Manual/ Auto Prado

Oh Gawd this one should get attention off the great sticker debate
I will kick things off - All real 4bys are diesal and manuel

dont listen to davoe hes got no idea.
all good 4bys are petrol/auto jackaroos.
cheers

We have a Petrol 98 GXL auto, always thought I had to have a manual, but the auto was the best deal we could find at the time we were looking, and I love it, I think they all have pro's and cons, our purchase was dictated by what we could afford at the time but we have no regrets.

Most will say whatever they have is the best. Personally I think any 4wd that can get you where you want to go and enjoy this great country is the best!!

Sandy

My old man has a '98 Prado auto as a farm vehicle - absolutely loves it, uses it crawling around the farm up and down hills, gullies, washouts etc. Won't buy another manual.

Seven years old and only 23,000km...

Thanks for the feed back I will take the Auto's inton consideration while searching for a vechile

Hi Cliffy1

Check out the 4WD month mag some good articles

The purists love desiel manual

The autos are far better on sand, climbing hills rock hopping all due to the auto changing gear for you the down side is the auto is faster down steep mountain slopes than a manual.

TM2CW

Trevor

When I bought my Surf, I looked at Prados etc - I wanted diesel & auto as at work I drive diesel manuals offroad all the time and the auto is a hoot compared in sand and rocky areas - going down hill you will just have to select the low range option to slow your decent. In traffic the auto is the go - the diesel has the torque and compared to petrol is more fuel efficient and whilst in traffic you sit at low revs & the torque of the diesel pulls away easierly while the petrols pull the higher revs and use more fuel. Diesel in outback Australia is more available & also you can go further on a tank. Diesel is also more environmentally friendly. why didn't I go for a Prado diesel - well the Surfs were heaps cheaper (people scared of imports), looked heaps better, lighter, more aerodynamic and heaps better ground clearance. The Prado diesel came in around 2001 or so. Anyway I like the diesel - if you want a hoon petrol vehicle get an XR8 Falcon. Diesel for towing, heavy loads, traffic, water crossings, sand and rocky stuff. Choose a Petrol ! Why ? Cannot see the benefits except for going point to point faster & using more fuel. Diesels today sit on the speed limit no worries even on hills.

If most of your driving is forward then an auto is the only way to go. I have quite a few of both and now I just can't see why a manual box still exists.
They should go the way of crash gearboxes.
Going downhill you can still change to a lower gear to get engine braking. In sand they are just the best.

Probably depends on what sort of driving you plan to do the most and compromises on the other. I got a 2000 petrol auto 90 series. It drives great normally. But I find it does that floating around thing b/w gears up hills, and if going gets a bit hard I manually pull it down gears, etc to keep it there. I don't appear to have great compression braking either downhill, even in L/L. Actually, very disappointed in the speed it picks up down a steep incline.

I think it comes down 100% to personal preference.

I drive a manual diesel GXL, but have had a 2003 defender (manual), 1988 td pajero (manual), 99 Discovery (auto), 99 falcon (auto), 85 sierra (manual), 82 jackaroo (manual), 77 torana (auto) and started with an old 74 landrover (manual).

I tried the auto's, and they were just like golf carts to drive. I feel I have more control in a manual. But thats just me.

I also like diesels for the torque. I've had powerful cars, but my driving style is better suited to a diesel. Nice and slow, not hurried. Again, to each their own.

On a side note, I am getting 10L to 100km in a NA Diesel 100 Series around town, weighing in at 3 tonnes. I really do take it easy.....