Help On What To Buy

[Presa]

Hi I need to buy a 4x4 but want an all rounder!

After seeing Topgear the other night ive took the plunge and come looking for a site on 4x4's and found this one and have been hooked ever since :)

I would love a hilux like what Clackson was driving but dont have the cash

i need somthing that is able to tow a trailer from time to time, im not yet that intrested in going totaly mad off roading like over rocks ect but will deff be up for a bit of green laning

I do a lot of driving abroad and would like to go to other countrys like morroco and pleaces with Snow aswell :?

I also love the Bigfoot look so the 2" body lift and 2" suspention lift with the big rims and arches really apeals to me too

Sorry for the long post but would love to here what you would buy if you was in my position

Cheers Ben :D

[MudRat]

Depends on money, but 300 tdi discos are very good buys at the moment.

[waterrover]

the company i work for have about 10 toymotas , off road they are awful , towing even worse (back end is far too light ) and on the black stuff the lads complain underpowered . oh and light offroading causes mega wheel wobble as the mud collects on the inside of the wheels , not a criticism just an observation !

[laser_jock99]

A 3.0L TD Hilux Surf might fit your requirement?

More info here.

http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/forums/index.php

Don't be put off by the 'Green Oval Brigade'- green is the colour of envy!!!

[Big Drew]

nice balanced view :shock:  :shock: ran a surf for 2 years, and there are some serious bargains to be had now. excellent off road with cheap suspension mods, quicker than a disco if you can stretch to the 3litre. tow well as well.

if you want a serious off road tool you have to be looking at land rover, but look on www.hiluxsurf.co.uk the toyota hilux surf is an excellent vehicle.


by the way, i now run a 300tdi disco, purely for the off road part availabilty and price.

[waterrover]

the green oval has nothing to do with my professional oppinion of the vehicle the toyota is cheaper to buy and run and service but when push comes to shove i know wheere my money would be . my proffesion dictates i have to get there on and off road towing a heavy trailer , oppinion and favourites dont earn money , getting there does .

[Big Drew]

the green oval has nothing to do with my professional oppinion of the vehicle the toyota is cheaper to buy and run and service but when push comes to shove i know wheere my money would be . my proffesion dictates i have to get there on and off road towing a heavy trailer , oppinion and favourites dont earn money , getting there does .

if i was you then, i'd be looking at a land cruiser :D

[waterrover]

in 15 years of towing 3.5 tonne drilling rigs i have never seen a land cruiser , and i do this all over the uk on huge sites such as the olympics and commonwealth games to name a few . this is fact not my oppinion altho i admitt a leaning to landrover .

[Big Drew]

there you go, you can say you've seen one now :twisted:  :twisted:

[waterrover]

i meant working for a living , as in true graft , not playing . this is not a landy addvert only my obs from  years of getting paid to off road . i have had great fun in toyotas  too and if not towing or any load on , i would have fun any day with them .

[laser_jock99]

oppinion and favourites dont earn money , getting there does .

...and getting back is even better. The famous Australian saying runs something like 'if you want to drive out into the Outback buy a Land Rover , if you want to get back alive buy a Toyota......'

Anyway- for an all rounder with a bit of light greenlaning/towning/long distance a Hilux/Trooper/Pajero/Discovery/Landcruiser/Patrol/Rangie would be the comfortable choices. For more extreme offroading- I'd buy a Defender but then you're drifting away from the family 'all rounder' vehicle.

[Presa]

Sorry to interuput you two :lol:

MudRat 300 are a little old but i do like Disco's would love a Mk3 :)

laser_jock99 Again they are a little old as the newest one is a 1999 on a T on the Autotrader! Land Cruiser isnt so bad Quite like the look of them :D

waterrover Thanks for the info on the new Hilux but i cant afford one anyway :?

ok to make it a little easyer this is my everyday Motor i will be loosing my van to buy this so will be in it everyday, at a push i could stup up 10K

I LIke, L200's, Shoguns, Defenders, Discoverys, Navaras and Land Cruisers

Hope that can help to narrow the search a little ohh and if possible keep it to Diesel aswell

Cheers Ben

[waterrover]

well i extreme off road and come home most nights  and enjoy my work after driving where you cant  (as in not allowed , not as in not capable . )

[waterrover]

if i have 1 little tip it buy good  rubber it gets a good driver to where an excelent one would be !!!

