Toyata 76 GXL

Hi Thomo,

We have been pricing one the last few weeks and have just been told by the dealers that there is a base 200 series coming out at the end of the year and on the Lancruiser forum they say the 76 is not going to be made anymore.

There is a picture of the base 200 here http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=11208.15

Christian

I have a 08 70 series GXL ute, but we run 76 workmates at work (open cut Iron Ore mine Pilbara) we don't have any major problems, the things that come to mind are clutches and annoying squeaks around the rear doors, but bear in mind our wagons cop a canning as you could well imagine, we have about a dozen that we run around in, they are all 2010 airbag models, they are used to get people out to the gear in the pit and most have done around 50k within 8-9 mths, with my work car (supervisor's car) has done about 100k in the same time period but is currently down waiiting for a new clutch, I believe that 1year in a open cut mine would be equal to 3-4 yrs on a non mine vehicle easily, they all go very well, had one the other day that had done 180k and it went very well, really loosened up, some seem to use oil and some dont,luck of the draw I suppose, one thing that affect mine vehicles is the dust they encounter, bull dust over the bonnet on a daily basis, and I noticed they dont change the aircleaners every time they go for a service either, we have had no injector problems that you hear of, the opinions of people that knock these cruisers generally dont own one, if you saw what ours go through you wouldnt hesitate to own one.

For comparrison we were given two izuzu d-maxes for a trial, we got 3.5k out of one and 5k out of the other and they were both taken off site on the back of a tray truck.

hope this helps

Chris

Hello my 07 76 series done 73000km now. used a little oil in first 20000 now using Magnatec seems to have sorted. love it hasnt missed a beat you wont be disappointed they do give you value for money in the long hall.

Thomo, regarding less to go wrong, how many times has your Pajero let you down?

1999 Pajero's have a fare amount of electronics and other complex systems in them.

Because something is complex doesn't mean it's going to fail or be any less reliable then something less complex.

Are you looking at the 6 cylinder non turbo, turbo or the V8?

Thomo,
you are right about the ease of adding gear in the cab as it is the way an off road vehicle should be, getting harder though due to airbags and plastic, I can pull my dash to bits in minutes and change anything I like.

1. Ride will be nothing like your Pajero, it will be harsher.
2. Noise inside the cab will be greater
3. I tested one of the 76 series over some not so nice ground, articulation was very good.
4. Build quality is down on previous models. This will probably not worry you as ours are in extreme conditions.
5. Don't keep it as long as your Pajero, with all the electronics and Toyota (+all other manufactures) tying up the after sales mechanical work, you will pay.
6. the engine doesn't impress me much. Others will say they have had no problems and I believe them but we had no failures with the 1HZ engines .
7. The 100mm difference in track front to back causes problems in certain country.
8. Gearboxes are tough.

Remember all makes have problems.

Tried to like them Thomo, it looked a bit like the GQ I had.
But keep coming up against issues and got 4800 Patrol instead couple of months ago.

Good thing was consumption at 11.9 compared to my petrol patrols 16.4 but after that well ...

Guess you have to know what it is your after and match it against your critera not mine.

For me though - well its quite short on articulation , narrow wheelbase and still has that rear track 95mm less than front - all this is bad for fundamental vehicle dynamics.
Lack of Safety features would be a major concern , espically if its to be a family tourer.

Its power to weight is good, not to far behind the Patrols so no real problem there, but it just couldn't put it to the ground controllably thru its leaf springs
so while power was ok it was a lot slower than Patrol.

Its way behind in all NVH areas , with a rough choppy ride and I only really drove it around town , I think it would spit you out quickly on a bumpy dirt road.

Short on internal space as well and generally a narrow tall and to short a
vehicle to pull out the seats and sleeep in it.

Heavily overpriced, nearly 10k more than my new Patrol for a lot less car and features, well 10k is a lot of fuel, and if the rumours above about a standard 200 series are true it could quickly become an orphan , if you were keen on a Toyota I'd wait to see if those stories pan out.

In reguard to the dmaxes getting dusted, with the conditions being the same, the cruiser's have snorkels maybe that made the difference?
its not unusual to have bulldust to end up in the back of the tray straight up over the roof.

Dont get me wrong Im not knocking the dmaxes but there is a big difference to the way a cruiser is built compared to a more road orientated 4wd like a dmax, rodeo, triton, navara or hilux for that matter and in a mining enviroment be it underground or open cut its going to sort the wheat from the chaff.

The bulldust sneaks throught the cruiser airboxes as well dont worry about that, I have also noticed that clutches have mainly been failing on the new "airbag" models not so much the older models (2007 to 2009's)
Our cruisers are often towing lighting plants all night up one in ten grade's and worse as well into spots that a sane person would not take their personal rig let alone towing something as heavy as a six burner lighting plant into the area, miners or ex miners will know what im talking about.

Cheers

Chris

I seriously considered the 76 and was wanting the live axles with turbo V8 diesel. But the total lack of safety features (now has drivers airbag) put me off as it was to be a family tourer. Once you have had a family member saved by modern safety devices like ABS and airbags, you will never consider a non-ABS / multiple airbag vehicle again IMHO.

Cheers

Captain

Thank you for all your input, I looked at the Nissan but had concerns about the lack of power in the 3.0lt as it is cheaper and has more features and as for another Pajero the issue is with modifications as after owning the NL finding gear for it is very difficult as very few after market places support Mitsubishi and all round the Independant suspension may be a problem when raised but still a good 4x4.
As for safety its me the wife and the dogs and air bags are fine I can do without ABS if I have to but is a good option to have

I still intend to buy new and you guys are correct with the price you don't get a lot for your money but the 4wd will be used for trips across and around this great country so a tough truck is required. As long as it has air con, diff locks and can be fitted with good after market suspension I will be looking at it.

Thank you for your input....much appreciated