Vehicles - collective view please.

[Heym SR20]

We currently drive a Audi A4 allroad - great car, brilliant on long journeys, eats the miles, superb handling and lots of grip and quite happy going up Forest roads. Now with c100,000 miles and on a 59 plate. I regularly have to drive Edinburgh to London - 6 or 7 trips a year and not going to get less. Does 38 to 42 mpg on diesel.

We also have an old run about Kangoo 1.4 Auto on an 02 plate. Great little runaround - rubber mats throughout etc. Doesn't owe us anything and we inherited it so have full history. Would get a few hundred if we sold it. It is a thirsty little thing thou

And we have a boat that needs really a 3 or 3.5 tonne towing weight - yes the Audi will pull it, but not legal.

Both Myself and Mrs Heym are 6ft and my 15 year old daughter is not far short of us. Space in the Audi is getting short especially when we add in the hound.

So thoughts are

1) Change the Audi a newer Discover 3 or 4 and add some cash to the equation - gives towing, long distance comfort but thirsty and expensive in terms of Road Tax, Parking charges (we are parking permits etc). Plus has big towing capacity. And loads of space for going hunting / camping etc.

Keep the Kangoo and replace i a couple of years with Fiat 500 or similar as runabout around town, or when one of us is driving long distance.

2) Keep the Audi and spend £5000 to £6000 on a 15 year old 4.2litre Toyota Landcruiser - huge amounts of space, loads of towing capacity and keep it as the play car for pulling boats, going camping etc, but needs to reliable enough to drive to North of Scotland. Yes a bit thirsty but..

Alternative would be a double cab pickup, but save for the Nissan don't have a huge amount of leg room in the back for tall people.

What are peoples thoughts please.

 

[finnbear270]

Don't forget to factor in the discount available to B.A.S.C members if you belong, ... some great deals in a lot of brands, If I were in the market for a new stalking / road tripper, I would be having a new ford ranger.

 

[User00033]

Any of the well-established double cab pick up brands e.g. Toyota, Ford etc will achieve all your objectives in the one vehicle, assuming that you can fit your daughter in the back. Power, refinement, all mod cons and obviously a great deal of carrying and towing capacity. I would be surprised if with the passenger seat pulled forward a bit, there wasn't sufficient legroom for a 6 footer in the front, and in the rear. The current generation are a lot bigger than their predecessors. It is good to see these vehicles are catching on more in the UK because, rightly or wrongly, my impression has been when I visit that the market has been slow to pick up on how bloody useful they are for active outdoors type people. Obviously over here and in Oz, the US, Canada, they are immensely popular and the Ranger and Hilux are now the best selling vehicles in NZ, ahead of even the Toyota Corrolla. We have a Hilux and a Highlander, which I dont think you can get in the UK, which is odd because they are outstanding, a big Rav4 type SUV on lots of steroids.

 

[Scotty99]

Go for a Disco 4 or better still a Pre 2013 Range Rover Sport. I have a RRS 58 plate from new, done 130,000 miles never let me down, runs great, so far no expensive repair bills. Have it fitted with General Grabbers will go anywhere. Fitted with Lintran double dog box and Transafe lockable draw and gun box. Ideal for family, towing and shooting. Stylish too.

 

[2130martin]

Land Cruiser all day long!!!

 

[twg1]

Not long sold my disco , ran it from new to 140k only cost me mony in the last year or so pick one up with the usual issues resolved and you wil be fine . Land cruser probably better but finding one that has not got mega millage will be the challenge.

 

[Hunt-Inter]

Had an Amazon on a 55 plate and loved it.
4.2 engine did 20mpg and towed various trailer with it and never gave any issues. Was a pain to park in certain places but I'd love to get another of the newer 4.5 amazons

 

[mealiejimmy]

Land cruiser every time but not necessarily an Amazon, a good LC120 or LC150 will do the job.
Forget double cabs if all 3 of you are over 6 feet.
The back seat of a double cab is torture for a journey of any significant length.

