So these days, whats the best 4wd on the market ??

Totally agree but it seems to have an unusual wire colour coding. See my blog earlier today.
I've been running 4WD tours in Central Aust for the last 40+ years and decided to retire in the D Max Auto.

The seats are ordinary, that's a box that's not ticked for me anyway.

Dmax povo pack. 5 speed manual. Taken us to hell and back and hasn't let us down. As far as I'm concerned it has the best engine driveline package on the market. Yes the seats aren't the best but it is a 4x4/work vehicle

Mmmm! I love the old 60 series, It was the vehicle that opened up the 4x4 vehicle to the ordinary family. Horse float towing, camping and off roading. If you are into 4 door utes, D.Max is worth a look, Isuzu make great engines and drive trains. Im not a fan of utes myself.
Michael

Ditto Red 88 HJ61, Last Easter asked 4 times did I want to sell it, No why do you ask...Answer if I can't fix it I don't want it. We can afford a 200 Series but don't want one in Norther WA when prospecting on our own. Probably look at the 100 series when the Cruiser goes to heaven.

Peter

Are you saying his Defender isn't real??

" ... why do you rarely respond to your own threads ..."

You mean like this one as well??

It his his Civil Right to do so, all from “ I Had A Dream”, but he isn’t KING.

Michael, I'm not aware of what vehicle Axle has. I thought Axle had a Toyota from all the questions about Toyota problems.

RMD It's a free forum, Axle can post what he likes and people obviously see enough interest to bite on a monthly basis, including myself at times.

But I'm just interested in the point of all these questions if the OP consistently consistently shows no interest in the replies or any other person's post on the forum.

See - Axle even got me to bight this time in a big way. Job done I guess Axle?

I'm just curious and hope Axle replies.

Axle often mentions his "old Defender" in his posts. He also does often reply on his own posts, he said "Thanks mate" once. I can't recall a reply on a post he didn't start though.
This does bring to light an interesting modern phenomena that is now being used to start grass fires that sway popular opinion. There are literally armies of fake personas in data centres world wide who are paid to create fake identities that spread a particular point of view. In the cyber world you can't tell who is real and who is not.

Boobook said
"Hey Axle

Can you please explain to me why you post these rhetorical questions every month about issues where you don't appear to have any real interest in the answers.

Axle's rhetorical question of the month

You turn up once a month on the dot, throw a random potentially contentious question into EO, apparently sit back and watch the resulting dialogue, and disappear till next month."

Answer
From Wikipedia
" In Internet slang, a troll (/'tro?l/, /'tr?l/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion, often for the troll's amusement.

I think that sums it up

Well, the way I see it is that forums are a bit like standing around the campfire…

Someone offers a question, perhaps a point of view or statement. Others consider it, stare into the fire, or the keyboard, and they might have something to offer in response to further the discussion.

Others might feel they have nothing to contribute and just go on staring into the fire until a topic of interest to them is raised; perhaps they might raise a topic of their own.

Here’s the thing, what a boring place the campfire would be without comment or discussion, just a bunch of people standing around saying nothing…

But on Axle responding…well only Axle can speak to that, but I often find asking a question and listening to the answers is a great way to learn without the need to contribute beyond the initial question.

And on "Trolls" wherever you might find them, here is some advice from the English poet, and painter, William Blake.

“Better to shun the bait, than struggle in the snare”…

I reckon Billy Blake's quote has stood the test of time and is as relevant today as it was when he penned it a about 300 years ago – perhaps more so in the age of the “key-board warrior”.

And crikey, to be clear, I’m in no way suggesting Axle is a “Troll” – far from it, I’m looking forward to next month’s question already.


Cheers, Baz – The Landy

.
William,..... you summed-up as a "troll"...........

...."a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people"...
I don't think Axle has done that.

..."posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages"....
Cannot see any of those.

...."with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response"....
He just asked a simple question. Don't get all emotional.

...."or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion".....
What did he disrupt? Wasn't a lot happening anyway.

Axle regularly posts thought-provoking questions to the forum in general.
What's-more, he always gets plenty of good answers too. Doesn't make him a troll.

