northernbird

spend it wisely my friend

BadgeIsBack

Been using Landies for years, we all remember the adverts on the TV years ago.

But overseas, Landies are just not rated. People hate them and say they are problematic and unreliable. I know an australian who likes them and drives them but says they are not the best.

I don't who to believe.

gedge

that was the sentiment i remember from the ME years ago, everybody drove landcruisers as the land rovers couldn't hack the big dunes

DrWho

That's because they have unbeatable reliability and build quality compared to the oppostion...

I have had a Range Rover, Discovery, Colorado (Prado), ML 270 and LandCruiser 100... The Rangie and Disco were absolute shite... Nothing could manage to keep working from one service to the next, build quality was non-existant... The ML at least managed to keep all its' functions working but the build quality was not much better... The Toyota's are far and away the best of this bunch...

DrWho

The Disco 3 is a very very good car... except unfortunately the ECU has a habit of dying in some inconvenient places... Like half way up the Cape in a 4X4OTY test recently when it got wet and shut down... permanently... Or in the middle of the Simpson during another press test drive when it dumped the air suspension down to its' lowest setting and refused all attempts to raise it...

Great cars, just don't get too far away from your nearest dealer...

Hutch

I don't know enough about the subject to spout off about it - I'm not an automotive designer as many on this thread appear to be. Nor do I have access to the nationwide 4WD reliability data tables that many people seem to be in possession of.

blowfly

I don't either. We have an Australian friend with 3 of them. He as 2 that he rebulit himself and a discovery,he swears by them, he is on 40 acres and the 2 rebulit models take a fair bit of bashing, the other is now 10 years old and hasn't missed a beat. Good Luck or good car?

blowfly

Buzzy--Bee

Thanks for that Hutch. I still conclude, based on my research and that article, that the Pathfinder is the best value for money. If I could budget for it I might well get the Toyota Prado Grande like my Geelong Gent friend, though as the article says "dollar for dollar you'll get more equipment in the Nissan rather than the Toyota".

Now to find an ex-demo for delivery July 4th... will wait a few weeks I think.



Buzzy

DrWho

Alternatively, some of us have owned the top 2 offerings from both manufacturers and can speak from experience...

Hutch

Based on my experience of having owned the top four 4WDs, I suggest you're right - the Pathfinder's a great vehicle.

DrWho

As a matter of interest did you compare service intervals between different models...? Can make a significant difference to the TCO over a few years...

datamile

So real 4x4 people are SUV not worth the effort ?

Have looked at a sanfa fe, x-trail, sorrento desiels so far

x-trail sounds noisey, santa fe felt nice and has 7 seats for visitors but is quite expensive in the group, sorrento internals looked a little poor but not had a chance the drive.

No going to drive into the jungle, but want a day to day car that we can take camping at a drop at a hat. ( trailer I think )

007

People do definitely treat you differently here depending on the type of car you drive.

For example, I drive a large, powerful car and the amount of idiots who "try" and show me up from the lights is amazing. I'm not sure how a driver in a 4 cyclinder hatchbacks think they're going to keep up, let alone outrun, 300 kWS of raw power. when taking off It's funny to watch in my rear view mirror as they crunch through the gears. See ya...another lesson taught.

When in traffic people usually deliberately speed up and pull in front, as they MUST get past. Trying to merge is a nightmare, as no one wants to let the larger, better car in.

I often thought all of this was in my head, a touch of paranoia perhaps.

But no, last week my car was in for servicing and I was given a little Barina hatchback to drive around in for 2 days. Wow, the difference was amazing! Driving around was so stress-free. When I needed to merge, I was automatically let in, no one tried to drag me from the lights, and no one dangerously pulled in front of me in traffic. It was quite bizarre. I guess a little car is not a threat.

Glad to have the beast back though.

IMO Drive what you like, just be prepared for twats to do silly things around you though - as no one likes being stuck behind a 4 x 4.

Amazulu

The Sorento is quite capable offroad actually. The guy who owns ARB (4x4 equipment store) in Perth drives one. He uses it for full-on offroading although it has a lot of non-factory equipment.