is that bits of the interior tend to fall off, gizmos fail, electronic 4WD selector fails, gears start crunching, funny noises start appearing. I think the Hiluxes hold up better to the dust, corrugations and abusive driving. Parts availability for Hilux in remote areas may be better than other brands. I think the Hilux is a pretty low risk option. It will do what you want to do and do it reliably. Doesn't mean it's necessarily the best option. I am sure other people have had success with the alternatives you mention. They're probably all reasonable cars. Some say Toyota are riding on their reputation and the other brands are better value now. A lot of it comes down to personal preference and style.

Joe

Hi Daryl!
Reckon any one of them would be a good buy. I've got a new BT-50 and love it - just waiting to put a few more km's on it before towing. Suggest you look at and drive them all. We all have different things which 'float our boats' - it's a case of what suits your needs at the time.
Good luck!
Cheers
TG

Gidday Daryl

I'm with Joe. People may queue up to howl me down but I think it is pretty much of a muchness with modern utes. I did a lot of research before I bought my Ranger nearly four years ago and found there really wasn't much difference between them in terms of power, performance, weight carrying etc. Where they did vary was in the do dads and bells and whistles. In the end the clincher for me was price ( I just couldn't justify the premium Toyota was asking) and I haven't regretted it.
The ute has been on some rough tracks (Gunbarrel etc) and nothing has broken or fallen off. I can say the same for the Toyotas and even a few Nissans I have travelled with.
Sure you hear the odd story about the bloke who was out in the middle of nowhere and had some disaster but there are a lot of utes out there with peopel doing exactly what you plan and they have no trouble at all.
One plus for the Mazda and its twin the Ranger is that they are the newest designs. Certainly the Hilux has been around in the same basic form for quite a while now.
Just get one in a colour your partner likes!
Good luck

Cheers

I am pretty sure Toyota has dropped the price of hiluxs by up to $10000. Worth checking out anyway. We run most utes at work and the luxs and tritons have both proved reliable, but test drive the trition over 100ks if possible. The seat is to low with a flat cushion, and you get a numb bum quite quickly.
Cheers Pete

It's personal choice, you have to live with it so you would be better off buying what you like and forgetting what others say.

Speak to anyone who owns any of the four you have mentioned and they will all come up with reasons why theirs is the best.

We have a new Ranger and love it, plenty of power and comfort but you pay a premium, the Hilux has fantastic build quality and function but it's a 9 year old design, the Dmax is OK but it's not a Ranger/BT50 or Hilux and the price reflects that.... the Triton is the poor sister of the other three and the lower quality and feel is very noticeable but again the price reflects that.

The only thing I don't like about the BT50 is it is DOG UGLY.

Take all four for a good overnight drive and make your own mind up....... it's a bit like favorite colours.... you like orange and I like purple, I can convince you into wearing purple but are you going to be happy.

You will know what feels right.

Hi Daryl,
Good luck with your investigations and I agree with the other posts - the dual cabs are all pretty simiilar and it's a competitive market.
It all depends on what you wish to use your vehicle for and where you intend going. My experience with the previous model Mazda BT50 was not good - it basically fell to bits and Mazda Australia (and the dealer) didn't want to know me, but I suppose there are other horror stories from all makes out there. Prior to the Mazda I had a Hilux and it was great, and now I have a Landcruiser which is pretty basic but much stronger than the medium duty dual cabs that you are looking at.

Cheers, Geoff

Hello Daryl, for an unbiased opinion look up 4 Wheel Drive Action no 198 it does a good comparison by the experts on 4WDs

Good luck John

Hi Daryl,

I bought a 2-3 year old base model triton dual cab 12 months ago primarily because is was $10K cheaper than a Hilux and it had side and curtain airbags for the kids in the back seat. It running well and is good on diesel (approx 9-10 litres per 100ks). I got it a pickles auctions so saved a heap off a new one. BUT in last 2 months have noticed 2-3 year old hilux's have dropped in price approx $8K. Maybe because I am in Perth and there are thousands of them coming back from the mines, the market is flooded ?? Anyway check out the auctions if you want to save heaps and get one that has been well looked after. Cheers

I too have a new BT50 and love it to bits.
Personally I think the new Ranger and BT50 leave everything else far behind, I don't believe they have a competitor on the market.
The worst thing - soft suspension. You will need to upgrade before touring.
The best thing - So many to choose here, maybe the factory diff lock.
Maybe spend some time on the 4wdAction website, they have a model-specific forum, should be handy for you.