Thank you Baz & Allan Its refreshing to hear common sense replies and not the stupid dribble that some can only manage to do. Yes I do sit back and look at all replys without responding to some ,but that's the way I am, better than being a motor mouth I reckon.....lol.

Cheers Axle

I guess I'm the motor mouth.

I wasn't criticising, In fact I said that. I'm just curious why you regularly ask people for their opinion then ignore everyone's replies, I just think that if people respond to a question asked, it's common courtesy to acknowledge the effort they put in.

Using the camping analogy, to me its like the person who always sits alone, and never comes to the camp fire to join in to other peoples discussions, except on the odd occasion where they say something contentious, then walk away.

Didn't realise Axle was so regular Tony but have always thought he just liked to have a chinwag every now and again. The style is so familiar - an observation with minimal detail and no obvious motive or undertone. It's like he saying 'let's have a lighthearted chat, here's a topic'. Invariably it brings a smile to my dial. As Baz suggested it's a bit like campfire banter - only without the camp, the fire, the stars, and the personal contact :-). This could be a good one. An opportunity for everyone to simply throw in any vehicle they have/like and briefly say why it is "best" for them.

A damned fine idea for a thread I must say Axle. One of your best. Hope it gets numerous replies because my Jackaroo is getting very long in the tooth and I'm keeping an eye out for what's next.

Exactly why camping solo is so good...no BS to deal with...enough of that here.
If you want to talk you can but mostly just stare into space and enjoy the peace and quiet.

"If you want to talk you can but mostly just stare into space and enjoy the peace and quiet."
Alright until you start howling at the moon. :)
Dave.

I think the saddest thing with the Patrol is that Nissan had the perfect 4WD set up but wouldn't put in a decent Diesel engine. The Y61 with live axles, coils etc would still eat anything on the road as far as 4WD performance was concerned. Just needed a decent diesel!

Notso, how true. The Y61 will be manufactured for years to come, for private and military use in many countries, they may find a decent motor and bring it back, who knows how they think. Nissan have a distinct lack of a full sized 4x4 wagon now. The Y62 hasn't really caught on and it must be the biggest SUV ever made. Michael

Yes, with Toyota going to the lumbering beast 200 series there is a niche for a proper rugged 4WD. The Y61 is the ideal platform, doesn't owe anything for development costs.Well sorted mechanicals etc. Just whack in a decent engine and it'd sell like hot cakes.

Idler Chris, I must apologise for mentioning my old 60 series cruiser... I didnt realise this thread was only for new vehicles... We (my wife) does own a 2014 200 service Cruiser, however the thread was about the best 4WD (in peoples opinion). I (we) can’t comment on the apparently amazing capabilities of the 200 as it will never go off road because we have the 60 for that... I have previously owned an 80 (1hz) and a 100 series (1hdfte) - amoungst other 4wd’s.... I prefer the 88 hj61 to all of them for 4wding (and general driving)... I wouldn’t consider a DMax for 4wding as I prefer the wagon and lack of electronics.... The100 TD doesn’t come close to the 200 for power and economy, so I am unsure why you compared that to the DMax since the 1hdfte stopped being produced about 10 years back....

This thread is about the best 4wd on the market, not about advertising the DMax Christmas Special.
Dave.

Where does the OP specify "new" car market?

Regards

"Secondhand" technically is still "on the market" today.

If you are spending 30 to 70k+ on a new unproven high tech vehicle that is a lot of cash that could be spent getting the "right" second hand vehicle to expedition spec.

Even more so if you are mechanically adept ...... and passionate!

Drove the new Hilux last week and was impressed with how it went .
Went for a drive last year in a superseded DMax and was under whelmed . The DMax is no doubt reliable but to me really bland .
Probably the 2 best in the ute market for reliability .

Cheers

I think if you have a close look at issues with Isuzu, especially the Daily 4 x 4, there a a number of reliability short comings that Isuzu could easily address but for some reason choose not to. Hence they are not high on peoples lists. Of the other Isuzus, ie MUX etc, they were in some regards the "poor" relation to the Holden Colorado, and have had trouble trying to restablish their own individual identity, since the "split".Again like LR, the dealer network is not as great as say Toyota, Ford or Holden, and people worry about repairability in remote locations.

