Prado Petrol to diesel - what would I notice?

[gofishin]

One from left field if you really prefer the petrol. Consider "upgrading"to a second hand LC200 petrol. The resale on them is pretty poor against the diesel and as such there are some good bargains out there.

Beat me to it Scott! [emoji16] Definitely an option worth considering, especially when you notice the difference in bowser price lately- $1.30 odd for ULP vs $1.60 for Diesel??? WT? Diesel is cheaper to produce!

If you don’t do a lot of miles, nor a lot of towing, and you are going to keep it for years again, the resale is not so important. I’m on my 2nd LC200 TD, and love them, but in your shoes would be seriously looking at the petty.

Another option, if they are still available, is the Pajero V6 petty. Very underrated car. Not as refined as the Prado, but extremely reliable. I’ve had 2 petty’s and the 3.2 Diesel.
Cheers


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[GBC]

We have a few 2.8 hilux's in the fleet at work and to say they are complete pieces of sh!t would be an understatement. Until Toyota sort out their DPF issues and the dashes falling out of them at least, I wouldn't recommend anybody buy one. The prado shouldn't have the dash problem but I'd wager the DPF setup is the same.
Our worst ute is 2 y.o. and just out of warranty (over 100 k.m.), had a new DPF under warranty which lasted 20,000 k.m., shit itself at 115,000 k.m., they charged us $7k to replace it and just last night it has gone back into limp with 100% DPF blockage again - not to mention using a tank of fuel to get to Gympie.
Being a company, DPF deleting is not an option for us, and having cars off the road all the time is a royal pain in the rear.
If that is a glimpse into your new future, please find one of the last v6 Prados and buy that.

[Cox76y]

Personally I find all the current small(er) capacity diesels the same in that they need to be revved or kept in there sweet spot to drive well. All I have driven suffer from turbo lag off the mark and will feel sluggish when you compare it to a petrol vehicle. However, give it time and I soon got used to it on my ns pajero. I would have a preference for an automatic as the turbo lag when taking off the mark tends to make you rev the engine a lot harder which leads to early clutch wear. Currently I drive a v6 turbo diesel navara 550 as my tow vehicle. I tow around 3 tonne with it and cant see myself owning a smaller engine for towing this kind of weight again.
I feel bargains can still be found if you look outside your normal relm. Unless you want the lc200 toyota landcruiser then maybe looking at the other options mentioned apart from toyota will mean you will not have to worry about paying the 'toyota tax' as such. My parents have the isuzu mux and love it. The fuel consumption is ridiculously low. Older pajeros such as this one https://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/d...16007717/?Cr=2
can be found for a good price with really low mileage. I had an ns pajero and thought it was a great tow vehicle, not as much punch as my navara but superior suspension to it being coil all round.
Someone mentioned the cummins diesel in a previous post. I believe they are referring to the current foton tunland. It uses a cheaper version of the cummins diesel and a getrag transmission. Both very reputable brands and a new one can be had for under 30k with a 3 yr 100 000km warranty. No option of automatic yet though I dont think.The ride on the utes will not be as comfortable as the wagons though. I am not scared of the newer diesel technology and wouldn't hesitate in purchasing any of the current crop as long as they were not the first of a new model (they all come with a substantial warranty). My first choice in the utes would be the v6 Volkswagon Amarok and then the Ford ranger providing the running costs were comparable.. For wagons, as well as those already mentioned you could also look at the jeep grand cherokee or the land rover discovery twin turbo. Both can be found for a reasonable price on the second hand market. Anyway, Im sure there is going to be a few jump on here disputing what I have said..
JC

[shakey55]

I’ve the second last Patrol with the 4.2 TD. A great truck and would not sell it, but people are asking a bucket for them even though they getting a bit long in the tooth.

As for the D-Max I can second the previous comment about them. My best mate bought one 12 months ago and I rate them highly. A great towing unit, great fuel economy and a comfortable ride.

Also a pretty good price on the new ones.


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[RayLamp]

I nearly bought one but the towing performance with a half decent sized boat up a hill put me off. Plus the price.

This video is a good guide as it matched my experience https://youtu.be/rvv_NbPH_b4

I ended up getting something with a v6 diesel and it shits over any 4 cylinder in my opinion. And I did own a 4 cylinder diesel dual cab. I loved that but am in a whole new world of comfort and power now.

