4WD Newbie

Any of the cars mentioned would do, why wouldnt a Patrol/LC be a good family car?

Prado seems ok, Jackaroo is good, but small, Paj seems to have a good following, ubt I hate the look


what is your budget?

If you are going to be doing some touring with some off roading youcan't go past the 3ltre Diesel Jackaroo or Prado. Both Vehicles return great fuel economy as well as very capable off roaders. Everyone I know (without exception) has had problems with Pajero gearboxes. I would not consider petrol in any of them as a diesel with a few k"s on it is going to be better than a petrol with a few k's on it!

I fall into the Nissan camp!

Kevin

If you are on a limited bubget you could try one of the'grey import' vehicles such as the Toyota Surfs, Prados etc. Most are turbo diesels and are good value for the price you will pay. I know a lot of people will tell you horror stories about buying one of these vehicles but speak to some of the owners and I think you will get an honest answer rather than from someone who has a friend, who knows someone etc. It's a good past time but be warned it can be contagious and that base model that you buy wont stay that way too long.

Hi lux are good but you would need a dual cab. Any of the dual cabs don't have very much leg room in the back so depending on what you mean by long term I wouldn't advise buying one as a family car.

I also wouldn't buy a petrol anything mainly because of the amount of fuel they all use. But also you will notice that there seem to be an increasing amount of outback places not selling petrol anymore due to social problems in the town.

Then you have t decide what you actually want it for. This is where the arguments start as to one or the other. So instead of starting that again......hahahaha. I will finish by saying I have an 80 series Land cruiser.

Regards
Rusty

Interesting the hilux never had the V6 until recently, i guess you are talking about a 4runner at 199x model.

reason you don't here much about the rodeo is that they are a Honest work vehcial, with few problems to speek of, had a 2WD 2.6 space cab & in 178,000 klm never let me down, they have a fully gal/zinc coated body so rust is not much of a problem, not as Jacked up in the Air as a hilux but they don't fall over as easy either, take a look around and you will see heaps used as work trucks.

you will see a lot of mobile plant Mechanics using then as work utes

they are made by a company that specilises in making trucks, & there utes are just as tough, they ride & handle better on & off the road.

if you are not interested in "hard core"(huge lift kits & massive tyres etc) off roading you probaly would be hard pressed to find a better duel cab ute.

Have a look at this web site www.fds.com.au/toyotasurf the Surfs are great cars - the problems you have with them is exactly the same as what the 4Runner and Hilux's get - so common problems - common parts in most cases. I have a newer Surf 97 model and have had no problems with it and I've been to Cape York and back - just put 100 000 on the clock. If the budget is around $15 000 should be able to get a 93- 95 model 3 L turbo diesel with 120 000 Km on it- probably auto(might find a manual), but these go really well. They have the electric windows and some other modern fancy stuff - same shape as 4Runner. Note that there are some early Prado models that have been imported also, not sure what parts are like for these but you don't see as many of these vehicles. Have fun searching.
PS. I believe Toyota to be stronger vehicles than other makes.Cheers, Beddo
Surf KZN185
<- Yengo NP, Central Coast NSW

Sparkie,
I just went through the whole deal you're going through. First the decision to buy a 4by, then the homework on which 4by... fun isn't it?? I checked out the whole spectrum of 4X4's, read a lot of mags like Australian 4X4 monthly, Overlander etc... read lots of threads on this web site and others.. and spoke with people who "get-out-and-get-dirty"..... We are a family of four, and found that the mid-size wagons, Pajero, Prado etc, whilst nice cars were too small for our needs. We then looked at Patrols and 'Cruisers, and found that 'Cruisers were way too expensive for what we wanted. (On average $5-7K dearer than or 5-7 years older. Much looking led us to our Nissan Patrol, a 1995 DX, 185K's, 2" lift, air bags in rear coils, TJM aux tank, duel batteries, cargo barrier, air con and power steer at just under $17k on road with 12 months QVWN warranty. The bargains are out there and although the Patrol is "more of a truck, less like a car", it is quite comfortable, my 5 foot nothing bride is quite at home behind the wheel, and we can just about go anywhere in it!!! The large 4by's do make good family cars!!
Happy Looking and heres hoping that your bargain is just around the corner!
Brian
PS
Some pics are here at our web site, which is still mostly under construction, but have a look anyway
http://home.iprimus.com.au/chapple/