Which Car?
 

What should we get? Budget is AED 80,000, absolutely must have icy AC and 7 seater capability. Toying between used Pajero or Fortuner..... possibly may want to try offroading at some point, so which is better....? (and where in AD would you go to find one, as both seem very rare on Dubizzle)....

Re: Which Car?
 

I have a friend who is selling a pajero in AD, I will get details from her tomorrow as she is on her way back from OZ as we speak. I have one and love it :thumbup:

Re: Which Car?
 

Unfortunately, we are not in a position to buy just yet, as we are [B][I]still[I][B] waiting for dh's bloody visa......... :mad: Otherwise, this would have been a perfect lead :thumbup:

Re: Which Car?
 

teh CRV and the MRV and the new Pilot are all off road Hondas :)

Re: Which Car?
 

sorry, neither the CRV, MRC or the Pilot are off-road vehicles. Whereas the Pajero or the Fortuner are.

If you are thinking of off-roading the Pajero make sure you get the 3.8litre. The 3.0 litre is utter crap off road (and on road for that matter -I have one and it struggles) whereas the 3.8 is pretty reasonable. Expect to lose the front and rear bumper on the Pajero if you off-road it though.

I also have a fortuner... if you get one of these make sure you get the 4litre version - it's a rocket -I've not driven the 2.7 litre but imagine that will be rubbish. I have seen them (4 litre) off-roaded and they performed well but they are definitely less common.

The Pajero is lighter to drive but the ride is soft, body roll awful and it has blind spots you can hide a bus in. The Fortuner is slightly better in all of these areas but it is a heavy and basic drive. I prefer the fortuner for it's unrefined power. AC is fine in both models.

You will probably fine that the Pajero is cheaper and easier to find than the Fortuner.

You are best buying in Dubai - cars are often cheaper here and there is a better selection.

Re: Which Car?
 

Thank you - that is excellent feedback. I didn't realise the Fortuner came in a 4l, that definately makes it much more appealing. If I could find one.... Is it easy enough to buy in Dubai and register in AD?

Re: Which Car?
 

yup, very easy... search this site for the instructions. I've done the import/export thing 3 times now and it's dead simple.

Re: Which Car?
 

:thumbup: will start searching Dubai dubizzle too :)

Re: Which Car?
 

I've had both the GX (2.7l) and the VX (3.8l) Toyota Prado and both were great off-road, the 2.7l is a bit under-powered on road but the 3.8l is fine.

Re: Which Car?
 

AED 80,000? Hyundai Santa Fe - never let me down. I did Dubai-to-Riyadh-and-back-in-a-weekend on THREE occasions and it never skipped a beat.

Off-road no problem.

By the way - what was the big big big 4x4 a few years ago that had a second spare tyre under the middle of the chassis (the other was on the back door)? Nice idea but as soon as you went over the crest of a sand dune, the tyre grounded and you were stranded........... :blink:

Re: Which Car?
 

I would also take a look at the Nissan range... Patrol, Pathfinder, X-Terra.

Re: Which Car?
 

A Nissan Patrol is the way to go - the best off road you can get. They are like tanks - we had two (one each) and you can drive them anywhere. My husband had an old style one and was constantly being asked by locals at traffic lights and petrol stations if he'd sell it . . . when he finally blew up the engine when it was 14 years old he sold it to a local who put a new enigne in and drove off into the sunset! :)

Anything else is just poncy.

Re: Which Car?
 

What is the AC like in the Nissans though? I heard the pathfinders weren't that great...?

Re: Which Car?
 

the AC in the toyotas (except the RAV 4 for some reason)always seem to be the best in my experience, the hyundais not as good.

I don't know exactly what kind of ability you expect off road but mostly any of these already mentioned easily exceed the ability of the drivers. But for me any of the rovers (either range rover or landrover) are the best at true offroading (not just gravelly tracks) closely followed by the prado or fortuner.

Re: Which Car?
 

The locals just love those old Patrols - especially the 3 door ones as they a super light and tough. They tend to take out the engines and I seem to remember that they replace them with the landcruiser engine.