7 seater 4wd choice

Mate, I know you say "the Boss" doesn't like the Terracan but there must be a reason. Have you taken one for a test drive? Yes, I am biased as I own one and it is only 16 months old and I am that happy with it I am trading it in on the new Diesel version. Mine has 33,000kms on it and you can have it for $28,000.

Now the Terracan knockers will come out of the woodwork but they will realise in a few yeasr what great value they are.

Anyway I've had my say on the Terracan and I hope you find what you want as I always say it is whatever you want that suits you but I can certainly reccommend the "Terracan". As I said a very biased owner. I can't see why anyone would pay thousands of dollars more for a "Real 4WD' that would do the same job.

Cheers
Brian

guy from work just bought a 02' Prado for $36k. and I had been looking on the internet for him.. and there a lots of them well under the $40k mark.. re-think your options for Prado/Cruiser.
also questions need to be answered like..
number of kids? are you doing any travelling? if so, where to? petrol or diesel?
think of your needs first .... then find a car (it may not necceassrily be a 4wd!!!) that best suits.

Suba Mac,the Jackaroo/Monterey has been the best value second hand buy in the market for a while. Anything with Nissan or Toyota on the front will attract a premium because of their greater popularity. There was a thread a while back on this topic, do an archive seach.

How big are your Kids ?

Are the 7 seats going to be needed all the time ?

The seats in the Pajero are really just for occassional use. they aren't big enough for bigger kids (say , over 10 ) for too long).

The Jackeroo's are better in that regard.

The newer Explorers are SUBSTANTIALLY better then the old ones. Heaps of Room , plenty of go , but , crappy fuel economy , and fairly ordinary offroad performance. You want to tow something large though , these would be pretty good.

The Prado's have probably got one of the better seating arrangements , and will fit larger kids in the back quite comfortably. Also the advantage of being an 8 Seater.

The Cruiser also has a good seating arrangement (with 8) , but you pay top dollar for them.

We bought a Ti Patrol, because of the Dual Air Con , and the ability of the middle set of seats to slide , to give rear passengers a little more room.

You may not end up with one, but , I would certainly give the Diesel Terracan due consideration.

One word... Troopy

Suba Mac
We ruled out the Patrol because the second row of seats is 'as hard as' and the middle seat (second row) has NO head restraint (!!). Turning circle does not suit shopping trolley and school pick-up duty (it is a truck after all).

Pajeros are good buying because they are common, prices are competitive and women can handle them. Petrol is better for frequent short trips.

Prado is nice but dearer.

Only other thing I can add is for you and spouse to chat with some owners of the most common 4X4s you see outside the school and kindy. I go for Cruisers but realistically any well maintained petrol Prado, Pajero or Jackaroo would be the good for family of four and occasional friends. Remember that kids when aged 10+ are not small anymore and you need room for gear when travelling even for the day. If you're tall yourself the Jackaroo is more roomy.

When you do get a fourby take heed of the warnings that kids are hard to see from certain angles! I have seen many near misses at school drop off points.

EV700

Like Brian says the Terracan is a good unit. Mine is 9 months old and I can't fault it (other than the OE suspension).

You can get into a new one for under 40 and that's with a 5 year 130km warranty. Surely that warranty will allay the fears of "her indoors".

Why spend this kind of money on a second hand vehicle when you can get into a newie with a fat warranty for the same money?

Just my thoughts,

Cheers,

Jim.