Hi All,
First post :-)
We used to
camp and 4WD a lot before we had kids but the old Pajero had to go when they came along and we haven't been since but we've decided to start camping again. We have 4 kids under 6 so our choice of 4WD is very limited.
Top end of the budget is $35K and we need 7 seats plus the capablity to tow a trailer through the high country, nothing serious we're just trying to get to decent camping and fishing spots but things can get a bit rough in the hills so it has to be capable. The trailer will be an essential as the car will be full. The best options as i see it are the Patrol, the Pajero or the Landcruiser, I've written off the Prado and the Pathfinder as 2nd hand they're not much cheaper than a second hand Landcruiser or Patrol. I'd like a Land Cruiser but the they retain their value too
well so they're out of the picture (for my money I'm looking at a 10+ year
old car and I'm not comfortable with the reliability at that age.)
In summary my requirements are:
7 seats
Diesel
Large interior
Less than 5 years old
Reasonable to good fuel economy
Capable 4WD.
Reliable
It will be used 90% on-road for work so it has to look ok, after researching my options I really can't see any other options than the Patrol or the Pajero, my pros and cons I've come up with for both cars are:
Patrol:
Pros:
Overall the more capable 4WD of the two
Plenty of aftermarket parts and options
Common vehicle in the bush
Cons:
Driving dynamics on road
Internet is full of horror stories of very expensive repairs on a worryingly frequent basis
Fuel economy (?)
Pajero:
Pros:
Better on road dynamics
Fuel economy
Reliability
Slightly cheaper on same year vehicle
More modern interior
Cons:
Less capable off road
Doesn't quite look the part (vain and superfluous I know but I prefer the look of the Patrol.)
The major issue I face is that I need to commute about 30K a year with this car and I have to be able to park it at customers and not look terrible (hence an older vehicle is out). I'm very concerned about some of the reliability issues with the Patrol, it seems as soon as someone has a repair it's in the thousands of dollars, I haven't read any close to the same level of issues for the Pajero and to be honest I can't wear those sort of repair costs.
I'm not interested in a debate on which vehicle is the better 4WD but I would like some opinions on which vehicle would suit my situation better, I'm currently leaning towards the Pajero as I don't need super off road capability but I do need reliability.
So if if you have some personal experience of either vehicle in regard to these issues or even better if you've owned both I'd be very appreciative of any input?
Thanks
Zach