4WD Wagon Comparison - your views?

Markp,

A mate of mine recently bough a petrol auto 100 series done 60000km, one owner for $29000. was probably 6 months ago. I reckon a 99-2000 solid axle 4.5l petrol manual done nearer 150000 km could be purchared for very early 20's, add 2500 for gas and your sorted. Don't give up yet.

all the best

Greg

Hi Mark,

Check out 4X4 Australia Magazine. Last time I looked they were doing reviews for buying 2nd Hand fourbys.

I imagine you could go to their website and search for back issues.

The reviews that I have read are pretty good - highlighting common problem areas, what to look out for when buying one, pricing etc.

Cheers,

Benn

You've probably answered your own question, when you said you needed to tow a van or big trailer and prefer LPG. Has to be either 80 series, Nissan or at a stretch,Challenger.

Hey Mark
I can't vouch for the Series 2 Disco's but I had a Series 1 that I converted to LPG. Unfortunately it just would not run properly on both fuels. To my disgust it had to be tuned for either LPG or petrol - which in my opinion defeated the purpose.
I traded up to a 1999 Challenger (no comments please!) with leaf springs at the rear and have found this very good for my puposes of occassional 4wd trips (a few weekends a year) and regular towing of a moderate weight trailer for my lifesaving club. I do find it is a little underpowered on long hills with the trailer behind.

Good luck and enjoy your research - remember it doesn't cost a cent to look, and endeavour to test drive as many 4wd's as you can.

Dan

Maybe biased, but I'd go an 80.
Check the fuel consumption on the discos before you buy. For unbiased figures, check out redbook.com.au for prices and car stats. When you pull up your particular make and model of vehicle, you can also view specs for most which include power, weight, consumption and features. Use the compare feature there too- very handy.
drivetrain weaknesses- what modifications are you going to do?
Alot of 80 Series cruisers come with dual fuel, and I reckon the 80 is more comfortable to drive than the 100's, and Im driving both every other day.
If you are planning alot of accessories, I'd recommend steering away from the disco- Nissan and patrol you wont have any probs though.

Hi Mark,

8 weeks ago my brother picked up a 2002 model 100 series GXL petrol landcruiser with 120,000 km's on the clock for $17,500. It is in excellent condition and was in a Toyota dealership (they don't seel crap) had a few extra's and now after fitting LPG the car owes him about $22,000.
There are bargains to be had in the big car range at the moment.

If the 100 series still ends up out of range for you, I would go the 80 series. They have proven to be one of the best towing vehicles on the market and the 4.5l engine is strong.

Brett

T/D 80 Series Landcruiser

why not a the earlier gu with the 4.5 engine. they are going in the late teens for a 1998/99 model & the engine is pretty much made to run of lpg, unlike the 80 series one where u hear of reports of burnt heads!

A 98/99 GU 4.5ST. May even pick up a slightly newer one . . . 2000 or so , on dual fuel.

One of these will pull anything you want . . . easily.

Fuel economy isn't great , on Petrol around Town you could expect around 20/100 , and highway around 16/100. Towing is probably up around 22-24/100.

LPG you usually add about 1/3 more , but , of course , LPG is cheaper.

Mark, I don't really know what your budget is. I was hoping to spend about $25,000 and looked at everything that made sense, but projected the probable costs of ownership over 10 years. I ended up buying a brand new auto diesel Hyundai Terracan with extras including towbar for under $36,000, including 5 year 130,000km warranty - yes, it works out cheaper and you have a pretty good car too. I think there is an even better offer on them now with unlimited kilometre warranty.

I never thought I would be a Hyundai owner (and I admit I was a bit ashamed at first to own up to one) but it's making a hell of a lot of sense. Get about 11.5l/100km towing a 1300kg poptop, and as good as 8.9 on an easy country drive not towing. If your budget will stretch, do the sums.

Hi Mark,

I just did a Google search looking for a dedicated site for 4X4 Australia Magazine - and there doesn't appear to be one.

I'm interstate at the moment and away from my stash of back issues, but when I get back to Brissy I'll check for info on how to get hold of past articles.

Cheers,

Benn

Well, Mark, if your budget is about what mine was, you should immerse yourself in this forum
http://forum.australia4wd.com/index.php?showforum=47
You'll get a wide variation of information and opinion here, and for me it was probably the most critical factor other than the price/features/reliability thing. There's nothing like getting all the info, good and bad, from actual owners, and many of them seem to have had a lot of 4WDs and a lot of experience.

My choices (all diesel) ranged from a Toyota Surf to Pajero, Jeep and Prado, but Landcruiser and Patrol were too big and heavy for what I wanted. Yep, the parts availability thing bothered me too but I rationalised that a new car with a 130,000km warranty wasn't as likely to need repairs as a 5 year old one with 150,000 already on the clock.

I always considered Hyundais to be the cane toads of the road but it's quite apparent that they now make a quality product - think they came second to Lexus in US new car reliability survey recently (I'm sure someone will correct this if wrong).

The price I mentioned came after a bit of negotiation of course. I even came away thinking I could have got a few more extras thrown in, but couldn't think what to ask for! I was very happy with the deal and still am. Overcome your prejudices and go and have a drive.

Hi Mark,

To chase up past issues of 4X4 Australia Magazine - phone 136 116, fax (02) 9267 4363, or e-mail magshop@acp.com.au

The segment you're looking for is called "Action Replay" - Used 4X4

'Fraid I don't know which issues feature either Patrol or Disco.

Cheers,

Benn