Prado v's Discovery >$20000

[zookwithdreams]

Ive got a friend who is looking to upgrade from a softroader to something with a bit of offroad ability currently he is sold on a Discovery but the wife is sold on a Prado, Must be under $20000, 7 seater and he is after a diesel. A few years ago I were in a similar sitiation and ended up with a 90s 3.4 Prado and converted it to lpg. (after doing the sums of running costs and what you can get for your $$$ it was an easy choice) So my bias is towards the prado on LPG but I am after pro vs cons of each vehicle. Driving will be 95% around town.

So far my limited thoughts are

Discoverys are cheaper / you get more for you $$$ but Prados hold their value bettter
Prados seem to be a bit more reliable and cheaper to repair
Prado is more LPG converrsion friendly
For that price range (and reasonalble kms) I think you would only get a 90s diesel prado where as petrol and then converted to LPG you would probably get a 120s (edit probably not now that I think about it)

any opinions/corrections appreciated

[Jcas24]

I wouldnt have thought you could get a 120 prado for less then 20k. we just sold our 1kz 90 series and it was a great truck. 11.4l/100km with steel bar & roof rack, 33's etc, they are very reliable and cheap to fix, not that they break very often.

[zookwithdreams]

I wouldnt have thought you could get a 120 prado for less then 20k. we just sold our 1kz 90 series and it was a great truck. 11.4l/100km with steel bar & roof rack, 33's etc, they are very reliable and cheap to fix, not that they break very often.

Your probably right, I have seen a few just under 20k but most are fairly high km vehicles and none of them i have seen have LPG so getting one cheap enough to allow for the conversion is going to be highly unlikley.

[RUFF]

He does realise that the Prado is a soft roader as well right?

And the Disco is defianatly more LPG friendly. The Prado V6 is not a real fan of LPG.

Your going to buy a lot of Disco for 20K but you may get a decent stock Prado for that money.

Repairs and Parts would be no more expensive on the Disco.

[zookwithdreams]

He does realise that the Prado is a soft roader as well right?

It will be a big stepup from their xtrail, so your saying that the disco is alot more capable off road?

And the Disco is defianatly more LPG friendly. The Prado V6 is not a real fan of LPG.

I have not heard of or have had any major issues with the V6 on LPG but on the quick search i did for the Disco II and LPG turned up a few problems, is that only with the V8? what are the configuration options for the disco and LPG as the tank in the back i dont think will be a popular option.

[zookwithdreams]

Your going to buy a lot of Disco for 20K but you may get a decent stock Prado for that money.

I would have thought so too but a quick search of the online classifieds for discos and prados in the 15-20k bracket with less than 200k km didnt reveal much difference in age and km for $$$

[brooksy]

You will most definately get more for your $$$ buying a Disco D2 than a Prado.
I didn't vote as I would go either D2 Diesel or D2 on LPG. My only "keep clear" area with the D2 would be the June '99 to July '00 (someone else may correct me as I am a little unsure of the period) as they removed the centre diff lock entirely from the vehicles for some stupid reason. Which LR soon realised was a mistake & reinstated.
But definately Disco out of the 2.



brooksy

[phippsey]

Diso.

I have had three with LPG - and never an issue. Just tune for gas, and change the plugs as needed.

D2 have a good rep - and the Td5 is great, esp if mated with the auto

If you go for the disco - just ensure it's one that has been serviced regularly, best if by someone who knows LRs, and shouldn't have any issues for that sort of work.

[ISUZUROVER]

The Td5 engine in the disco two has developed a very good reputation these days. Out of those options I would definitely choose the diesel disco.

There are just a few minor things to check on them:
oil pump bolt (often assembled without loctite)
oil in the injector loom
early models (99/01) had plastic head dowels (which can fail - meaning head gasket leaks) and some had flywheel issues. Make sure both of these have been sorted if buying an earlier model.

If anyone knows of a good Disco TD5 for sale in Qld, could they shoot me a PM please?

A bit further south, but this is the best place to keep an eye out for them:

http://www.aulro.com/apc/showproduct.ph ... 4836/cat/4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TheOtherLeft]

WRT to the Disco's what about the 3 Amigos?

[Petes]

I'd say go for A Disco aswell.

if possible get a 2003 d2a onwards with the later type head lights.

We have a 2003 d2a v8 manual which we bought last November, with a lot of mods (sahara colour coded bar, warn xd9000 winch, snorkle, LF240's, 33's, sliders, Alloy roof rack, etc , 1 owner, fsh and at the time 96k km for 20% less than your budget.

My other halfs parents have just bought an 03 d2a, td5 manual, with bar, snorkle , all terrains and 214k on for just under 16k.

The 3 amigoes can be a number of things, from a duff wheel sensor to a modulator failure. ThE lights were on on ours when we got it, and I did some research and bought the switch pack for the WABCO modulator for around $180, changed it (fiddly and about 90 mins) and the lights havent been seen since.

if you can find one, I think the best option would be a 2003/2004 TD5 Auto with FSH.

[TheOtherLeft]

I'd say go for A Disco aswell.

if possible get a 2003 d2a onwards with the later type head lights.

We have a 2003 d2a v8 manual which we bought last November, with a lot of mods (sahara colour coded bar, warn xd9000 winch, snorkle, LF240's, 33's, sliders, Alloy roof rack, etc , 1 owner, fsh and at the time 96k km for 20% less than your budget.