[Crunchy]

Yeh I didn't go ahead with the Prado due to the small engine, some really good advice in the above posts, thank you to all who commented. Still looking,,,,

[Noelm]

Just adding here, I have owned most of the vehicles mentioned, currently have a 3L Prado, had 80/100/200 series over the years, had petrol and diesel in lots of them, my son has a Colorado, and a 2.8 Hilux for work, my daughter has a Trailblazer, now, to sort out what I like, depends entirely on what it's used for, for most of us, towing is secondary, but, we don't want a dog either, so, as a "car" and "tow" are two very different things, if you want the best tow truck, then being also a car, kind of goes out the door (up to a point) the V8 200 series is a great compromise, but, it's a big "car" that I don't mind, but my wife hated (hence the current Prado) my sons Hilux he isn't too fussed about, even though he doesn't have to pay for it, his Colorado tows my Sharkcat pretty well, probably better than my old 100 series petrol, and heaps better than the 2.8 Hilux, and maybe better than the Prado, but, the Prado is a much better road car that the Colorado, which is quite truck like by comparison, the Trailblazer goes great, but I wouldn't like to tow anything bigger than a 4-5M tinny, even though it's "rated" to, as a car, it's fantastic, the old 80 series standard diesel I had was fantastic, but pretty slow on hills, and you had to start winding up when you saw a hill coming, but, it just kept on going, and going, and going, don't worry about all this talk of small Diesels being over stressed, there's thousands of Grey Nomads that have hundreds of thousands of Ks towing big vans with them, and most have had no drama at all, so, now that I have confused everyone, it all comes down to how much you tow, and how much do you want a car, there is no clear cut winner, except (in my opinion) a 200 series V8, petrol for purchase price, diesel for economy.

[EdBerg]

I drive a MY14 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland and it has a 3L V6 turbo diesel + 8 speed auto, no problem towing anything and it is like sitting in a lounge chair, very comfortable to sit in and drive.
However the service costs can be bloody expensive, my 80K (major service) one cost about $1500, (minor services are about $450) which is offset by average fuel combined of around 8.5L/100Km, and 7.3L/100 Km on a flatish highway. Yes there is some turbo lag on take off but you can reduce that by taking it off economy drive if you so desire and also depends on how much of a lead foot you have. I would not get a smallish turbo diesel. I think it is a case of bigger motor is better in this regard.

If you are going to get a diesel then only get it if you can get a very good and long warranty with it, as others here have said, a replacement set of injectors will have you thinking about selling a kidney or so. So for towing, diesels are great and this one is also extremely comfortable as a car, so for me it was a happy compromise. So weigh up the running costs verses fuel costs and they should probably come close to even them selves out just don't forget about the warranty.

[Noelm]

Hands up anyone who has replaced a set of injectors? they might be expensive, but, unless you have some sort of mishap, they will almost last the life of the motor!

[EdBerg]

I had one fail on my last Jeep ( 2004 WG), naturally it was the one that was the hardest to remove, being the one that you have to pull the entire motor forward to get to it as in that model its sits under the windscreen sill. Needless to say I was very happy that it was all covered by warranty. Apparently that vehicle also had all the others replaced in the past by the previous owners also under warranty. That WG should have been painted Yellow, I had to think long and hard before getting another Jeep but this one is totally the opposite.

Hence the reason I would not get a 4WD diesel without a good warranty.

[Dignity]

Noelm, isn't the Trailblazer a Colorado, same motor for last 3 years at least.

[RayLamp]

I ended up getting a new Jeep GC v6 diesel with 5 year warranty. The comment re armchair comfort is accurate, and its towing capability is awesome. I like the offroad pages where you have a whole bunch of ancillary gauges to monitor temps etc. Very happy with the decision. I didn't need or want 7 seats so this thing is perfect for me. the 8 speed auto is perfect for finding the right gear towing the boat up the clyde mountain too.

[ozscott]

Hands up anyone who has replaced a set of injectors? they might be expensive, but, unless you have some sort of mishap, they will almost last the life of the motor!

I know of them. Additionally my brother had his Colly engine replaced recently under warranty. 40k klms and burning oil like it was going out of style...

I understood that the 200 Cruiser required major service/replacement work on diesel injectors and pump at 120,000.or so.

I like keeping my trucks. I am just starting to get some diff lash in my 350,000klm Disco 2 V8 with a lot of offroading and towing. I really like petrol. Modern diesels should not be confused with old mech injected diesels in terms of reliability/simplicity/longevity.

I hate the sound and drive of the current crop of diesel.utes from Ford, Holden, Mazda.

Cheers

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[Noelm]

Noelm, isn't the Trailblazer a Colorado, same motor for last 3 years at least.

Yep, I don't think the Trailblazer is not capable, but it has car like suspension, and just doesn't feel "right" if you get what I mean

[Noelm]

I know of them. Additionally my brother had his Colly engine replaced recently under warranty. 40k klms and burning oil like it was going out of style...

I understood that the 200 Cruiser required major service/replacement work on diesel injectors and pump at 120,000.or so.

I like keeping my trucks. I am just starting to get some diff lash in my 350,000klm Disco 2 V8 with a lot of offroading and towing. I really like petrol. Modern diesels should not be confused with old mech injected diesels in terms of reliability/simplicity/longevity.

I hate the sound and drive of the current crop of diesel.utes from Ford, Holden, Mazda.

Cheers

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dont know of anyone who has replaced the injectors at 120K, I don't even know anyone who has replaced them at all, my mate has a 200 with over 400K on it, and never touched the injectors. The Colorado engine using oil is a known "feature" and has nothing to do with a small engine being stressed, it's not good of course, if you have one that uses oil.