Another which car/4x4 thread

[MasterOfReality]

Guys,

Need your wise words. I'm in the prelim stages of thinking about another 4wd.

I'm currently living in central QLD and thinking of upgrading the commute vehicle which is a 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara. It has served me well off road and on the beaches with BFG AT's, 2" coil & strut lift kit and bash plates. Just racked up 105,000km in it and had the dreaded recurring output shaft transfer case seal replaced a few weeks ago.

Given how many roos are out here, and the 3 close calls I had last week, I was thinking about a bullbar but only being a 2 litre, it would render it painfully slow to drive. Nudge bar won't do much as I have sent many skippy's into heaven over the years in Patrols and Landcruisers with full bars with nil damage and that's the whole idea, nil damage. Other than being ridiculously slow, the short wheel base and stiff springs combined with the shitty Peak Downs Hwy are doing my head in.

The obvious answer is to fit softer springs, get a full arb steel bar and put up with the epic slowness.

Or just get another vehicle which will still be used offroad on weekend trips.

At the moment, don't want to spend more than $30k and would prefer something that doesn't have 300,000km on it either. Need something that can be serviced locally because I'm not making the trek to Mackay for a service and fuck around all day.

A quick browse of carsales suggests perhaps a 100 series LC (high km seems to be the standard), Pajero, Patrol or Prado. I have driven all bar the Pajero. I like the turbo diesel V8 in the 70 and 200 series but that is out of my budget. The Prado drives like ass with no balls, ugly as sin. The Patrol isn't much better performance wise but looks better than Prado.

Can get a reasonable low km ZD30 powered Patrol but am wary of the horror stories. Anybody have experience?

The TB48 powered Patrol is also an option but will have to settle for a higher km one, but I'm willing to pay the fuel bill for reasonable overtaking ability.

Pajero? No idea about these but the turbo diesel 3.2 seems to be a bit of a weapon?

Thoughts? Anything I'm missing?

Gonna be a slow process though - any real dealers are in Mackay which we usually go to every second weekend or so

 

[pink poodle]

The big yellow bus. It is awesome! But not as yellow as I would like...
http://www.thebigyellowbus.com.au/

 

[Hools]

Have you thought about a Defender? 30K should get you something in good nick with bullbar and plenty of extras. Easy to service yourself too. And roos just bounce off them. They're not the quickest, being constant 4wd, but pretty good fuel economy.

 

[Dales Cannon]

A bit left field. Look at a V6 Prado. I am a diesel powered off-roader type but the V6 is a good engine and provided you dony bury the right foot and/or tow heavy trailers all the time what you pay for in fuel you save in purchase price and servicing. Especially if you grab a D4D and it dies with terminal injector hissy fits. Pajero is good too but diesel is very noisy. Otherwise ok but the road and engine noise is enough to be annoying. ZD30 or even the 4.2 TD, give them a miss. Same for the 100 series, no problems but over priced for what you get. Also have a think about a Colorado or Rodeo dual cab. The 4jj engine is almost bullet proof and very good on fuel but the rear seats are shit like every dual cab.

 

[MasterOfReality]

Have you thought about a Defender? 30K should get you something in good nick with bullbar and plenty of extras. Easy to service yourself too. And roos just bounce off them. They're not the quickest, being constant 4wd, but pretty good fuel economy.

Reliable?

A bit left field. Look at a V6 Prado. I am a diesel powered off-roader type but the V6 is a good engine and provided you dony bury the right foot and/or tow heavy trailers all the time what you pay for in fuel you save in purchase price and servicing. Especially if you grab a D4D and it dies with terminal injector hissy fits. Pajero is good too but diesel is very noisy. Otherwise ok but the road and engine noise is enough to be annoying. ZD30 or even the 4.2 TD, give them a miss. Same for the 100 series, no problems but over priced for what you get. Also have a think about a Colorado or Rodeo dual cab. The 4jj engine is almost bullet proof and very good on fuel but the rear seats are shit like every dual cab.

Dual cabs may struggle for cabin space as we have a baby seat that needs to go in it on the rare occasion.

Fuel isn't a major concern at the moment. I'm getting around 10-11 l/100 km in this 2 litre, on the highway. So an extra 4 litre or so in exchange for a bit of oomph is worth it imo.