My other halfs parents have just bought an 03 d2a, td5 manual, with bar, snorkle , all terrains and 214k on for just under 16k.

The 3 amigoes can be a number of things, from a duff wheel sensor to a modulator failure. ThE lights were on on ours when we got it, and I did some research and bought the switch pack for the WABCO modulator for around $180, changed it (fiddly and about 90 mins) and the lights havent been seen since.

if you can find one, I think the best option would be a 2003/2004 TD5 Auto with FSH.

What's FSH?

[Petes]

Full service history

[peterpilot]

He does realise that the Prado is a soft roader as well right?

You are joking, aren't you? The Prado is no soft roader. You must be confused with a RAV4 or a Kluger.

If you want to spend a lot of your time "off road" (in the workshop), go for a Landrover.

If you want a reliable vehicle that will get you there AND back, go for a Toyota.

[6.5 rangie]

He does realise that the Prado is a soft roader as well right?

You are joking, aren't you? The Prado is no soft roader. You must be confused with a RAV4 or a Kluger.

If you want to spend a lot of your time "off road" (in the workshop), go for a Landrover.

If you want a reliable vehicle that will get you there AND back, go for a Toyota.

So you've had a lot to do with land rovers have you?

[bru21]

petrol prado. They go hard and at worst smoke 16l / 100 about the same as the bigger diesels.
A standard petty early model with no snorkel followed us up the cape. He waded near sholder high water in sections - how it didn't drown I really don't know, he made it up all the hard tracks driven by a guy from holland who didn't speak english. He got his wife and kid out on every crossing ha ha.

I think they are nearly as capable as the bigger trucks as ground clearence is pretty good on the older models and their lighter weight makes them laugh on the beach. They also have plenty of herbs!

[thehanko]

bru the td5 is pretty bloody good on fuel more around the 10L / 100km I think. someone else might be able to confirm that?

[GRIMACE]

He does realise that the Prado is a soft roader as well right?

You are joking, aren't you? The Prado is no soft roader. You must be confused with a RAV4 or a Kluger.

If you want to spend a lot of your time "off road" (in the workshop), go for a Landrover.

If you want a reliable vehicle that will get you there AND back, go for a Toyota.

. Guess who owns a prado!

[lukethedork]

bru the td5 is pretty bloody good on fuel more around the 10L / 100km I think. someone else might be able to confirm that?

2001 Defender (TD5).
Last fuel consumption checks at fill-up time. (from most recent to least recent)
9.2L/100Km
8.8L/100Km
9.3L/100Km
9.5L/100Km
9.8L/100Km
9.6L/100Km
= AVG 9.36L/100Km

Luke.
*edit*
I didn't vote yet as I didn't see 'what' the OP wants to do with the vehicle?
My opinion is the Discory is better offroad (make sure it has a diff lock), but the Prado is ALOT more comfortable.

[thehanko]

bru the td5 is pretty bloody good on fuel more around the 10L / 100km I think. someone else might be able to confirm that?

2001 Defender (TD5).
Last fuel consumption checks at fill-up time. (from most recent to least recent)
9.2L/100Km
8.8L/100Km
9.3L/100Km
9.5L/100Km
9.8L/100Km
9.6L/100Km
= AVG 9.36L/100Km

Luke.
*edit*
I didn't vote yet as I didn't see 'what' the OP wants to do with the vehicle?
My opinion is the Discory is better offroad (make sure it has a diff lock), but the Prado is ALOT more comfortable.

do you mean compared to the defender or the discovery comfort wise? i would have through the discos would have been ok, but the prado would be nicer due to the ifs for normal driving.

[-Scott-]

He does realise that the Prado is a soft roader as well right?

You are joking, aren't you? The Prado is no soft roader. You must be confused with a RAV4 or a Kluger.

If you want to spend a lot of your time "off road" (in the workshop), go for a Landrover.

If you want a reliable vehicle that will get you there AND back, go for a Toyota.

Joined in 2005, and this is his first post? Tony, you should call this bloke - he'd love to teach you a thing or two about Toyotas and Rovers.

Personally, I think anybody who's looking at a 95 Prado should also consider NL Pajero. Not quite as good on road, the engines (petrol & diesel) are not as economical (as either the Disco or the Prado) but they're a well-sorted design with a very strong drivetrain. The 3.5V6 is LPG compatible, if that makes a difference.

If you're willing to consider the Gen 3 Pajero with a DiD engine, I would say that's the best compromise. More power than the TD5 or 3l Prado engine, good economy, and they usually surprise people with their off-road ability - they're not capable of Outer's spec "hard" tracks (in stock form - but neither is a stock Prado), but the tracks will be getting quite tricky before a Prado will get away from it. And you could be struggling to find a good DiD for under $20k.

[lukethedork]

do you mean compared to the defender or the discovery comfort wise? i would have through the discos would have been ok, but the prado would be nicer due to the ifs for normal driving.

The Prado is a much more comfortable vehicle than the Land Rover Discovery (series 2).

Luke.

[chunks]

Discovery's are great...when they're not in the workshop costing you $$$$. And yes I have been the poor bastard working on them...give me a Prado anyday.