Outer Limits 4x4 Board

It's down to three.. Which one do I go for? I cannot make up my mind.

I have Mrs & 3 anklebiters. Two that need baby seats. I will eventually tow a small boat/dinghy. I will be going on several longish road trips. I will also do beach runs and light dirt 4wd tracks. Nothing too full on. Also Mrs will need to drive in and around small town from time to time doing shopping etc.
Require fuel efficiency and a bit of power and of course reliability.
Any thoughts?

They are all ok although I really dont like driving the late model Prados. They are your very typical very bland Toyota on the road.
If I was you I would drive all three and choose whichever one you like driving the best. Of course the deisels will be far more economical and the petrol Prado will have more get up and go and feel more lively. The only advantage I can see with the Prados is the large fuel capacity as standard.

Ian

General thoughts:

Offroad, either Prado will do it easier than the Paj - but the terrain you describe won't stretch any of them.

The Prados are always described as having "supple, long travel suspension" - that's generally code for "soft", so new springs may factor in your future. Keep this in mind when comparing "ride quality."

In that vintage of vehicle, the Prado 3.0TD is a distant third place for performance. It would need to be a great bargain.

From memory, the 4.0V6 and 3.2DiD have similar peak torque figure - the diesel has it much lower in the rev range. The 4.0 has masses more power, and doesn't mind revving. It will use more fuel, but has HUGE tanks, so will still have a longer range than the stock Pajero. Crawl under and LOOK at the Prado's second fuel tank. I think it's a little low.

I would expect the Paj to have more interior space than the Prado. Keep in mind that the Prado 3rd row seats are removed from the car to improve the load space - the Pajero's fold under the floor, but are still there if needed. If you want to leave the 3rd row seats in the garage (like the Prado's) you will have additional under floor storage space.

Some wives dislike the diesel rattle and handling diesel pumps.

On road, I'd pick the Paj every time - but I'm biassed. For off road touring, I'd factor in a second tank for the Paj - with either vehicle I would be replacing suspension and tyres, and that will close up the off-road difference. Especially since Mitsubishi know how to make a decent LSD.

If you don't mind a diesel, take the Paj. If you (or your Mrs) are not that keen on diesel, or want more power than the Paj, get the 4.0 Prado.

Cheers,

Scott

Some great points there....cheers

I do like the 4.0 Prado but a bit worried about fuel efficiency. It surely cannot be that bad, especially if I do more onroad than offroad.
Like the Paj, but I have heard the engine is quite noisy. Is this true? Also if you leave the third row seat in, how much room do you have left to put things like esky etc. in. At least with the Prado you can remove one seat and still have a bit of room.
3.0TD I guess doesn't quite make the grade then with only the 03/04 model. You really need the newer model with the more powerful common diesel engine.

Or am I looking at the wrong vehicle. As I am not a real big offroad guru and will only be going on the lighter duty tracks and beach runs. Should I say look at the pathfinder???

MagicFev wrote:Like the Paj, but I have heard the engine is quite noisy. Is this true?

It has the typical diesel rattle at idle, but I believe they're fine at "driving speeds." On the Pajero Club Forum, owners love them on the highway.

MagicFev wrote:Also if you leave the third row seat in, how much room do you have left to put things like esky etc. in. At least with the Prado you can remove one seat and still have a bit of room.

The Paj 3rd row seats fold away under the floor. When folded away, you have a flat floor and nothing hanging from the sides. I don't know if you can fold only one.

I suggest you take a weekend to track down a few samples and have a look/drive them.

MagicFev wrote:Or am I looking at the wrong vehicle. As I am not a real big offroad guru and will only be going on the lighter duty tracks and beach runs. Should I say look at the pathfinder???

Yes, Pathfinder will also do what you require - but, it's NOT in the same class.

That age of Pathfinder is petrol/auto only (I think - when did the current model arrive?) The V6 is reasonably smooth and fuel efficient, but down on power and torque compared to the other vehicles you're looking at. It's also smaller, and if the 4wd bug bites, it can't be "improved" as easily. For instance, it runs smaller tyres, which limits your choices for better off-road rubber. Going larger is trickier; for instance the spare is under the rear, and the space won't accept a much larger tyre than standard - from memory, my neighbour couldn't squeeze in a 31" spare. Much larger than that, and you start with guard clearing problems.

The Prado/Pajero come stock with 31" tyres, and I recommend you go 32" (265/75-16) at the first tyre change. You can go to 33" tyres fairly easily. If 33s are not large enough, you're in the wrong vehicle to begin with.

Cheers,

Scott