Outer Limits 4x4 Board

g day blokes. I been thinking about buying a hj60 n/a auto. Ive had 5 manual cruisers, fj and bj's and need a change from my clagged fj62. The hj60 has done 290000km but looks like it has never seen off road, but I plan to give her some. If any one can give me some info on offroad performance, fuel ecconomy and reliability it would be much appreciated. p.s mainly concerned about the auto.( no overdrive 4 spd) Or should I stick with manuals?

I have similar vehicle only with an aftermarket turbo. Goes very well with the turbo. Auto is good, i have a cooler fitted and I believe that they tend to get hot otherwise. At 100k pulls about 2k revs (31's) in 4th. Rarely need to kick down for hills and get between 13 and 16L100k. Had 3f auto previous and the diesel goes a lot harder.