Cheers

Bruce

 

[caorach]

There are a lot of new pickups about. Just after Mitsubishi released the new L200 I went for a look at some pickups (with the intention of buying a Ford of Toyota) and was surprised, especially at how far the L200 had come. Since then there are new offerings from nearly everyone and I think you will find that if people are talking to you about 2 year old pickups then there has been huge progress since then. I'd be surprised if you wouldn't all fit in my L200 for example and it is one of the smaller of the new ones. It looks to me like almost everyone is trying to market their pickups at the sort of market segment that used to buy a Freelander or (in my case) an X-Trail so it would be worth your while giving them all a try, I was surprised when I did is all I can say. The only problem I will highlight with running a pickup is that they are long and have a big turning circle, if you do a lot of town driving then they will not come out of many parking spaces if there are cars parked either side and opposite you. The fact that the L200 was the smallest was part of its attraction for this very reason, though mine probably only does 200 miles a year in town.

Don't buy anything made by Land Rover - it might sound like a lovely idea and you might think you will get lucky but they have a reputation for a reason and in the end even if warranty is covering the cost of repairs you will get fed up being without your car for long periods. A colleague recently had a problem with his and they told him they wanted it for 8 weeks to effect a repair!! They offered him a replacement in the mean time and he said he required a tow bar and, of course, the replacement has no tow bar, and it's some soft-roader type trendy thing on road tyres. Now they've announced that they are not happy with the repairs they've done (no idea) and want to hold on to it for a while longer so he has no idea when his own will come back. All this is being done under warranty but you can't pay for the disruption to his life.

 

[Ranger22]

Wouldn't buy a new ranger, they are very hitty miss. You either get a good one or a pile of *****, there des not appear to be anything in between. The one I drive is a pile of *****, 20 miles to the gallon, uncormfortable to drive( driving position is off centre to the steering wheel) electrical faults. Spoke to a landscape gardener who has a couple of new ones and he has had the same gearbox issues in both his trucks as I had in mine. A mechcanic friend was telling me today of one that revved itself till it blew the engine up. It was a brand new truck.

If if I was in the market for a pickup it would be between an L200, Isuzu and amorak

 

[Cyres]

Landcruiser nothing else comes close. Mates first one 300k miles, current one 200k and bombproof.

D

 

[User00033]

Landcruiser nothing else comes close. Mates first one 300k miles, current one 200k and bombproof.D

I agree that nothing else comes close... have used them for many years, and the resale value is nuts, especially in NZ where a good 100 series 4.2TD from a Toyota dealer with 200,000km is still costing the same as a new Hilux. Crazy.

BUT. The mileage is getting out of hand on these vehicles. In WA we have them up around the 800,000km mark. And they are running fine but looking pretty rough now! But that's not really relevant to the OP...

In the UK I'd be worried about even a mid-mileage vehicle having been a shopping trolley or school run car, as they DO NOT LIKE lots of short, cold engine trips, or stop/start driving. The only 100 series Cruiser to buy is a one with a rock solid history, preferably single owner, thats done long trip miles, and it MUST HAVE HAD the interim oil changes between major services. I don't know what the service schedule is in the UK because it varies from country to country, but the LCs that don't get the interim oil changes will eventually develop big end bearing trouble. And if they have been frequently run cold on short journeys, you are really asking for trouble, with turbos, big ends, oil pickups, gunked up oil galleries all sorts of problems and they tend to come all at once.

The truth is that a good, dependable 100 series is hard to find these days and I imagine its the same in the UK. If you find a good one, its going to challenge you financially- why am I spending so much on an old car? Once they get past 2-3 owners you're taking a big risk on a high mileage truck, in terms of service history.

I've stopped missing my 100 series now and have happily settled into life with a pickup (Hilux) and SUV (Highlander), to be honest whilst it sounds daft to compare having two vehicles instead of the one, now I've got the best of both worlds and wouldn't go back to a Cruiser.

 

[sh1kar]

I have a 41/2 year old Hilux Invincible from new Done 37k miles. Mix station runs commuting, trips to Scotland, general runabout and stalking/shooting truck Offroad with BFG ATs new previously General Grabbers I haven't got stuck and we talking rutted tracks and proper mud/forestry track. If it does look like it might get stuck I drop tailgate and get someone to sit on it, its is quite light back end Otherwise keep a bit of weight (Bags sand/spuds etc over rear axles) Flawless so far, basic service and only new part is front damper so far. 3 litre engine a bit gutless esp with trailer and best all round mpg is c 27mpg Plenty of room in cab
I think will run it over 100k then chop in for whats around then Had LR 109, 3.9 S1 disco and 2 range rovers P38 and the modern 4.4 diesel. On balance the P38 with BFGs was probably best offload but the Hilux a close second Good enough for what I want. Very civilised for the Waitress run and family days
S

 

[nick.308]