Heard anything bad about the nissan 4.8 donk? From what I read owners love them but the fuel bills are what turns most people off.

I'm heading into mackay tomorrow so I'll see if I can find a V6 Prado to steer.

 

[scblack]

A mate of mine just bought a Nissan Pathfinder. 2008 year, t/d ,sports shift, 105,000kms for $29,990 from a dealer.

what about one of them?

 

[guitar1234]

Heard anything bad about the nissan 4.8 donk? From what I read owners love them but the fuel bills are what turns most people off.

They're strong, reliable, and run forever if you look after them. Both the 4.5 and 4.8 really have no massive issues, other than being thirsty. I change the coolant in my 4.5 every 12 months, along with a thermostat just to make sure, as the only issues I've ever seen with them is overheating after the cooling system is neglected. You can pick up a nice 2006-8 4.8 ST-L for around $30k with 100,000ish kms, so barely run in. Mine has 234,XXXkms and hasn't missed a beat.

They can take a turbo at low boost (around 8psi) with stock internals too...

 

[jrewing]

I've got a y62 patrol... Stop talking about high fuel use until you drive one of them.

It is worth it though.

I say a late model y61 or pajero. Both are good

 

[MasterOfReality]

A mate of mine just bought a Nissan Pathfinder. 2008 year, t/d ,sports shift, 105,000kms for $29,990 from a dealer.

what about one of them?

Did consider but know someone who has had a fair few cvt issues.

They're strong, reliable, and run forever if you look after them. Both the 4.5 and 4.8 really have no massive issues, other than being thirsty. I change the coolant in my 4.5 every 12 months, along with a thermostat just to make sure, as the only issues I've ever seen with them is overheating after the cooling system is neglected. You can pick up a nice 2006-8 4.8 ST-L for around $30k with 100,000ish kms, so barely run in. Mine has 234,XXXkms and hasn't missed a beat.

They can take a turbo at low boost (around 8psi) with stock internals too...

Sounds encouraging.

I've got a y62 patrol... Stop talking about high fuel use until you drive one of them.

It is worth it though.

I say a late model y61 or pajero. Both are good

I had a daily for 5 years that averaged 21-23 l/100 km. I'm not a stranger to that usage.

The y62's look the goods but too pricey. Maybe if I can justify a lease car, but need to do the sums on that........

 

[jrewing]

Nissan have been doing massive discounts on all model 2013 y62's.
The st model I think comes to high 50 k new.
Great drive they are, but require 98 but can get by on 95. Actually cruising at 120 is really good on fuel. But being premium id say no in the outback way.
Shame as the engine gearbox combo is phenomenal.

My vote is pajero as best bang for buck.

 

[murf58]

Hi Master

I recently used a work 2011 petrol prado for a long drive and thought it was great. Didn't feel beat up after the drive and it cruised along a treat. The guys at work have had it for a couple of years and it hasn't missed a beat - only issue was the back door seized (apparently quite common).

Thread Hijack : ): I have recently been looking at twin cab utes and looking now at a 2011 triton glx. Drove it today and it seems nice. Thoughts from anyone?

 

[rider124]

took a turbo diesel prado around australia with a caravan on the back. 2 of the 90 litre diesel tanks kept the car going forever without needing fuel.
we still own it 6 or so years down the track

offroad.
on our trip we took it on everything from sandy beaches to water crossings and bush bashing. It coped with everything we threw at it with ease, even without muddies or any real 4WD tires.
we even had to pull a mates pretty new pajero out of a lovely bit of sand they got stuck in (we didnt get stuck, and they didnt hear the end of it)

On road.
been our daily ever since, only the standard servicing was needed. nothing out of the ordaniry servicing pattern!
we have put over 100 thousand kms onto the clock since we have owned it, and have been to every state in this country.

cannot give enough praise to this car.

 

[Dales Cannon]

I have (well wifey does) a 150 Prado GXL auto. With bits. Does everything we want it to but the D4D still has injector issues over 100,000 km and it is a lot more expensive than the V6 petrols second hand.

The petrol Patrol is also robust but makes my GenF GTS look economical. As does the Y62.