Never owned one, will be selling my van along with the business when we sell up early next year.
Thinking the ideal vehicle (toy) for me will be a pick up, what do I want from it?
Comfort.
4x4 but doesn't need to be permanent.
Crew cab or able to seat 3 in front occasionally, (is there one like this?)
Reliability.
Economical for its class.
Probably looking at somthing up to 10 years old.
What should I be looking at and what should I avoid?
Just a note on part time 4wd. With no centre diff, you cannot have it in 4wd on the road until you are losing grip. This mean that in most
circumstances, you're actually in a dodgy, wobbly, short, tail-happy rwd death trap. Which is fun for us, but I was never confident that the
wife was safe in it. And despite knowing not to abuse the 4wd, I still ended up knackering a prop.
I've had 3 work pickups and currently have a Mitsubishi l200 crew cab, plenty room for me and the Mrs and 2 teenage daughters, when it's
being used for work the seats fold up making a good tool storage place, it used fuel heavily when it was new but seems better now it's done 60
thousand miles ..... It can be put in 4 wheel drive whilst moving but admittedly when its wet and in rear wheel only it's great fun it can do
some great tail happy drifting .... The wife drives it without any problems and recently drove it down to Birmingham and back. ........ All in all a
top truck it's not one of the special edition ones just a basic 4work but still a nice truck .
My dad had a Ford Ranger XLT Thunder of about the vintage you're looking and as other have said it was most of the time a really slidey RWD
vehicle (He said on wet round abouts it was like driving a Morris minor) but it was great for moving stuff around. At the time he thought the Good
L200 was the one to have but this was a time when semi-luxury pickups like he wanted were massively popular and the L200s were a lot more money for
the spec. Personally I think at 10 years old there won't be much between them so try and see examples of the main contenders (Ranger, L200,
Mazda B, Hilux, Navara and Izuzu Denver) and see what you like best and what you can get the best deal on.
Get a hard top for the bed, makes the truck so much more useful and more economical.
Have a look whats near by and see what you can get the best deal on.
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
Crew cab hilux is the way to go. They are lovely to drive for a pick up. Also look at the Isuzu DMax. The twin turbo's go very well for what
they are and are quite comfortable. Not so sure I'd want any pick up as a family daily driver but I would say that the hilux or Isuzu are the
ones to go for.
Spent a couple of days driving a VW amarok, it was nice but seemed really gutless to me. 2.0 twin turbo I think. Lots of toys but I personally
wasn't impressed with it. Maybe a remap would sort that out mind!
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Building: Fiesta Ecoboost, Porsche 924, Audi TT
posted on 5/11/15 at 09:03 AM
I'm on my second pickup - both new but my comments still apply
My advice would be to drive a few. They tend to bounce around a lot when empty - ladder chassis and leaf springs. This can be a bit disconcerting at
first!
Also, if you need covered storage, buy one with a hard top fitted or make sure there's a decent second hand one around as new prices for
hardtops are high! Even the manufacturers say that the roller tops aren't good at keeping water out!
They are great vehicles for carrying people and stuff and towing, but can be a bit agricultural.
quote:Originally posted by Ben_Copeland
I had a Nissan Navara. Selectable 4x4 massive inside and out. Can tow the planet and took some serious weight in the back.
5 seats, as comfy as a car.
The (older) Navara also has the special feature that the chassis snaps in half through a combination of horrendous levels of corrosion and badly
designed towbars. I wouldn't touch one with a bargepole.
Photo Archive
Building: BMW M52 Haynes Roadster-Quantum ST170
posted on 5/11/15 at 01:13 PM
quote:Originally posted by Dick
Got to be the Toyota without question have had all the others as well but would say they don't get get close.
^^^ What he said.
I've had a '55 plate basic Ford Ranger, good basic work horse but noisy and crude.
Fully speced up 2012 L200, noisy but powerful engine, good equipment but tbh drove like a wallowy old bus.
Had a basic Hilux for coming up 3yrs now and they just drive so much better than the others and just get on with the job no fuss.
Cheers guys will have to get my bum in a few, will be used for towing and general,shifting stuff, we have a family small dailey run about, or will
have
I've had 3 L200s all 06 on all have been great, the only annoyance is the reluctance to come out of 4x4 due to actuation being electro
mechanical and vacuum.
There were a lot of recalls 2 for back Spring hangers...
Currently have a 2010 raging bull returns mid to high 30s mpg, 275 quid insurance, servicing is reasonable too just had the belts and fluids service
at £700 the parts are £400 plus for the belts apparently.
I'm m1 j31 and travel to Chesterfield daily if you want to meet up and give it a once over, I'll be chopping it in in the spring for the
latest one...
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Building: Magenta LSR Ver 2.2.3 AKA Tupperware Turd
posted on 6/11/15 at 10:57 AM
My local garage has had three Navaras in with broken chassis. One of them was a real low mileage one that had never been fitted with a towbar or used
in anger......
An example....
Photo Archive
Building: BMW M52 Haynes Roadster-Quantum ST170
posted on 6/11/15 at 11:37 AM
quote:Originally posted by owelly
My local garage has had three Navaras in with broken chassis. One of them was a real low mileage one that had never been fitted with a towbar or used
in anger......
An example....
