Cruiser vrs Prado

The LandRovers under non-arduous conditions will now go 20,000km between services, and yep, thats the diesels!

Slunnie

Yep. Strange too how the old Prado GXL T/D is only about $1500 dearer than the petrol model. Me thinks that they are certainly making a killiing on the 100S TD. Dont know why they charge so much for them as they also make a killing on the service so more on the road means $$$$$.

Andrew

Slunnie, do Landrovers last 20,000 kilometres? :)

LOL - No! They last 2,000,000 kilometres! :-P

I wonder if the $$$$$$$$$$$$huge price difference is to cover any warranty issues that may surface with the new diesel (considering their history)

Thats a really good point Geoff. I would imaging replacing the bottom end bearings in the 80 series would have been mega expensive. When you consider that almost every other vehicle charges what probably amounts to 1, 2, 3 thousand dollars it makes sense. I would expect Toyota have the problem solved though. $18,000 is a bit irrational though.
Slunnie

Shame it's predominantly plastic. Not a bad fourbie though and would be quite capable once lifted.

Cj,

I know you're having gentle stir. But, that perception is very common. But its changing. Our 4wd club now has 30 members owning Prados.

They're becoming more popular in clubs because of their offroad capabilities, particularly for desert travel. With plenty of power and less weight they handle sand better than big 4wds (BTW, difflocks are useless on sand). Despite IFS, they have more clearance than any of the other 4wds. If you add the common 40mm lift, and upsize the tyres to 265/75R16, you do even better. My diesel can travel virtually any track in Austalia without extra fuel as it has 159 litres standard (new Prado 180 litres).
They also have a superb record for reliability and haven't been plagued by engine and driveline faults that some of the bigger 4wds have had.

Its got roof gutters, 6 stud wheels, and is dead simple to service DIY.

Main problem with them is the high resale value, if you want a good one second-hand.

Oh, and by the bay, women do like driving them around town. Lucky I don't let my wife drive mine!

Are there any mainstream 4WDs released here in the last 10 years that weren't easily capable of desert travel? In my experience in many of Australia's deserts no one in a Mitsu/Nisso/Toyo/Jacko/Landy had a problem, even with 90 L fuel tanks. Vehicle choices in clubs are often dictated by dominant personalities rather than the merits of a particular vehicle. If the bigger 4WDs are being plagued by engine/driveline problems we haven't been hearing about them here. I don't know that difflocks are useless on sand - you need either ETC or difflocks and a lot of discussion has indicated that many would prefer difflocks. Ground clearance in sand? Once the hubs are buried it doesn't matter a great deal if the body is 1 or 10 cm above the sand. Again, ground clearance hasn't been a big issue for any of the mainstream vehicles over the last 10 years.