flappan replied:

Couple of things for your consideration.

In general.

The Patrol is the better offroad, The Pajero On Road, and the Prado a good mix of inbetween.

The Pajero probably has the pick of the Diesel motors. the new Did is an absolute gem. A few issues have cropped up with the Patrol 3.0 diesel that concerns some folk, but they may be on top of it know. The Prado Diesel has been around for quite a while, but is a good honest and reliable motor.

Have you considered the patrol with the 4.2 Turbo diesel. Bit "old hat" but geez, a lot of folks think they are still the business.

What do you want to do with it ??? The Patrol is a better offroad vehicle, but for a lot of folk, probably 90% both the Prado and Pajero will go the same places. IMO the Prado's are grossly overpriced. They are a fine vehicle, but are they worth that much extra ???

My choice would be this. Pajero Did, then Patrol Diesel, then the Prado.

It could boil down to whatever suits you best. Test drive em all, find the best deal. I don't think you'll make a bad decision on any of them.

tristjo replied:

Here's a few facts on the Patrol.

1: They, by far, have the greatest towing, and load carrying capacity.
2: They are a much more 'serious' offroader, having rigid axles front and rear.
3: Out of the box, they are a wagon that is a much better tourer than the others.
4: The mechanical problems were mainly in the very early models, and have been rectified.
5: They are by a longshot, better value for money. 50k for the most capeable, and 2nd biggest fourby in oz!! Incluing air!!

The Pajero, I would regard as only a "dirt road tourer", and does not have any real offroad capability, well, not if you want to drive it home in one peice, anyway. It is nice to drive on road, but if that is where you wanted to drive, why bother with a fourby anyway. They are also a bit pricey, and, having a friend who is a Mitsubishi mechanic, I hold doubts about there realiabilty and durability.

The Prado Is a pretty good "crossover". It has reasonable offroad ability, and drives well on road. But, it too is overpriced, and does not have the offroad ability, or "touribility??" of the Patrol. It's best asset in my mind, is the mamoth fuel capacity.

The Patrol, while not quite as good on road as the other's, still ride's and handle's pretty darn well, seeming as we are talking about a 2.5 tonne truck, with rigid axles, and a part time 4x4 system. It is by far a better offraod vehicle, and has a lot more touring ability. And, when you consider, it is markedly cheaper than the other's in equivellant specification, it's no wonder they sell like hot cakes!!

So, if I was in buying, the Patrol would be a hands down winner. It's a great vehicle, at a bloody good price!!

Tristjo.

flappan replied:

Yeah agreed, the 4.2 is a bit pricey, but, It is a tried and tested unit, now with an intercooler, will go all day, and basically tow anything, and go anywhere. The Pick of the bunch.

BUT

You are driving a Truck. Doesn't matter which way you look at it, or put a spin on it, its a bloody big Unit.

The Pajero and Prado are more user friendly in that regard.

Fuel Economy. Not 100% sure but I recall around the 12/13 per 100 ks highway, and a tad more 15/16 for city use from the 3.0 l diesels. They are all pretty similar, so I would believe the fuel economy would be pretty close. The 4.2 would be a little greater, but the benefit would be, I probably wouldn't change much, whether you were towing or not.

If you can Lease the vehicle, the Prado would be well worth looking at, because it appears you can get a FAR better deal this way. They are Too overpriced if your paying cash.

IMV the Pajero is still the pick of the bunch, for what you're looking at.

There are a couple of other alternatives you might consider.

A Diesel Jackaroo or one of the new Diesel Jeep Cherokees.

Which ever you choose, I would certainly be looking at a Diesel.

Member -BJ (Sydney) replied:

We have the 3.0tdi Auto patrol 2000 model, suffered a few off the problems you will find if you do a search of archives but probs fixed in current model . Still wouldn't swap ours. City 12ltr/100k's Hway 10ltr/100k's , done several trips Vic High Country, Simpson, plenty of weekend stuff, this year across the Gulf. The Patrol is a Big truck but if i was buying now would buy 3.0ltd again as best value for dollars & will go anywhere you wont to go .

Regards Bob Wish i was still here / Gulf in July

GOB member vic replied:

hi tania another thing to consider will you be towing anything, different trucks different payloads check both towing ability and weight on ball if looking for this side of things
steve

89 nissan looking foward to august and more travelling

Member - Bill replied:

Tang,

BTW, I assume you are buying a "new" as opposed to "new to you" 4WD. FWIW, for what you want to do in the 4 weeks a year, IMHO, all the vehicles you are looking at will "do the job". What else you do with it could be the deciding factor. About 5 years ago when I had a job in the city and had to negotiate tight car parks etc, we went hunting a 4WD. We decided on a mid-size because the size, turning circle and so forth. We deemed a Patrol and 'Cruiser too big. We compared and drove the Paj, Prado and Jackaroo. Ended going Jackaroo(petrol) based on features and VALUE and got a great 4yr 120K run out of it. We now have no need to drive our 4WD into the city anymore and have traded the Jack on a 3.0Di Patrol based on VALUE after driving the 100 crusier and ddi Paj. Paj (ddi) diesel is a real goer, but LOUD, both in and out. Great drive on the road around town though, better than the Patrol by a margin.

So it's horses for courses in my opinion. You can still get a Jackaroo (for a GREAT price) if you don't have to have the latest looks and a Pathfinder would be worth a look if you can live with something a little smaller.

