We need to buy a Pick-up truck to tow a 2 horse trailer. It will not do many miles of ordinary motoring. It seems that the best choices are a Mitsibushi L200, a Nissan Navara, or a Isuzu Rodeo. We have funds of approx. £8,000. Also what are the implications of the proposed new tax bandings on these vehicles?
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How about an old Landy ? As is currently being discussed on another thread they shrug off neglect like no other if it is not to be used much. Parts are cheap and insurance costs are favourable. Bit thirsty, but if it is not to be your main car this may not matter too much. We used to use an old 3.5V8 petrol one for this very purpose among other things.
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thank you Shoespy.we had discounted land rovers as a bit too agricultural as well as being quite expensive to buy
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I'm biased, cos i've got a new shape hilux, thats cleared that up.
You're budget will get you a very nice last of the previous shape hilux twin cabs, if you are lucky you might even pick up a new shape, in fact you definately will thinking about it, but if its called a Vigo, as against a hilux mk6 then it will be a grey import.
Nothing wrong with these at all, they're made in Thailand, where the Euro spec ones come from South Africa (with nearly all parts being made in Thailand anyway..ho hum).
Do not compare these with any of the older models, they are very good to drive, and the auto is a dream, deffo big improvement.
The only downside with a Vigo is that they were'nt made with a heater (all models hilux 6 and vigo have aircon by the way, thats a bonus), and the grey's have an aftermarket heater which apparently takes a long time to produce little heat.
Unless you get a larger engined isuzu, or a Vigo, as the 3 litre hilux only came out in 07, the Vigo came over in 05) they will all be 2.5 litres, which is fine.
The toyo will always win with me, as the most reliable and rugged of them, with a huge bonus of being very reasonable for parrts and a very important thing with your budget, a very cheap and easy cam belt change.
There's nothing wrong with the other makes, as they are all pretty good.
The navara has a reputation for throwing con rods, many reports on the navara forums.
Don't know too much about the L200, other than mitsi seem to be very expensive for parts, if of course it ever goes wrong, similar the Isuzu.
You could also consider the Ford ranger/mazda 2500 pick up, these seem a particular bargain.
Road tax..its classed as a commercial, its about 180 this year, going up to i think 190 next year, but VED is a lottery with the gov of theday whover they are this week.
(there were some exceptions on the ved, if you had a euro4 engine up to i think 06, i believe its a lower tax, something like 135, but that could well have changed by now.
Anyway if you get a hilux, you can put an RPG launcher on it and call it the taliwagon.-:)
Edit, the toyo has a lower towing weight than some others, 2.25 tons IIRC, i think the isuzu is best for max towing weight.
Edited by gordonbennet on 15/06/2008 at 13:31
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>>we had discounted land rovers as a bit too agricultural as well as being quite expensive to buy
Too expensive to buy? Yes if you want a Defender, but £2000 will get you an excellent tax-exempt Series Land Rover with overdrive. Avoid the diesel unless it's got a later transplant; if petrol, consider finding one with lpg, a popular conversion. I've seen them with galvanished chassis at this price. Classic insurance will cost you pennies. Add parabolic springs for a more Defender-like ride and spend £6k on something else. Agricultural, yes, but Meccano-like construction plus silly-cheap bits and zero depreciation make them a sensible buy.
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Chaps, a landrover product is a hobby and an icon, not a vehicle. Surely when pulling a horsebox, relability would be an issue. Does the poster want to spend half of every weekend repairing an old solihull product? I think not. Ever noticed how many Landrover products are broken down on the hard shoulder of the motorway? I have seen plenty. as a british engineer I would love to reccommentd them- but you would be looking at a great deal of mechanical trouble. The same can be said of Jeep products.
How heavy is the horsebox? If its a 2-horse job, then you may be looking at a towing weight of 3 tonnes required- in which case a solid rear axle would be an advantage.
Why does it have to be a pick-up? I can see the advantage of throwing hay bales in the back, but the rear seats are very much a compromise.
What about an Isuzu Trooper? Mitsubishi Pajero/Shogun?Toyota Landcruiser/Surf? £8k may even run to a launch year Kia Sorrento. All of these well respected tugs.
If cost is an issue, and you can manage without 4 side doors- what about a Daihatsu Fourtrak?
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