I'm thinking of buying a 2nd hand diesel 4X4 for around 10-12K.
My requirements are that it is very reliable, safe, able to transport a family of 4 comfortably on long journeys - (My family and I regularly travel from London to my in-laws in Inverness for holidays doing around a 1500 mile round trip), able to carry almost as much luggage as my Xantia Estate (nothing can carry as much as a Xantia estate!), I need the flexibility of having FWD quite often and if it can better 25 mpg (touring) that would be an added bonus!
The Land Cruiser Colorado, Shogun, Patrol and Trooper are shortlisted - Also, I?m quite keen on the older, bigger and rounder style Land Cruiser circa 1990-1995 with the 4.2 TD lump ( probably not more than 18 mpg though! )
Assuming that they are all the same age (except the bigger 'Cruiser), condition and spec etc and may only vary slightly in price what would you go for ?
Chad
P.S. I don't mean do insult all you "Landies" out there, but I can't get my head round the older discos and the new TD5 is out of my budget. Also I don't think I could live with a "County".
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You mean you actually go off-road?
Andy
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"I need the flexibility of having FWD quite often" Are you really, really sure you nee FWD? Most owners of these vehicles try to justify them with all sorts of odd reasons. The fact is that they seldom use the vehicle's potential and put up with an more expensive and inferior form of transport. Your Xantia would be hard to beat for comfort and economy especially if its diesel.
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Yes, I do/will need to go off road - not just mounting the kerb or driving through and inch of snow on tarmac - but proper "off-road". We have a relatively small piece of land (in Scotland) on which I'm trying a new agriculture project - I need the 4X4 to visit and ferry stuff back and forth from it.
It has to be an efficient workhorse as well as a "family" car - and I wouldn't say no if it has any "prestige" credentials.
Chad.R
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On running costs the line up like this with the best first.
1. Trooper
2. Shogun {close second}
3. Patrol
4. Land Cruiser
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Are you sure a Subaru Estate wouldn't do the rough stuff?
David
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There thirsty on petrol whilst diesel version is not yet available.
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A Subaru 2.5l will give 25mpg tootling around a city and 35mph+
on the open road.....much better than the big 4x4 tractors.
They work better on soft mud as well....less weight. I have frequently passed by bogged Nissan Patrols and Toyota Landcruisers.
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Should get a good vehicle as most of these Tonka toy vehicles never leave the tarmac. So many seem to have darkened windows and lots of chrome. The owners seem to take great pride in keeping the vehicle clean and dent free. As they are driven by fashion, the actual off road performance is a secondary issue!
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All excellent and very capable vehicles,for my money i would buy/recommend 2.8 Mitso Pajero LWB-manual or auto,it will cruise the motorway,visit Tescos,and easily do any off road work all in great comfort with great reliability.
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The older Land Cruisers with the 4.2 TD are very good, and you'll get about 24mpg on a run. The other great advantage they have is the proper sized engine, comensurate with the size of the vehicle. All the others are underpowered, especially the torque when off-road. They are also much easier to work on (look under the bonnet on a shogun), have a proper beam front axle, and have difflocks on both axles.
So if you want a big 4wd, even if you don't necessarily go off-road, they're worth a look. Never mind what everyone else says moaning about people with 4wd's, it's a free country, so buy what you want to drive. Other contributors all have cars that will do over 100mph, but never go that fast, rear electric windows that get used once a year, and leather seats when normal material would do exactly the same job!
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Provided their sumps are drained they will all make quite excellent fishing reefs when dumped a little offshore.
Please,please,tell me what carpets are doing in 4wd vehicles,I'm just dying to know.
In fact a Sube ,any Sube,will be much cheaper to run than a Tonka.More reliable,quicker,people like me wont point at you through their windscreens whilst mouthing "Pratt".....
Sadly.however,it wont make the more intellectually challenged ladies think your willy is any bigger.
Must always put a balanced view,you see.
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Gentlemen, thank you for your views and opinions.
I have to agree with Dave W, I personally would prefer a FWD estate car such as a Subaru due to the better driving dynamics. My 1.9TD Xantia estate fulfills my needs currently but it won't be able to cope with muddy and sometimes flooded conditions on a Scottish farm.
The main reason why I'm looking for a "Tonka" 4X4 is the driving position : Earlier this year I did London-Inverness-London in a Ford Galaxy and really liked the higher driving postion. It was very relaxing mainly due to the fact that on Motorways and A-roads you could see much further ahead and therefore anticipate problems earlier.
My head says a nice Legacy estate but my heart (and the child in me) says 4.2TD Land Cruiser because IMO this side of a Hummer it's the biggest, baddest, mother of Tonka 4X4 !
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Make sure you don't buy an imported Landcruiser etc privately... or at least check it out very thoroughly - remember all that stuff on watchdog about nicked Jap Landcruisers making it over here. Frightening statistics.
For my tuppence worth - the Citation 3.1 is rated very highly by farm types and from friends experiences the Shogun is expensive to run / maintain.
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