Strictly my 2 bits:

Mainly round town, (realistic) budget no issue: Prado Petrol
Mainly out of town, (realistic) budget no issue: Patrol 3.0Di(Auto) or 4.2 if manual
Mainly round town on a budget: Jackaroo petrol
Mainly out of town on a budget: Patrol Di (still go Auto)
Dark horse: Pathfinder.

Pete G replied:

Tang,
I have a 2000 GU II 3.0 Manual. Mine has now done 130k with the 5th gear and a repl. turbo. The electronic gizmo's on these wagons are not cheap to replace outside warranty (although the others are the same). All said and done they seem to be getting on top of some initial issues. Extended warranty options are a good idea now.

Generally it seems that you are decided on the $$$'s you want to spend.

Suggest that for Heavy Towing and hard slogging the 4.2 is the way to go in a Patrol. This is not to say that the 3.0L is not capable - just that you need to keep a few more rpm's on them versus the low down grunt of the 4.2. This would start to become of concern say offroad on a steep bumpy climb - (they both have same G/Box ratios) and with the 3.0L you tend to be a bit wary about backing off for a bump and letting rpm's drop below the torque point of the motor (2000 rpm). That said and done they dont chuck the towel in either and lug surprisingly well down to about 1500rpm if you feather the pedal carefully.

Some may differ, however, on the open road I have pushed a couple of td 4.2's who dared to pass (not the I/C model) and I think that on road/highway the 3.0L wins out.

Personally diesel is the way to go - over the life of the vehicle I have averaged 11.85l/100km - 15% city/town about 15% dirt & the rest split between 100 & 110 km speed zones. At a steady 100kph you should get 10.5 to 11.0. The final result is upto you - I am happy with mine all things considered.

I am currently going through changeover options and am down to Patrol 4.2, 3.0 and the Prado. My 13yo back seat tester tells me that the Patrol is better in that regard . (The sitting test that is !!).

I know a few guys running the 3.0L tdi Prados and they report no problems with them.

Strongly suggest that you invest in a turbo timer for any turbo diesel - my info is that some of the Patrol 3.0L problems have a common thread of quick shutdowns. Any Heavy Plant Operator/Truckie worth their salt understands the need for the turbo to wind down before switch off. Some may say there are insurance issues/legal issues here - as long as you take the keys and lock up the vehicle won't get too far between the steering loack/immobiliser.

I am of the suspicion that the Prado might hold value better on resale - I think I have erred in not changing over after 2 yrs at about 90k's.

Also check out service intervals - the 4.2 Patrol is every 5000km, the 3.0L is every 10000km (the oil in mine stays clean for the first 5000k's.) Think the Prado is at 5000km (as for Hilux). At about $160 a go at the dealer these can add up. Some may also comment about upgraded filtration/longer change intervals - if you can swing it under warranty then way to go especially if buying for long term.

Happy 4WD'ing

PeteG

Andrew replied:

If noise means anything to you....

Of the vehicles you mention, the Pajero TDI is the rattle class leader of the lot.

I agree with the other posts mentioned. I have a Patrol 3.0TD III

Big John (QLD) replied:

All 3 vehicles will do the job. though the patrol will do the job more times.

PS. Some one has to say it " If you want to do it even more times buy a Landcruiser TD."

Regards John

relaxed (Fraser Coast-QLD) replied:

Tania, I have the Patrol 3lt TD with no probs at all. We are a family of 4 and there's stacks of room. The economy is as the others have said. I think and I could be wrong here, but the Patrols (of your chosen 3) are the only ones with the seperate chassis. This is where the body and chassis are one unit and thus not as strong as the seperate set-up. The other is the suspension issues. I am also of the belief that the Prados and Pajeros have at least indipendant front suspension. You will not have a prob with what you say you want to do with it now. But down the track you or hubby decide to become more adventitious, this setup may become a problem. The Patrols have a solid axle with coil or leaf suspension.
If I'm wrong with any of this info, I'm sure the boys will let me know in no uncertian terms.
Go the Patrols
Relaxed

BoneMan replied:

Hi Tania, I've been going through the same dilemma as u. But I'm leaning more towards the Land Rover Discovery.

I suggest that you get a diesel - On a recent trip (I was passanger only), the disco td5 with a 95 L tank filled up once while the Jackaroo (patrol) 65 L tank (I think), needed to fill up 5 times, and this was only a 2 day weekend trip with no low range driving.

Cheers.
BoneMan

desert replied:

Don't stress too much, all are fine vehicles, of which you can't go wrong with. Only decision you need to make is petrol or diesel. My advice, if you are largely sticking to the bitumen then go petrol. If you are serious about getting lost, off road somewhere in the outback desert country, go diesel.
Good hunting.

Pipeliner replied:

No doubt about it, the Patrol is a good LARGE offroader - but as was said previously, it is a truck, solid front axle, large, heavy, etc. If you are only going off-road 4 times a year, do you really want to drive the kids to school in it the rest of the time?

In hy humble opinion you would be better off with a MEDIUM 4x4 like the Prado, Pajero or Jackeroo. Jeep Cherokee is also very good (I'm biased, I've got one) but is fractionally smaller - might not be enough luggage space for 3 kids on holiday.

Personally I'd always go for the diesel. Turbo diesels today are as easy around town as a petrol - as long as your driving style doesn't call for lightning accelleration. And they are significantly more economical. My 2.5litre Jeep returns 10L/100km (75% city 25% highway) - try getting that out of a petrol Prado or Pajero.