Navara/hilux are the top two for reliability and offroad ability. The hold their value though.

Mu - don't laurf. Pretty unreliable.

Hilux's available for Sub 15k but high mileage. Better with the suzi.

A surf, prado or pajero would be my pick of the bunch. You want something relatively comfortable as well, and as late model as you can. Its amazing what you'll find for sale if you have a good look around the country.

Hmmm I dont think I'd feel comfortable crossing big rivers in a little suzi either...things could get interesting.

Just speaking from personal experience ethos, we've owned 11 pajeros in the past, only one ever broke down...cracked head at 360,000kms, regular maintenance is the key, all sold with over 250,000kms (apart from one which was written off in the sea  ). Can't beat their on-road handling either. An underated truck IMO.

Definately +1 on the SWB landcruiser = cool trucks

Quote:
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Yeah I reckon they're awesome. I was looking for one for a while, but couldnt find a decent one at the time....they'd all had hard lives I think  . Haha, too bad...a guy I work with was in the same boat...had bubs, wife wanted the truck gone,but he couldnt part with it so kept it for a hunting wagon and bought a surf to keep her happy! 

+1 on the surf. I have an intercooled turbo one. Nice road vehicle and plenty capable off road. I recently upgraded the shocks/struts and springs to Old Man Emu/ARB. Transformed the truck, no more blowing through suspension travel with a load on and a 50mm lift as a bonus. It is a bit stiffer (jiggly) but I would highly recommend it.

Just be wary of the old 2.4 L turbo diesel Toyota head crackers.

Nor-West wrote on Apr 17^th, 2010 at 7:10pm:




can be expensive to fix. more so than there asian counterparts

Get a nissen patrol or landcrusier, go any where,good on road ,off road ,no repair bills,plenty of room.Dont get a surf, prada,landrover,range rover,hilux,vitara,mitsubitchi,end of story.

I have a 97 surf 3L intercooled 210,000km's

If you want a surf I'd advise:

- pressure test head.
- check cam belts change - do it if unsure.
- Check water pump at the same time, old coolant will allow cavitation and poor performing pumps cause overheating.
- Around about 170,000 poor head batches start to show up. Mine was ok but heard lots of stories about eating oil and water.
- Change std Toyota thermostat at the same time for new one. Old ones can stick and go from med to HOT instantly when you're towing a boat or working it hard.
- Change coolant and flush entire system incl radiator once a year. Radiators silt up and overheating again
- Hose down front of radiator when engine cold if washing the truck - stops dust building up on outside.
- oil changes 5-7500kms depending on where you drive. Do both filter and oil same time.
- Use Bendix front pads, check front disks for lips and get them machined with first set of new pads to bed everything in.
- Once a year do a gearbox flush - use oil changers as it's pretty good method and cost effective.
- Air filter at end of every season is enough unless you're running a lot of gravel roads.

- Engine off, check steering rack. Get someone to twist the wheel and look for rack play. If it's there replace the bushes with nolothane ones. More direct feedback but longer wearing.
- replace front and rear suspension bushes and tie arms with nolothane.
- Surfs suffer from rear suspension sagging. I fitted heavy duty Cobra springs.
- At Front brakes service check 4wd engagement motors. Grease if necessary.

Hmm. If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

"Thankyou" just the kind of thing I've been thinking of, actually I think Alfie or Meat Hunter has one and bought it on the first Old Farts Tahr Hunt......... must check the photos, just showed a couple on Trade me to the Wife who gave the thumbs up, thanks fulla's

scottrods wrote on Apr 18^th, 2010 at 6:16pm:

Surf 

Leaves the Landy at the start of the Canning stock route.

Trout wrote on Apr 20^th, 2010 at 8:05pm:


Amen to that

I think that depends how much space you think you need, dont think the bounty is underpowered tho. Just the BT-50 gives more space. All i can really say is go and physically look at them both / drive them. You'll soon decide whether you need it.  

Plus 1 on the Mazda / Ford.  Every vehicle is a compromise, that's why I am fortunate enough to own more than one. I kept my old B2600 petrol mazda 4x4 much longer than I  should have (12 years) because it was so reliable and did everything I asked of it, well , almost everything. ( I  am just remembering going down a steep, slippery track-- backwards, twice as fast as i went up it   )  I  am taking delivery of my 2nd BT50 next month, happy as , with the one I have had for the last 2 1/2 years, as a previous post said , the 3litre diesel turbo is a really great powerplant,  that's why I'm replacing it with the same model.  As an aside, did you get your "funcar" sorted ? mine is a "thinkingmans motorcycle" Toyota MRS  soft top, lots of fun to drive,and economical with the rearmounted 1600cc motor (poorman's Ferrari   ) You should be able to pick up a good one on trademe for 10-12k. Just a thought.

When I did my 4x4 course late last year, the guy that ran it did all the testing on the new utes for consultant work advising government agentcies which to buy.
This is all based on 2009-2010 models.
He said the triton was the best off road (he personally owned one of them) and the BT-50 & Ranger (lets face it same bloody thing) was the best on road.
The deciding factors however where between service intervals - some are 15,000 now and even though the hilux was the most expensive it was the cheapest buying "bulk" so on price most went this direction. he said the hilux really failed on all accounts was terrible off road with way to high a gearing and not very good on road. Bt-50 & Ford ranger was very good on road, to high geared off.  Triton good off road with diff locks, not bad on road. Might help you make your decision. The holden colorado was intermediate on both on and off road - I actually quite like the colorado, triton and the ranger/bt50, found them to be quite good to drive. The Hilux is horrible to drive, feels like a turtle with a shell that far to big (feels like your driving a mini under an 18 wheeler body) and just doesn't drive well on the road at all.
Personally when choosing a vehicle for work I always choose based on on road qualities, the off road ability of modern 4x4 ute ranges from crap to a little less crap (with terrible entry, exit and rampover angles and suspension), you'll spend 99.9% of your time on road and it makes little sense picking a vehicle based on the 0.01% that another ute may do a little less poorly. Personally i would go Ranger because for some reason the BT-50 feels uncomfortable when I'm in the drivers seat. But would happily take a triton or colorado (although there may be a few reliability issues with the holden popping up) but hate the thought of having to drive a hilux for any length of time.

Agree.
Its a crying shame the latest toyota hiluxes have lost the plot, and Ive read a few articles that rate the latest Triton as a better 4wd commercial vehicle.

The_Jester wrote on Apr 15^th, 2010 at 7:34pm:


My Hilux surf does great off road and very comfortable on road. Im not overly savy on vehicles etc... but was told when i was getting mine not to get any surfs prior to 97...infact something along the lines of not touching them with a barge poll.

Mines a 97 3l inter-cooled turbo diesel, has more than enough grunt for me. Also much quieter than your usual diesel engine.

Mohoua wrote on Apr 25^th, 2010 at 12:46pm:

Very interesting and informative post,but no mention of navara.

sika seeker wrote on Apr 29^th, 2010 at 6:12am:



Navara's are shit the end. Got one as a work truck. It's spent more time at the agents for warranty claims than used for work.

I've put 105,000 on mine since I bought it. Now sitting at 210,000. Great vehicle. Sleep in the back on trips. Loads of torque and reliable.