Quote "even toyota fans admit there's nothing tougher stem to stern..."

Horse you will probably start a debate as usual with no conclusive ending and buy a nissan if thats all you can afford as it is better than none at all, BUT make sure it has 6 PONIES under the front boot. Personally I prefer toyota quality. Just my thoughts

Cheers Pesty

My next 4wd will be a Patrol. Tough is what I need.
Patrol loving Landcruiser owner.

G'day The Horse,
Bloke, I know a fair few Tojo owners and not one of them would be game to admit that a Patrol is as good as (or better than) their precious vehicle......G'day Pesty!!
However, there are 2 blokes (at least) in our 4x4 club who now own a Patrol after having got rid of their respective 80 series cruisers.
I'd be the 1st to acknowledge that Nissan's sales pitch has been pitiful over the years and you could be forgiven for allowing yourself to be led to believe that Toyota is the only way to go.......they spend soooooooo much on advertising. I also agree that the Tojo's have a slightly better fit and finish......but this only matters for a couple of months until you get your first few scratches and the inside is full of dust etc (assuming you bought your vehicle to be a REAL 4 wheel drive in the 1st place).
Nissan is renowned for it's tough Patrol drive-line. I do agree with Pesty that the 4 cylinder donk is one to possibly steer away from and look at the old fashioned 4.2lt Diesel.
Cheers,
Roachie

unfortunatly I have never driven a nissan so I cant make a direct comparison (I would like to) But the facts are the reason i have never driven a nissan is because they are not used by mining or exploration companys and only a handfull are used by contracters who wish there boss would spend the money and buy a toyota. It seems to me they are generally bought by private purchasers who need to save money rather than get the job done

Its because toyota practically chuck them at the mining companies. Ever wonder why a Yota is so expensive to buy privately . . . cause they are so cheap for fleet buyers. Have to make money somewhere.

At the end of the day . . . Patrol . . . Cruiser . . . personal choice. Either will get you just about anywhere you want to go.

gday the horse.
just got back from LANDCRUISER PARK qld
they use patrols for recovery vehicles.
and im patrol bias lol

I hate the comment "buy a Nissan if thats all you can afford" there is no need to put a person down because he may earn less than you , I have seen good drivers and bad drivers in both of the main makes ,a 4x4 can only do what you will let it . I had a Toyota and switched to a GU Patrol I am happy I changed because the Patrol suits what I am doing not what I can afford .
To answer you question I have found the GU 4.2td a great 4x4 well built , plenty of room , and drives well .The extras have cost me less and I now have a great 4wd that does all I want it to

Either the Toyota or the Nissan will take you where you want to go with a minimum of fuss. I drive a 2001 Troopie ambulance and a GU Patrol 4.2td fleet car for work, and haven't killed either of them yet. They are both great vehicles. If I had to choose between the latest Cruiser and the latest Patrol, I'd lean towards the Patrol just because I don't like IFS. Just my 2c worth.

Don't spend too much time off the bitumen particularly if fully laden - because they break! Rear coil spring towers are a major concern along with gearboxes and locking hubs ... and if you've got the rubbish motors the French put out ... that's another story. Good luck!

Horse.
I must admit that i haven't read the other replies, I don't want to get caught up in the "war". But I do have a few points to make.
1) generally speaking, Toyota make better vehicles than almost anyone else. That goes for the Corolla thru to whatever their luxo saloon is. They have superior build procedures, plain and simple.

2) The Patrol is "tougher" ... proof is in the number of comp trucks that are GQ's and GU's.

3) Toyota's are either $7-8K dearer or 7-8 years older. Better re-sale.

4) You can buy a lot of accessories for $7-8K... or a 7-8 year younger truck

I drive a GQ, if I was to spend $30K tomorrow on a truck, it would be a GU. If I had $50k to spend, maybe a 100 series. Maybe! I was in a 100 Petrol V8 on the weekend, extremely nice car, but at $89K a bit too dear to take bush! I wouldn't have the petrol anyway, I would go for a (cheaper) diesel with live axle front end.

I hope this may help, it is just an opinion though.

The Nissan drivetrain IS widely recognised as the strongest, and that answers your question.

Funny how the insecure Toyota owners always dive in and start talking price, trying to justify paying too much for an inferior 4WD. A look at redbook.com.au will confirm that the much stated resale difference has long been a myth.

