I've got the 3.4 petrol whereas a friend of mine has the 3.0TD.
Firstly the petrol is an awful lot more pleasant to drive - unless its towing, in which case his diesel is better at it.
I find the diesel quite agricultural and quite noisy.
The petrol is an extremely comfortable car and a joy on long journeys. I have done it with 7 adults and a child; obviously we were sensible about who sat where, but a journey to and from South Wales was no issue.
I've never found the petrol to be lacking in power, despite some of the [quite outrageous] things I've done with it.
It is a reasonably flexible vehicle and is really no issue in heavy traffic or confined spaces. Visibility is good all around the vehicle, although its easier reversing on the mirrors rather than trying to lean around.
I keep the 3rd row of seats in all the time, although they are usually folded up. Folded down then luggage space is limited - two suitaces is about your lot. However, the 3rd row is in two halves, and the second row is in two parts one third / two thirds so the level of flexibility is high.
The only issue is the fuel consumption. I can't say it bothers me, and in reality its no worse than some cars, but it is awful. But if that worries you, then don't get one at all, because the diesel ain't that much better.
I did see your comment, but to emphasise - it really isn't much like driving a car, and you need to remember that it can take quite a long time to stop, and they really don't go around corners very well.
Also remember that they make bumps possible, not comfortable. You can fly over a speed ramp, and the Landcruiser is capable of doing it without damaging itself. However you will be smashed into the roof, break your legs on the steering wheel and get your teeth shaken out. People have silly images of what these cars can do and the level of comfort they can do it with.
They can do pretty much whatever you want - but they aren't necc. comfortable while they are doing it.
And finally, you can be secure in the knowledge that you are winding up the sad-nose-in-every-body-else's-business-because-they-have-no-life-of-their-own-PITA-fools just by driving down the road.
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Great vehicle petrol or diesel,i always seem to get the diesel version but would prefer to drive the petrol,servicing and parts need not be expensive,just requires some thought,as ever change the cambelt and i would also have the coolant flushed and changed to be on the safe side.
If you can buy the petrol engine that much cheaper,thats got to be the one to go for.
All mine are Prados from Japan.
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I think the Petrol is starting to look the favourite.
Thanks for all your comments and "support" - not that I needed much encouragement! ;-)
Just to respond to a few points;
Growler,
I was initially considering the 4.2TD/4.7 V8 version of the series 100 Landcruiser, so you could say I've chickened out by getting the smaller version! Look forward to reading about your new truck.
Mark,
Always great to have some first-hand experience, thanks. Re: MPG, I'm expecting around 15mpg around town but up to mid 20's on a m'way cruise from the 3.4 - how realistic is that? I think the 3.0TD will only give an advantage of around 5-6mpg. Recently I've adopted a "calm & unhurried, I-dont-care-if-I'm-late" attitude to driving and hopefully wont be testing the laws of physics with the LC. Incidentally, I learnt to drive in was a LWB Land Rover pickup (amongst others cars), though that was admittedly almost 20 years ago, so I may have some re-learning to do - hope the LC's brakes are better!!
T.Lucas,
Yes, I'll need to look into servicing options - on the V6, I think the cambelt is every 60K so I'll need to check if it's been done. Good point about the coolant.
Thanks again,
Chad.
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If you can afford the fuel, go for the petrol, Chad. There's nothing to beat a big vee engine in a 4x4. I used to have a '79 Chevrolet Blazer with a 5.7 V8, 13mpg at best, 30-35 gallon fuel tank IIRC. It cost £50 to fill up which shows how long ago it was. Hellish good fun though.
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>I'm expecting around 15mpg around town but up to mid 20's on a m'way cruise from the 3.4 - how realistic is that?
Quite realistic. Harsh if anything. £65 to fill the tank from dry - worst case 300 miles, best case 480 miles. Work it out from that. I've never worked it out on the basis that I almost certainly didn't want to know.
The brakes are excellent and you have a lot of rubber on the road, but its a lot of weight to stop.
