Defender or Troopy 76 as a tourer?

For ease of parts in remote areas and reliability it has to be the 76 Yota.

Also the V8 will leave everything else for dead from the torque and power perspective.

Drive them both and its chalk and cheese.

I dont think its a contest. Leave the LRs to the fanatics.
As for no traction control on the landcruiser,they have optional front and rear lockers instead.

This a South African TV comparison between the Defender and 76 series Landcruiser.

He seems to think the LR is slightly superior because of its traction control.
But the only difference really is the Landcruiser lockers do not engage automatically when you shift into 4wd.(which I find preferable)

He still prefers the Landcruiser overall though : )

Part 1
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=ptiE501ZdwM
Part 2
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=PMhOhT5nwZk

As a Land Rover owner (Current car Disco 3) who has had 4 Series and Defender models... Landies and their owners fall into 2 catergories.. either they hate the car and will never own another.. or they love the car and would not drive anything else.

See if a dealer will let you have a drive car overnight for both Tojo and LR and see what you think.

Should you choose Land Rover, you will be in a minority group.. but hey it might just be what you want!

Good Luck

Cheers

MArk t

Hi Ben

Don’t be put off by discussions on reliability; generally any well maintained vehicle (of any brand) will serve you well, just familiarise yourself with any known issues so you can monitor them.

In terms of commuting and touring, you need to consider what the balance will be. Being a Defender tragic I have a Defender 130 kitted out for touring and commuting is in a Defender 110 (mind you it was never intended that way – just happened!), however there are plenty of other commute vehicles that would fit the bill better than a 110 especially if you will be doing more commuting than touring. You may want to consider a Discovery.

If you are looking for a robust vehicle that will take you anywhere than don’t rule the Defender out, you may find that you don’t need to spend additional money on upgrades. The new Defender 110 is quite refined, when compared to earlier models, but many will say that is subjective.

For me, I prefer to stay with the pre-electronic versions of the breed…and that is a view I have for all vehicle makes. Less trouble in the bush…

Good luck with your choice.

Neither ... but as food for thought .....

Late model, bland and mundane motoring with normally ... a good degree of mechanical reliability ... go a japanese brand.

Quirky, standout motoring ... something exotic by todays australian standards ... Landrover ( which used to be an aust std until clever jap marketing ) or maybe even a 4dr chrysler JK wrangler - something which has a lot more features than both the other two put together. ( not that Im recommending it of course - the last paragraph of this post excludes it from MY want list. )

Are odd brands really an issue ???? ... As an example, my 12yo jeep cherokee has had less problems than the best vehicle I have ever owned ... an 84 troopy.

As for parts ... A discount card with a freight company will probably be your best friend for any brand parts supply - when away from major centres. Late model tojo parts ( other than std service items ) are just as hard to come by in remote areas as any other brand.

Any thing with electronics is a breakdown waiting to happen. No servicing ability of the parts, no indication of impending failure, no reason for the failure all makes electronics a bigger risk - for remote travel - than a leaking jerry can. It does however widen your range of options for purchase of later model vehicles ... as they all suffer from the OVERUSE of electronics.

Depending on your percentage of touring V's daily driving, a 120 series Prado may be far greater value with plenty more features & far superior handling than both of them. With a few modifications they will tour almost anywhere in oz including remote trips like the Madigan & in far greater comfort.
Cheers Craig............

If you've owned a 75 series at least you will know exactly where you are going to fit all your accessories. The interior hasn't changed for 20 years.

I have a TDV8 trayback and it's a great 2 up tourer.

The other interesting thing to consider is that the rumour mill says Toyota will bring out a whole new range to replace the 70 series this year, 2009. The mill also says that there will be dual cab and extra cab variants. It will have the TDV8 engine.

Personally I'm hoping for twin turbos and a 6 speed auto as per the 200 series, an extracab, all the safety stuff, ABS, airbags etc (actually that's a given because a lot of mining companies, mainly BHP sites, aren't buying the current 70 because it lacks these things).

Why not hang off for a few months. See what the new range brings. See how desperate the economy makes the dealers.

Go the 76 ours is great towed our 21ft van to North west WA fro 3months it was great. Seen a lot of Mine 76 series while up there also a lot of Britz 76 series. Very popular up there.