I think if you have a close look at issues with Isuzu, especially the Daily 4 x 4, there a a number of reliability short comings that Isuzu could easily address but for some reason choose not to. Hence they are not high on peoples lists. Of the other Isuzus, ie MUX etc, they were in some regards the "poor" relation to the Holden Colorado, and have had trouble trying to restablish their own individual identity, since the "split".Again like LR, the dealer network is not as great as say Toyota, Ford or Holden, and people worry about repairability in remote locations.

Iveco Daily, an Italian car?

dirvine. Do you to elaborate on that statement? I have owned 3 Isuzu based vehicles as workutes and outback explorers. Only problem I have ever hard was a clutch and it was covered under warranty. Never heard of any reliability issues. Just did a google search and nothing comes up except the front CVs on utes with big lifts

Big call for a vehicle that never really caught the imagination of the 4x4 market.

But it has one good point in my eyes its a Toyota .

Cheers

Mainly driven by "yes" voters Im told :-)

I can't offer much in the way of how they might perform, but I can say that I have seen many in remote areas towing caper trailers and owner feedback I have been given has been positive...

Cheers, Baz - The Landy

If the FJ Cruiser came with a diesel donk, it would have sold more than the petrol model for sure.. but it may have eaten into other Toyota Diesel sales such as Landcruiser and Hilux. I guess its, a balancing act to maximize sales. FJ Cruiser ran for 10 years, how the time flies. Michael

Michael , FJ first 'sold' in USA 2007 , first in AUS 2010 'orders' taken , Japan tsunami caused major delays ,, 2013 upgrade model [ dual tanks + crawl control ] , 2015 USA model discontinued , Aug 2016 last orders for Aus market [ over 15,000 sold in Aus ] still available new in Japan and Sth Africa and UAE .....never a diesel offerd due to original 'build' was for USA which was biggest market ....Good first Aus delivery models still commanding $30k+ from an original $48k ....

I did my army driver's course in one in the 70's. It was old then lol!

Have driven virgin bush in them. Drove up from Pt Augusta towards Woomera without ever going near a track. Great for that stuff, but not so great for awkward inclines/declines. Was in the front passenger seat of one that rolled while on patrol at the now defunct Gladstone ammo depot at xmas 1977. Luckily there was nobody in the back. The driver & I spent the night in hospital. The fuel tank under the seat made for an interesting experience, as the driver was smoking!

Later, I worked in the repair parts store at the army workshop at Warradale in the mid 80's. The bulk storage area had a constant turnover of landrover drive chain assemblies. Engines, trans cases, axle assemblies etc. We had Dent Motors on site in those days & they charged $6K to rebuild an engine back in 1986. They weren't short of work either!

A Staff Sergeant named Saunders did a feasibility study on costings to put Holden 6 cyl petrol's into them & came up with $2K per vehicle fitted. The army wouldn't look at it. Something about contracts with the UK. What a shame!

Know a bloke who bleeds green & he has one, but not sure I could. I remember how excited we all were when we were getting Series 3's lol!

On the up side, it'll never rust, coz it's alloy lol!

:)

Pure gold Kevin...!

Cheers, Baz - The Landy

G'day hooks

I've owned numerous brands of 4wd and have had a good run out of nearly all of them ! I stopped posting about my last few 4wd's on this site coz basically, if it's not a Toyota it's no good. I currently have two 4wd's and one of them is a 5 year old PX Ranger I purchased new and now has 200,000 pretty hard k's on the clock and I can't fault it !!

It's smooth, quiet, comfortable, economical, reliable, tows my heavy trailers constantly with ease and eats my mates Hilux's and Dmax's off road ! ( could be the driver though lol )

But I do doubt it will see the one million kilometres one of my trusty old GQ
Patrol's has done without any major work/repairs !

Unless one of the other brands comes up with something better I will definitely be buying another Ranger


Cheers

Gazz