Now that I have returned from work I have had a chance to check over some responses. Thanks to Brian, Roachie and Steve who I feel had something interesting to say. At this stage I feel totally unbiased because I have not put money down for either. If its MY money then I don't give a crap about brand loyalty or other nonsense - I want the best and toughest my money will buy. I see debates about fleets etc naive - its about economics - also advertising. I was initially steering towards Toyota but the fact is so far that everyone whose opinion I respect ie: mechanics especially, say the nissans are built to a totally different spec level saying their gear boxes, diffs and transfer cases are massively larger and generally sourced from nissans 'light truck' catalogue. They may not drive like a corolla but I don't give a rats. These points don't really seem debatable - if a nissans gearbox is x times heavier then thats a fact. Nothing is coming up here to contradict that.
Thanks for the replies

Hi m8
I have owned a Nissan Patrol coil-cab turbo deisel for 2 years (61.0380klms) so far the vehicle has served my wife & I very well. We considered a Toyota R/V turbo diesel at the time of purchase but decided approx.$10.000 difference in price did not warrent going Toyota. A decision I do not regret.
The ride is far superior in the Nissan (all coil vers Coil/semi-eliptic).Power is down to the Toyota but a 3ins exhaust & tweaked up pump (done by Nissan dealer ¬ affecting the warrenty) has seen a vast improvement in power.
We toured N.S.W & Vic. last year for 10 weeksin June this year we intend to visit the Terrirory for 12 weeks towing a 17ft Jaco poptop caravan, we expect no trouble if things continue as they have.
Just another reason we choose a Patrol was B.M.A coal the company I work for have used the Patrol as the vehicle of choise in the mines at the Bowen Basin Coal fields for the last 4 years. Believe me the coal mining industry is a tough task master as far as vehicles go.
Hope I,vebeen of some help to you
Cheers Barry

Hi,
I drive a Nissan Patrol at work, no idea what model it is but there are only about 37000K on the and its a 4.2 turbo diesel. My own 4wd is a 81 Toyota 2H ute. I did a couple of quick trips thru Normanton Burketown Doomadgee last week in the Nissan. It was really comfortable to ride in and for reasonably smooth dirt roads I doubt if it could be bettered but those coil springs certainly seem soft when it hit a decent dip or bump or something. I doubt if the Nissan will last anywhere near as long as the old ute if it spends most of its time up here.
Paul

What things have gone wrong with the car?
I purchased a Nissan Patrol 3.0 GR 5Dr in December 2000 through a Nissan dealer in Dublin. The engine was replaced under recall at 30,000 miles, the spigot bearing then failed after a short time (we paid the bill), after replacing the spigot bearing it became difficult to select reverse gear and eventually the gearbox failed at 61,000 miles (we paid for new gearbox). Now at 100,000 miles the 2nd engine has to have the head gasket replaced due to failure and this will cost an estimated £1,300.00. The Nissan garage has stated that there will not be any goodwill gesture due to some French geezer who now runs Nissan Japan, do I have any recourse with Nissan and if so what? The vehicle has always been serviced on time by an authorized Nissan dealer. I have spoken to the RAC and they have not really made any comment other than the vehicle is out of warranty. I have spoken to other Nissan Patrol owners and they are amazed at the problems I have encountered as they have not had any problems whatsoever, one person has had 5 Nissan Patrols and never had a failure, was he lucky or is there an endemic problem with this model. Hoping you may be able to shed dome light on the problem.

Yours Faithfully,
Allan Feltham.
(Swindon area)

P.S. I have had the vehicle serviced 2 weeks ago and the Nissan garage has told me that there is a problem with the turbocharger and the front discs need to be replaced.
General comments?
Good 4x4 vehicle seriously let down by very poor engine and gearbox. Nissan are poor to deal with


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8th Oct 2003, 02:10 Patrol gr 3 vdi 's French owner, we have the same problems as Allan. Bought in October 2000, 77 000 km, the engine and crankcase were replaced by NISSAN in 2001 because the crankcase was too small. Then, NISSAN changed theair-conditionning. And now since April 2003, the engine heats up and we lost power. NISSAN accepts, just now after 5 months, to change the radiator. We are not ready to get back the vehicle because we think it is not reliable any more. We think there are problems on that kind of vehicle and we would like that NISSAN hears us to make an exchange with a new vehicle. Could you write us to make a point and made an approach Nissan. Isabelle BEGUN 92190 MEUDON FRANCE.
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17th Jan 2004, 13:39 Join the list of dis-satisfied Nissan Patrol Customers.