[Big Drew]

I LIke, L200's, Shoguns, Defenders, Discoverys, Navaras and Land Cruisers

there you go then, just drive them all and see whats the best fit for you, we all like different things.

they will all do exactly what you want them to do. just have fun choosing :D  :D

[waterrover]

and perhaps listen to those lucky chaps who actualy make a living , doing what your talking about

[laser_jock99]

in 15 years of towing 3.5 tonne drilling rigs i have never seen a land cruiser , and i do this all over the uk on huge sites such as the olympics and commonwealth games to name a few . this is fact not my oppinion altho i admitt a leaning to landrover .

I've never owned one (couldn't afford to run it!) but the 4.2L TD Landcruiser is an awesome towcar. I know of a yacht transport company that uses them a lot. Comercial use/towing isn't common because the 4.2L TD is now more than £50K new! Double the price of 110! Although I frequntly see older 1990-97 80 Series Landcruisers used as private towcars. One local chap uses an Amazon to tow his moded Defender to offroad playdays! 80 Series Landcruisers are also good offroaders too (they have all the difflocks and a solid front axle).

[Lyndsey731]

Disco for me, just watch for the rust  

Gav

[Evilgoat]

I LIke, L200's, Shoguns, Defenders, Discoverys, Navaras and Land Cruisers

there you go then, just drive them all and see whats the best fit for you, we all like different things.

they will all do exactly what you want them to do. just have fun choosing :D  :D

Plenty of LWB Pajeros about at reasonable money :)
As for the hilux back end being to light, same applies to any pickup, having driven a few pickups theres worse, can actually get a ranger sideways on the washboarding on some roads ;)

Landrover reliability is always going to be questionable sadly, as a rule the japs are better. In 4 years the Paj had only needed fuel lines doing. Where as a mates 200TDI has needed an alternator, intercooler, starter, and now a re-engine after about a year and a bit of moderate use, and the 200TDi is supposedly one of the better ones.

If you dont mind having to fix it from time to time and you can deal with the fact ocasionally it will give you aggro then tbh green oval is the only real choice. They are one one the most capable breeds of 4x4 on the planet and modding them is normally a cheap affair too. Take the price of any given mod to a landie and multiply by at least 3 to get the same mods price for a jap 4x4 :( I know, I drive a zook.

Before the green oval brigade put you off with all this mention of lr being the only ones that are used professionally, Hants Constabulary have at least two Hiluxes, St Johns UK run a fleet of Terrano II ambulances as do some NHS trusts and I've seen a few Hilux coastguard busses.

[666]

Vauxhall Frontera TDI? Almost same chassis as trooper, not bad for towing and not as bad off road as some landrover owners would have you think

Coming down in price too and low insurance group compared to Discos and Surfs!

Cheers

Mark

[CJ]

im gonna kick myself for saying this as a LR man...

BUT.. as my opinion from working on and with these sort of vehicle id say...


Landcruser or Merc G wagen....

Both have style (even if the merc is a bit odd   ) come with diff locks as standard so handy to have off road and in moroc, seem to be reliable although i couldnt say anything on parts prices, nice engine in Landcruser and they look very nice on 35inch tyres  :roll:

I wouldnt touch a L200 or (sorry ppl) Hilux with a barge pole, ive used both for work and i must say in my own opinion they were the worst thing ive driven both on and off road..

Cant say anything on the nissan navara as i ve never driven one although i was impressed with the Patrol i drove.. was nice but a bit slow...

Frontera is ok, but im afraid id go for the Izuzu just for the better engine and buid quality, Front'as arnt too bad off road, but i found that i couldnt get comfortable...

On the plus side for the LR, because of the large following in Uk, parts prices are way below that of most the jap trucks...


As one of the guys said above drive a few and see what you feel comfortable in... 8)

[BigSi]

How about a Jeep? Plenty of cheep ones around, you might be lucky and find a 4.0l with an LPG conversion or go for a diesel. They are great on road (handle like a car), and with some decent tyres, great off-road too with oodles of power.  Most have all the toys, with electric everything and leather seats!

Ok, they may not have as many aftermarket bit that Landrover’s have, but there are enough bits out there to keep anybody happy.