HILUX VS NAVARA VR RM

What do you want him to do lie! The Navara kills the hilux but if you don't agree that's fine, don't buy it.

I read the same article and was disappointed, but I am a new Hilux driver.

The main point that stood out was the price I think. Nissan cheaper and you get more.

Didn't see him mention that the front end the new Navara is lower than the previous model (I correct me if I'm wrong) they were real quick to bag the Lux about that eh, the article was all positives for Nissan, made me sick :-)

Anyway, I'm happy with my Lux, best one ever I think, suits me fine.

I have had one Nissan (albeit not a 4X4) I swore I would never own another, it left a bad taste in my mouth :-)

Brett

in looks alone; the hilux wins. I drove the it for about a week, and loved it, it performed well onroad and off. Cant comment on the Navara though. I know there is a bulk load of money being transferred under the table for sponsorships/PR/best car awards etc...you should do a little more research to uncover which companies spend more than others. And which car company spend more on advertising in 4x4 aust mag. And who gets the main advert pages to advertise in...ie. the 3rd page, back page, etc///

Depends what you want it for if it’s no off-road work there’s not much difference but if you want to use it off-road I would and did go for the lux.

The Diesel lux has better power to weight ratio, revs way less, uses less fuel, is lighter, has better clearance after you remove the stupid side steps, has better departure and approach angles, and has better low range gearing.

These are all facts and come from Toyotas and Nissan specs

I wouldn't look too much into these 4x4 mag reviews. What sort of cars do they normally drive? If you drive a commercial dual cab normally etc after you drive either vehicle on road you will be impressed compared to the old models

i just read in the west australian that toyota 4x4 out sells all other 4x4 ? cheers

Unbiased opinion???

Isn't an opinion only recognized as unbiased when it agrees with what you think you know as a fact.

In other words-- if joe Bloggs praises the navara and you have one ,thats unbiased but if you are a "bitchy" or "'yota" owner, his opinion must be biased coz he didn't agree with your choice of vehicle.

How do you think us L/Rover owners feel, every one disagrees with our choice.

We dont let it get to us, we just keep on going bush and enjoying life..

Haveing owned 7 Toyotas and 4 Nissans over the last 30 years I think I can honestly say they were all mostly above average vehicles for the tecnology of the time. I have only owned Nissans since the early 1990s when the bodywork started to improve and only changed over due to the constant gearbox failures of the early 5 speed Toyota boxes, a fault Toyota could have fixed but didint.and is still occuring today in the old models.
In my opinion all the 4x4s of today are no different than back then, tecnology has improved but you still get the good points with the bad but there are more makes to choose from. The 4x4 buyer of today can choose a vehicle for just about any purpose you can think of and provided it is treated right will give good service for many years. The big question though is the price, not everyone can afford a brand new $40,000-$90,000 vehicle and most end up with a second hand one with anything up to 300,000 or more on the clock and in most cases no service history.
The problem with these later models that have been well worn is the cost of repairs in the event of perhaps an engine failure. , This at worst with a diesel and its off to the bank for a loan, and money spent on the vehicle that is unlikely to be recovered on trade in. Having said that its a risk we are prepared to take because we love doing what we do, I just wish 4x4 manufactures would read sites like this and take a little notice of the people who use their product for its intended purpose insted of doing useless comparisons in 4x4 mags. Nav.

Had 2 hilux's , still have one . Wouldn,t buy a Navara (drive one for work has wonderful vibrations and according to nissian is well in within specifications) have you ever tried to get in the back. Need to be a miget, wouldn't buy a new hilux either though they have gone 2 soft and are 80mm lower than the previous models and has any one got a comment on their tendicy to bend?

both mags have praised the nissan over the hilux, and after driving both for a test day we got the new D40. Save 5k for the add ons

Both are great cars, I have the new 2005 Turbo Diesel Hilux SR5 and my mate has a 2004 TD model Navara. He drove my Lux the other day for 200 km's and was blown away by the difference, he says the Lux is such a nicer drive, more powerful and more refined. The new Navara off course has slightly more torque using a smaller engine and is a smaller vehicle in general, I haven't driven the new Navara, but I couldn't imagine it being better in many ways at all. To be fair to both Nissan and Toyota both make great 4WD products, it seems Toyota typically are dearer when comparing vehicle for vehicle and there's good reason for that. Lets face it, both are the vehicles of choice when crossing Australia in the toughest conditions, I remember one 4WD test that said the Nissan had dust coming in the cabin through the seals and the CD player jumped whereas the Toyota had none of those problems. Only the smallest most subtle differences exist between the vehicles, alomost in line with the price.

I used to subscribe to 4x4 Australia and the entire magazine had heavy Nissan sponsorship/advertising. I remember they had the Pathfinder Trek every month and I also remember getting the odd Nissan Calendar. I think there was more but this is a long time ago.

However even with all that Nissan money it didn't seem to do too much good. Sure the Patrol wagon always got a good rap but I remember one ute comparo saying that "the Navara is a waste of the Earth's natural resources". That was 1997/98. Still have the mag at home.
Plus whenever you saw a ute comparison the Toyota always won. Whether hilux or Landcruiser.
Although I did see an article back in July 2005 that said the Navara pipped the Hilux. Don't know what mag it was though.

Although I do agree that any magazine comparison is flawed. If not because the journos writing it are also used in one of the rivals advertising but because they are not looking at it from your perspective. Just because they prefer one model doesn't mean you don't prefer the other. Same as just because I wouldn't pick my next 4x4 because it is more refined and more powerful etc (as I wrote in the above followup) doesn't mean those things aren't at the top of someone elses list.