Power considerations in 4cyl 4wds

If the lux is not turbo then go for the petrol pathy. It will have more go in the sand.
The 2.2d was a bit underpowered.

I went to lancilen dunes with my Daihatsu and one of the other guys had an 87' pathy, went quite good even though it was clapped out and rusting apart.
I reckon a 2.2d Diesel would be a slug!

dont forget the rocky.A very underrated 4WD. Under 6 grand will get you a good condition MQ patrol as well.

shadow

The pathfinder seems to be dripping a lot of oil so I might give that one a miss.

What would you expect to pay for the hilux with 12 months rego, 280kms (45k since engine rebuild)

There doesnt seem to be too many Rockys for sale in the Newcastle area and I'm not sure if require something the size of the Patrol.

Hi,
I owned a 2.2l Hilux twin cab for a few years, bought it new back in about '82. Good car but really a slug. It pumped out 46kW which was hardly enough to maintain highway speed into a mild headwind. Not the best in the scrub either, light in the back and a poor turning circle made for "interesting" driving techniques. Go for the Pathfinder - I think it would suit your needs better.

cheers,
Harry

Jacy,

You would be dissapointed with the Hilux, even the 2.8 was a slug but at least its bearable. The Daihatsus are very under rated, the feroza is the little option but still alt bigger than the Sierra and the Rocky has the options of TDiesel and a largerpayload. The drivelines in these are unbreakable, very much an over kill for their size, which is good!!

Unfortunately(for buyers) the Hiluxes hold their value, the Feroza is pretty easy to find (ususaly but go the widetrack) and the Rocky can be harder to find in good condition.

What about a later Sierra? 90 on gives you 1.3 and five speed with the wide track and then later you have the coils! I had a 90 and fitted a 1600 16valve imported Swift motor and that thing was a bullet. Great in the sand, on the highway and I used to pull my 4.2m Quintrex runabout up the coast at 110km/h from Bris to Caloundra all the time, plenty of second looks there!!

Goodluck!

Matt.

Many members here are a bit bias with the big diesels. I have a 2.8 diesel patrol. I have done Robe (S.A.) without any problems with my mate who has a big petrol Landcruiser. The only difference was his fuel bill in Kingston was $80 and mine was $33.
I carry a lot of gear (fridge and an old army trunk full of recovery gear) even before water and jerry cans etc. The car drives exactly the same as it is unladen. If you are buying a car for a purpose (and not towing) then a 4 cyl will do just fine and you will appreciate it at the servo.
I will admit that he did better on "Big Red" than me probably due to the extra "grunt" when putting down the foot; but how many times do you encounter "Big Red" on a 4wd trip?
Good Luck

The only 4 cylinder engines to consider are the turbo diesels such as in the Prado. They are far better than the 6 cylinder petrol for sand dune or for that matter any off road work as they produce heaps of torque at half the revs of the petrol engines. 4 cylinder petrol engines just aren't adequate for any serious off road work and barely suitable for highway travel. Normally aspirated diesels are OK off road but quite unsuitable for highway travel.