deedee

Land Rover's are by far not the easiest 4x4s to work on.It may be true of post 1990 vehicles but as for tdi's and V8 NAS vehicles,they are far harder to sort out than any Hilux.As for the TD5!the fly by wire throttle alone makes difficult off road driving in low range.Land Rover have been trading on the strength of its name for years and no longer cuts it with the competition.Its no longer the best choice and sales show it.As for reliability,it is quite simply abismal and if you go on any of the off road forums you see that the only topic of conversation is what and how theyre having to fix on Land Rovers.As for taking one across the desert(or even 90 mile beach) i would'nt as its a proven fact that you are more likely to breakdown in a Land Rover than any other 4x4.......,by the way,i worked for and with Land Rover for over 4 years in special vehicles and built 3 years of Camel Trophey Land Rovers when i was manager of the subbies that built them,plus did destruction testing on the freelander when it was first developed.I could give you hours of examples of how bad they really are.Land Rover products were good 30 years ago,but now they're no better than a Lada Niva,a very expensive one at that.

PeteY

Ok Deedee...you obviously know far more about cars than I (and i mean that in a genuine sense....not being funny). I guess I just like them as a former defender owner. I did'nt have any problems, so maybe i was lucky, and mine was an old 84 model, which was very easy to work on.....

Which 4wd would you recommend in oz then? I would ideally like a cruiser but they might be above my budget.... I will have between 15 and 20k to spend....

Pete.

mr mover

Simple rules for ,the oz OUTBACK if you open the bonnet , and can,t see injectors or spark plugs , don,t buy it......... MM

Jacqui

I know exactly what you mean about having a 3-point seat belt in the centre back - usually called a lap/sash over here we noticed. We had a people carrier in the UK and it was great for running extra kids about and I do miss it, but anyway we decided when we arrived here to go for a 4WD with 5 seats. There are heaps to choose from.........except every time we looked inside one, there was just a lap belt in the middle. We traipsed round loads of garages and checked out just about every model under the sun, just looking through the back window and checking out the type of seat belt, if it was the wrong type we moved on, before yet another salesman told us "you'll be ok with a lap belt" yeah right, it's not your kids' spines at issue here is it? We only found three 4WD's that had proper seat belts, one was a Ford and I don't remember the name but it was over $50000, one was a Chrysler Jeep, just as pricey, but we went for the Honda CR-V and we have been very happy with it. Plenty of leg room, boot space etc and the all important 3-point seat belt in the middle. It doesn't have a separate 4WD gear lever (it's an automatic) and it's supposed to kick into 4WD by itself according to the road surface or whatever. It drives across flat sand ok but it's not really intended for very rough terrain, apparently it's Australia's most popular family 4WD car.

Dinky

Any views on the Toyota Rav4 4 door?
The future Mrs D is demanding something fun and sytlist and I no longer seem to fit the picture. I was planning on getting her a Ventra/Astra/Honda Accord but the old soft roader does appeal. Also means that I can get something completely impractical for the weekend.

Dinky

lynnj

Hi Jaqui

Thanks for that info, you have probably saved me 3 weeks worth of visiting garages, i dont see the point of going for a big off roader unless you intend to use it as such. The 3 pont seat belt is a big thing for me as a girl i knew at school was the centre back seat passenger in a head on collision, now she has to be fed through a tube as the damage caused to her stomach by the lap belt was so severe! I couldnt take that chance with my kids.

Lynn

r.bartlett

we have a crv since 2001..
been a good car no problems but quite noisy on the road -due to the tyres i guess..

cheers

richard

Amazulu

We (well my Wife does) have a 2002 RAV4 & it's fantastic, very powerful & great to drive. It's fairly economical (but not great, but it is a 2 litre), has loads of space & 3 full seat belts in the back (see previous posts). The only critisism is that the side opening tailgate is a pain, it does not open fully which hinders loading, an obvious design fault. Apart from that it's great

Amazulu

We looked at the CRV, it's a nice car but Jenny didn't like the weird handbrake & gear shift. I think most 4x4's (apart from the BMW) are noisy on the road (tyre rumble ?).

r.bartlett

know what you mean but it leaves the floor much clearer and gives the impression of more space

also on an auto (ours) how much do you use the gear lever and hand brake??

cheers

richard

deedee

Sorry,was'nt trying to be cocky,its just that off roading and 4x4s are something i've been into for years with Land Rover,their marketing people are the most skillful people in the whole company!
As for my choice,all the Jap stuff is good and good value.Most of them are half capable off road and good in town.Tyre noise isn't normally a problem unless your doing serious off road/farm work with really aggressive tyre tread patterns.Most come with a compromise tyre which are no louder than a normal saloon car.
For 15 to 20k I'd buy a Hilux 4runner,should get a 94model ish at a guess for that budget(thats if you need a car derived 4x4)If you can live with a pick up,a double cab Hilux would be the most sensible buy...and resale.If your going to trek round Aus and do some serious dirt driving then a 70 series Land Cruiser is the work horse and again you can buy a fairly good example for 20k.
How people treat their vehicles is more important.Jap engineering is rather good and can take hard abuse and miss services etc.You could even drive one for hours on 4 flat tyres should you have to.If you don't abuse it it will last longer.
With regard to Rav4's ,i think theyre a great fun soft roader and its a fine example of how the freelander should be built.The Honda CRV mind,a good car,ultra reliable and user friendly but ends there.Its not an off roader.Also,CRV's can't tow anything,it even says in the handbook....no towing! but then if you dont want to tow anything its not a problem
I just read this through to check my dire spelling and grammer and it sounds like an add for Toyota...doh!Its not meant to and i don't work for them,honest

r.bartlett

no it doesn't

basically the land cruiser is THE choice of vehicle for anyone who goes off rfar oad but -more importantly- wants to get back again..

look at all the UN cars..99% are L.Cs -they can afford to buy the best -so do..

my mate had an amazon TD fully kitted up..bloody huge car, nice to travel but like an ocean going liner - bit big for england but right for au/usa etc


cheers

richard

deedee

agreed,we drive a 100 series VX tdi ,and Hilux for working vehicles

tinaj

We are thinking of a Toyota Prado. Any views on this?

We want the 3 rows of seats so we can separate our brats!
Toyota have been really reliable we have had a people carrier for 4 years and had no problems with it.

chippy

It seems to me that anyone who has half-decent knowledge here would go for the LC.

Which engine tho...the V8 or the Td??

I really would like an answer to this, cos I am def going to get one of em.