Braking is part of it, what it does on a corner is another. Particularly if one tries a roundabout too fast when going straight on - car leans right as you enter a roundabout, leans left as you go around it and then leans right again as you come out. That kind of movement can make life very very interesting if you're moving too fast.
I have had the tail of the landcruiser out on a bend; don't do it, its not funny. There's a whole lot of power you can pour into the back wheels and on a slippery surface it can get lively.
4WD is easy to use and to switch in and out. But life has got to get pretty aggressive before you'll need it. And diff lock ! I've only used it once when the car had sunk onto its axles. It'll move, but don't get too heavy with the throttle.
Normal servicing seems to be around the £250 mark, but every now and again you get a nasty one.
Tyres are a horrible price, but you can save quite a lot by shopping around - which you'll need to do anyway because nobody ever has them in stock. I find it gets through brakes quite quickly - 20k or so at best. The current tyres have been on there for 30k odd and there's plenty of life left in them, so its not like I'm being hard on the vehicle.
>>hopefully wont be testing the laws of physics with the LC.
If you do, I assure you that they will win.
Overall its quiet, powerful, capable, very spacious inside, well equipped, very reliable and , other than fuel, cheap to run.
I love it. And so does my wife.
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Quite realistic. Harsh if anything. £65 to fill the tank from dry - worst case 300 miles, best case 480 miles. Work it out from that.
The specs say the LC has a 90l tank but lets assume that £65 buys around 80l petrol these days (@80p per l), then that works out around 17mpg at worse case and almost 28mpg at best - I can live with that.
The brakes are excellent and you have a lot of rubber on the road, but its a lot of weight to stop. Braking is part of it, what it does on a corner is another. Particularly if one tries a roundabout too fast >> when going straight on - car leans right as you enter a roundabout, leans left as you go around it and then leans right again as you come out. That kind of movement can make life very very interesting if you're moving too fast.
I have visions of car sick rear seat passengers projectile vomitting down the back of my neck - not good; I'll certainly slow down for the bendy bits.
4WD is easy to use and to switch in and out.
I thought the car was permanent 4WD - or are you referring to low-ratio?
But life has got to get pretty aggressive before you'll need it. And diff lock ! I've only used it once when the car had sunk onto its axles. It'll move, but don't get too heavy with the throttle.
I've heard that you shouldn't use diff locks, not that you need to, on normal tarmac. Can you (or anybody else for that matter) please explain why?
Normal servicing seems to be around the £250 mark, but every now and again you get a nasty one.
I was budgeting around £400 for servicing and hopefully with my mileage, it'll only need servicing once a year. I know about "nasty" ones - I currently run an Omega 3.0 elite and previously had a BMW 535 for wallet shrink testing !! :-)
Overall, pretty positive stuff - it's looking good!
Thanks,
Chad.
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Tyres from a good wholesaler like Micheldever Tyres should be around £200 for 4,depending on brand,i allways have Khumo fitted(best price)They do seem to last for a good mileage.
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I've heard that you shouldn't use diff locks, not that you need to, on normal tarmac. Can you (or anybody else for that matter) please explain why?
Once you have locked each wheel to turn at the same speed, the only thing you can do on tarmac without lots of slip and putting lots of stress into the drivetrain is go straight on. In essence, you would wear out your tyres, and put excessive stress on the drivetrain, and reduce the steering effect of the front wheels - very bad news!
Off road conditions allow tyre/mud slip to happen at lower drive torque, so you don't notice the problem.
number_cruncher
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thought the car was permanent 4WD - or are you referring to low-ratio?
I've had three; and all three were switchable with normal drive to the rear wheels only.
4WD for mud or slippery conditions
Low Ratio and Diff Lock when you're upto the axles in something slippery and intending to drive at 10mph or less.
LR & DL are rarely used; a couple of times on a beach, a couple of times in mud and a few times in serious snow. 4WD I use from time to time on mud/snow or generally slippy conditions.
Don't forget, it will go better than a 2WD car, but *all* vehicles use 4 wheels for braking.
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