Both Nissan and the Nissan Dealers do not care about you when they have your money. They must be amongst the most hateful group of people to have any dealings with.

I unfortunately have a Nissan Patrol (Utter Rubbish) and my wife has a Nissan Almeria (Not a lot better)
If I could con someone into giving me any reasonable price for them I would get rid
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9th Apr 2004, 03:56 I had a Nissan Patrol from September 2001 to December 2003
From the first service it required more than a dozen visits to Arnold Clark to repair faults with the engine management-completed July 03 finally. But--worse-the brake pedal started to go down to the floor--it was taken to Arnold again repeatedly from April 032 till August,03 when I had it examined by an independent-and was warned not to drive it as the brakes and other parts were defective. Over the next 3 months, while off the road, it was examined independently, failed an MOT, was tested by the RAC and examined by Lothian and Borders Police--in all cases it failed on brakes. Nissan would not discuss, as it was a contract hire, and I was not the owner--just the driver whose life was at risk. The contract hire company Lombard took it away on 5th December, but continue to invoice it to me. They recently sent a letter via their lawyer saying it had been examined and repaired, and passed an MOT, and there were no brake faults. I have passed them, and Arnold Clark the pages of the MOT test manual which confirms that a pedal touching the floor is a failure point. Email me if you require more or have same problem
keb@rsp.net.
..............
It appears to be happening all over the World.

However keep buying them ........... There just going to have amazeing resale value ??

Car salesmen don't tell Lies ?

I own both - a Ford Mav and a 100 series TD Landcruiser. Now, if I could get a vehicle with the Toyota turbo diesel inside a Nissan chassis and drive train - I'd buy a dozen tomorrow. Tojo's = smooth 'n powerful. Nissans = tough.

PS - I bought the Cruiser as part of a company car deal and to use as a "round Australia" tow vehicle. If, by the time I return from that trip, Nissan have a six cylinder motor that pulls better than the Tojo I have now - I'll swap it - instantly.

Bilbo

Now I suppose its up to me to sort out the guff and hot air from the substance. The original question was to do with toughness, I suppose I was hoping to hear a few more reports from mechanics etc who have worked on these vehicled. This was something a test drive will not show.
Thanks for the replies!

Having read all that and other toyota/nissan threads I'm convinced that a vast majority of toyota/nissan owners get around with one hand in their pocket for reasons other than looking for coin.

I'm just wondering if this is the longest thread currently on ths forum?? how can we find this out?? just out of interest!

We all know - every man and his dog knows - even toyota CEO knows - the Patrol is a much tougher truck. I can't believe there is even debate on this. It doesn't mean its better though.

I've never read so much opinionated and unsubstantiated bollocks.

As an engineer (Master of Engineering Degree) and a non-Toyota and non-Nissan owner let me tell you something: Every mechanical device has a flaw somewhere. The flaw may be critical or non-critical. What I mean by this is sometimes a vehicle can be driven with a flaw all it's life and no impact will be seen by the driver. Sometime however the flaw is more serious and the driver will notice.

One of my friends bought a brand new GXL 4.2L Toyo in 2000 and within 1000km the gearbox packed in and Toyo replaced it. There was a thread on this site for a while where a guy bought a new 4.2 TD Toyo and the clutch packed in - many moons later Toyo replaced it! This doesn't mean that Toyo's are crap it just means that the flaw for that specific vehicle turned out to be critical.

I've not experienced a Nissan problem firsthand but there certainty appears to be lots of myths out their. Another friend at my swimming club went to great lengths to tell me why a 4 cylinder diesel engine was weak because it revs harder - yeah right. Maybe our little Japanese friends thought about that when they designed it? Give me strength!

Toyo 80 TD had a problem with big ends, Nissan GUII 3.0 TD had a problem with lubrication (or so I'm led believe from all the threads). So what? It's part of the nature of desiging a new mechanical device. Only many miles in the public domain fully tests out these mechanical devices. These may have been fundamental design problems withthe initial release vehicles but they all seem to be ironed out now.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of vehicles that are sold every year of course one or two are going to keel over. It's the natural order of life. It's impossible to have an accident free life or a flawless mechanical device. This applies to Toyo's and Nissans.

So get over it. Chose a vehicle that you like and can afford and live with the mechanical flaws...they all have them.

By the way I had a Landrover Defender once...best 4WD running gear ever but Landrover decided to wrap a lot of crap round this and ruin the vehicle. Now that's a designer that I would like to slap about for a while!!!! How can someone just not get it?!