Do you want a wagon or something with a tray?

How much 4wdriving are you going to do?

Nothing wrong with a prado but pajero is very capable but lacks the second fuel tank.......

Likewise you can't go wrong with a Hilux/Triton/Bravo......

I would buy something from southern end of town 

turbo diesel Navara dual cab. Best of both worlds. I'm wrapped with mine (2004 model, got it for $18.5k with canpoy, bullbar etc). Great for towing, quite economical, sleeps 2 in the tray, chuck the gear in the back and hose/sweep it out. I don't think I'll own another 4wd that isn't a dual cab.
Spend the rest on fishing gear or save for a boat.

Thanks for the recommendation Tim. Not too bothered whether it's a wagon or has a tray Damo, as far as four wheel driving goes I can't see myself doing much, will be used mainly to tow a boat.

if you want a ute the hilux is just about the best out there(not to say the others are bad) and theres heaps of them for sale and reliable as anything-go diesel for towing and economy and a longer generally lasting engine.

we have a 09 triton duel cab and a 1988 hilux and the triton is very capable off road and havent had any problems with it, the hilux is a single cab petrol 4x4 and has not had one major problem considering its age just showing how tough these cars are.

if you want a wagon go a diesel landcruiser or patrol or prado. prado's are very good cars and very capable off road.

when buying a landcruise/hilux/prado try not to get one thats been used on the mines as some of them have been put through real bad shit

ive got the 2006 d40 dual cab navara spent 25. does everything i need it to...tow the boat, cruising the south west for surf breaks and fishing spots. But id say all the big brand 4wd will be good. Could always try the new great walls for 23 brand new. Tell me how they are and if theyre good il consider it hahaha

If you want something with power, then a 4.5L or 4.8L Patrol is the go.  They are a bit cheaper than the equivilant Cruiser but are work horses.  I would avoid a second hand 3L turbo deisel in the Patrol.  Obviously the big petrols will cost you more to run.  My 98 4.5L Patrol averages about 6km/Litre which isn't great but you can feel the power.  I searched for a while and ended up looking for a petrol Patrol.  I only bought it 3 or 4 months ago.  Awesome machine!

I'm in the same boat Jay - just sold our 4WD wagon, so I'm looking for another 4by, preferably with a tray to minimise the mess in the cabin (with fishing gear/dog etc).

If you go diesel turbo, get a manual - the auto boxes lose plenty of power.

What weight are you towing?

Daz, i have an auto and i tow a 5m seaquest ally and my mate has one and tows a 6m genisis and never have probs(he drives to exmouth every yr). Both 2.5lt turbo diesels. Get 750km (city rd) or 800km(country rd) to the 80lt tank so does ok

My Navara tows my 17' caravan and it does it easy and still really good on fuel. Towed Brad's boat last year a few times and that was easy too. If you're not towing a boat over 20' I'd personally stick with a 3.0 turbo diesel, there's no need to go the bigger cruiser or patrol.

i was in the same boat couple of weeks ago when i sold the forester.

i found the toyota prices are bit to high for whats it worth - dont get me wrong you cant fault the QA at toyota and i found toyotas to be quite nice inside and out.

however given my budget and didnt want some old...i swayed my search from prado -> hilux -> narvara/triton -> pathfinder.

ive only had a week or so, the interior and workmanship could be bettered....and prado hilux wins hands done, but for the price it was about 10k so cheaper and does all the same bits...

with that budget jay u'll be looking at the older series prado...u might be lucky and score urself an 03 model, ive seen some around but most are like 150k + kms...

good luck tho, im loving riding high...and during work now isntead of looking up new fishing gear i am looking at 4wd accessories, and they are cheap either =/

Dual cab is awseome, all the crap on the tray and it just gets a hoseout afterwards!

only get the D4D model, dont get the older diesel - drinks fuel and the same with the 3.4L V6, not very economical. Look for 2006 or newer to get the new 3L.

For my preference, get diesel - tows better and better economy. I've driven or owned a Hilux, Prado, Pajero, Colorado, Rodeo, Triton, Navara and they all have their pluses and minuses, but the basics are that they are all capable vehicles to tow with and the occassional off-road skirmish. What it will come down to is what sits best with you and your budget.

Might pay to think seriously whether you need 4WD or not - thats adds a fair whack to the price and noticably affects the fuel economy. If you dont need it, I wouldn't get it and stick to a 2WD ute. That'll open up a few more options. You can get a brand new 2WD t/d ute (Isuzu D-Max) for your $25k and bypass inheriting somebody else problem?

100 series turbo diesel cruiser, bullet proof!

won't find 1 for 25k

I am looking at buying a 2008 model 3.0TD Hilux auto but the comment above about auto down on power over manual is a concern.  Clearly the engine is identical, so is the auto really that much more inefficeint at getting the power to the road?  I would appreciate comments from those that have owned both.

Peter

and cheaper but if your not towing something very big it shouldnt be a problem

but a auto for towing may need

auto transmission cooler

they also may have a smaller manufacter towing limit thatn manuels

they use more fuel

more expensive

if you want to tow often i would get the manuel

Is what i would buy if i was younger and had no kids.Big tray area good solid units and lots of parts up that way.Simple and strong.All the mining company's cant be wrong.