I don't think you would look back after getting a land cruiser. We are on our second LC over the last 20 yrs. I would get an 05, 06 plate and put more towards one if you can. Im not sure if the new ones are as good as the pre 06 reg. as the reputation says they are bomb proof and just keep going.
We havnt had any real issues with our LC's and they both did about about 140 000 miles and the 2nd is still going.
We also run 2 hilux's invincibles 3.0. one auto and one manual.
I think the auto is as good on fuel and for obvious reasons more relaxing to drive long journeys and will sit quite happy at 80mph
It hasn't got the same towing power as a land cruiser but it isn't useless. Any pick up is going to be a bit light on the tail when towing.
Also i do think a lot of people do put all terrain tyres on when they don't need them. I havnt changed from the bridgestone duellers on my hilux and i regularly go into fields. Fair enough they will bog easily in soft mud but no one goes in the soft mud if they can avoid it anyway. The all terrain tyres are good at using fuel and making a load of noise.

 

[sh1kar]

I don't think you would look back after getting a land cruiser. We are on our second LC over the last 20 yrs. I would get an 05, 06 plate and put more towards one if you can. Im not sure if the new ones are as good as the pre 06 reg. as the reputation says they are bomb proof and just keep going.
We havnt had any real issues with our LC's and they both did about about 140 000 miles and the 2nd is still going.
We also run 2 hilux's invincibles 3.0. one auto and one manual.
I think the auto is as good on fuel and for obvious reasons more relaxing to drive long journeys and will sit quite happy at 80mph
It hasn't got the same towing power as a land cruiser but it isn't useless. Any pick up is going to be a bit light on the tail when towing.
Also i do think a lot of people do put all terrain tyres on when they don't need them. I havnt changed from the bridgestone duellers on my hilux and i regularly go into fields. Fair enough they will bog easily in soft mud but no one goes in the soft mud if they can avoid it anyway. The all terrain tyres are good at using fuel and making a load of noise.

Nick just on the noise issue, I came up A31 tonight at 80 and very quiet the second gen BFGs really very good, kept up with an old Lotus Elite! and very happy at cruising that speed Good on corners and quiet (although it was 27degs and dry but cold and wet no way!)

assume you all know what Lotus stands for?
S

 

[nick.308]

yep I can appreciate that some off road tyres are quieter than others. I was chatting to a friend today who has bf goodrich mud terrain on his hilux. They looked like they were the dogs danglies for off road but when I asked his wife the only comment she made was that they were noisy!
If you want to crack on at 80mph plus plus on the motorway I wouldn't fancy noisy tyres. I would want to hear some first.

 

[sh1kar]

yep mud slingers are noisy but the AT are fine and frankly unless axle deep in mud all you need. i happily ford steam and up v muddy 35deg incline forestry track for say 60 yards and vice versa in low ratio
S

 

[Malxwal]

I gave up on the original Hilux Bridgestone Duellers after they refused to take me up a very mildly sloping wet grass park, utterly useless.
BFG ATs have taken me everywhere, motorway to the top of hills and moors. About to fit a set of the new generation ones. The first set have 45k on them and are still worth £50 a corner.

 

[sh1kar]

yep good job

 

[User00033]

I gave up on the original Hilux Bridgestone Duellers after they refused to take me up a very mildly sloping wet grass park, utterly useless.
BFG ATs have taken me everywhere, motorway to the top of hills and moors. About to fit a set of the new generation ones. The first set have 45k on them and are still worth £50 a corner.

Bridgestone Duellers were what the Prado's came with in Aus, when we were buying for the fleet, the first thing we did was throw away the Bridgestones. Absolutely useless tyres, terrible wear rate compared to other brands, hopeless as an all terrain. In several awkward vehicular incidents, which when investigated thoroughly, the underlying cause was found to be inadequate grip on dirt roads in wet conditions due to excessive clogging of the treads. Yes there's always a great deal of disagreement when it comes to tyres but I've got the fleet management data to prove it - the Duellers were the worst performing tyres, period. Of the other brands / types we used, the Coopers were head and shoulders above the rest.

Just a comment about the Land Cruisers, have a look at the engine output data for the 1HZ-T and -FTE motors, and then compare that to the current generation Hilux. You will see that even the 2.4 Hilux which I believe is the only one that you can get in the UK is pretty much on a par with the 1HZ-FTE. Several of the other pick ups available are a lot more grunty than the LC. Food for thought when it comes to load carrying capacity and towing.