I've had a 3.0 TD auto & can comment with experience (after also owning a 3.0 TD manual) the auto box feels more sluggish, uses more fuel, too restrictive in the sand (using holding gear buttons etc.)... it simply soaked power up through the transmission. The power stats will be identical, but power loss is experienced through any auto gearbox. 

It was a 4sp auto - so if it is a more modern 5sp auto - you may find it a bit better.

Personally though - I will never be buying an auto TD again (unless it has plenty of power on tap which you can sacrifice i.e. landy 4.5 TTD).

troopy's and utes are good - troopyies are good for camping cos ya can sleep in the back but utes are a lot more ruff n ready for fish guts n crap in the back - i use the tray of my ute to fillet mulloway and sharks and just hose it off wen im done - great off road as well really hard to brake em ( hj stands for diesal -- -- fj stands for petrol) the benefits of a diesal is you can drive thru deep water without the risk of engine failure the benefits of petrol is you can pt em on lpg and run them cheap as a dual fuel setup also more power for climbing sand hills with a petrol

For $7-10k. Rebuild the donk for $5k, new suspension <$2k, respray $3k, new rims/tyres $2k, roobar/steps/roofrack $2k. Bulletproof for the next 20 years.

landcruiser trayback if you havent got kids

grandad in carnarvon has one(it seems like everyone does) and its been used on the plantation for around 25 years and its still going strong.

these traybacks have a huge tray  for all the stuff

but one thing, the old diesel toyotas while being ultra reliable are gutless and if you can find one thats a turbo diesel go for it

we had the navara 2004 dual cab 3ltr td. regret getting rid of it but had to.we towed our boat 23foot with it , fully loaded with gear nearly 3tonne. huge screen on the boat so there was a fair bit of drag., but still got over 5k to the ltr sitting on 90.and they are great off road with decent clearance at the standard height, definately go the manual as you have much more control.

Im a landcruiser man HJ60 with all the fruit.. So would have to say like maybe a 80s

But all and all just make sure its a turbo diesel...

for the hilux dual cab manual 3L diesal turbos . They have shithouse weak clutches. You would be one of the lucky ones if you get more than say !00000 ks out of the clutch. A lot die at about 40000ks. $4ooo repair bill. Brother in law is a catchment ranger and he is easy on his cars his lolux was a pig and so were a lot of the Dept's other hiluxs. I think he said the department is guna giv'em the arse.

are'nt toyotas being recalled left right and centre around the world for poor quallity manufacturing. Me thinks the glory days are over.

yeah my fiends dad hilux needed a new clutch and i dont like their new landcruiser 200 and prado designs and how they discontinued the 100 series, but i still love the toyota cars and they are excellent.

but you just can not beat the old landcruises diesels for reliability and engine life, if youre budget is 25000 you can get the slightly older model turbo hilux duel cab which is excellent

I had a 92 hj75 and we got over 500000ks out of her with just the normal isues  that come with high ks like that. Misses has a corolla seca me  two nissan patrols . One for pulling the boat 94 GQ ute 600000ks. Still had original clutch and gear box. Just had late model turbo motor fitted otherwise all good and love that old girl. The other is a 2004 GU ute 270000ks . Had turbo tec play with her and goes great. Only problems so far.... new radiator as they are made out of aluminium and plastic these days so more care is required in looking after them. New alternator costed $370 or so Genic auto's. Otherwise no problems.

I have never had an auto 4WD, but have the opportunity to buy the auto 2008 SR5 3.0L TD Hilux with lots of fruit (canopy, ute liner, raised suspension with upgraded springs and shocks, bull bar, 17" Prado rims and near new tyres, spotties, Rolla racks etc) with only 40,000km on the clock, for $45,000.  Belongs to my brother in law who is in the car trade (its his own car) and upgrades every 2 years.  The same model, bog standard, with 50,000+ on the clock ,seem to be selling for around $50,000 at various car yards I have looked at. So whilst my first preference would be manual, I am thinking that this one is too good to pass up. 

I looked pretty hard at the turbo diesel Navaras because of the lower price compared to Hiluxes, but checking out a few 4WD forums, there were a lot of complaints about the power only coming in at high revs and clutches only lasting 20,000kms.  Didn't seem to be an isolated problem either.   The only real complaints I could find about the TD Hilux was if low quality diesel had been used (means a new injector pump), or if water had been found in the diesel.  My brother in law confirms the low quality diesel story. 

Any more thoughts on the above appreciated.  I don't often outlay $45,000 for a 4WD, so I'd like to think I am on the right track!

 Peter

but make sure you know what the cars been used for because i'd be wary off its use since it has those mods, but arent brand new hiluxes for the same or about that price

Just thought I'd throw this into the mix. I picked up my new Mitsubishi Triton last week. 2.5 ltr turbo diesel and towed the boat up the coast this weekend, did'nt even know it was on the back. Also used it to beach launch boat weighs around 650-700kg no problems just need to keep up the revs so the upper torque kicks in. I've actually made a front towball assembly for it which makes life a hell of a lot easier. Owned the petrol model before but the diesel #%^%$ts all over it.

if you can find one, look at a 4.2L diesel patrol cab chassis with tray, can't kill them with a stick. There's a nice Hilux at Moxhams at the moment, probably one of the last ones in the older shape which are the reliable ones. Love my paj and know a few others with Tritons and love them too.

are suprisingly good offroad

weve got the ML which is the 3.2 turbo diesel and it flew up calcup 1st shot

pity the landcruiser who had 5 attempt on 12psi