D4D OR older diesel OR Petrol??

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

Careful, we don't like being referred to as SUVs. We're real 4WDs.

[BiLLz0r Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close BiLLz0r]

Dan..what you trying to say..??. The KZ's are great little engines, but as I'll possibly never tow I do sort of wish I'd bought a V6. You pay more for the diesels but they have a higher resale value too if kept good so it really comes down to fuel and consumption etc. Take your time.

haha, I wondered if you'd bite Charles...... but no, not just the Prado diesel noise.

Congrats on the purchase YMUS. Now just hand over all your money now to the 4WD gods as the modification bug will bite and bite hard. "But I need it" is the common phase to the wife now

[Abraxix Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Abraxix]

we will be having at least a good (3) off years at this stage of researhing and looking and deciding still paying a "SMALL" loan back to the bank for our current rig but we've said soon as we pay it off we'll happily get another loan out and trade in / sell the current rig for a prado. i imagine we'll be looking in the roughly
$15k bracket at this stage seems to be the going price for anything with under 200,000k's in petrol on it.
as i said i'm here to learn and gather as much information as i possible can to help out my family in the long run.
at this stage it appears i've narrowed it down to this. -- please feel free to correct me or add in any information you can to put your perspective on it.

95 series - older box shape tail lights (wife hates the look) but these are cheap and affordable however fuel economy is chunk and LAME
& allot of reading and websites don't LIST the 95 series as available for "parts" mods wise so far standard i've just looked up the usual, suspension / snorkel / sliders / lockers.. havn't foudn a difinitive 95 series prado listed on sites (what else are these older models known as?)

120 series - newer look seem to be the next in line there was no 100 series prado? as this is a 100 series landcruiser? is that right (maybe i should look into these?) these are the rigs my wife loves the look of, i like the 2003 shape seems to be narrow and have the bubble tail lights when you go 2004+ it appears a little bit wider? but still with the bubble lights? i believe again the V6 4.0L engine is the best on fuel economy and sounds like it's a bullet proof engine? what is the difference here between a 10 series and a 105? 125 series??? and once again where are people going to for mods? suspension / sliders / bull bar / lockers?

the wife and i will be using this as her toorak tractor in town on a daily basis and on the weekend i will be driving it as a toorack tractor untill we at least get some lift? and i believe the under body protection on these are rubbish as standard? (where do you buy your under body prot from) ?
the only thing we will use this car for is safely getting the kids to and from A -> B and me on fire trails off road with mates just driving to look outs and water falls (not heavy 4WD ever) however we hope to see this kind of a rig take us all over fraser island (so lift and bullbar will be on the cards at some stage) i would like to be able to look up a website and go right this is what we sell buy it standard it'll fit ?? i also believe the new Toyota FJ40? rims fit these rigs with a nicer offset to fit up to a 32" tire with next to no lift and no scrubbing?
as i said light driving initially however turn into a nice touring rig up to fraser and maybe one day cape york? how much does filling 2X90L fuel tank cost on average? do people actually fill up both tanks weekly or only ever 1 tank to save weight and drive further or is that not the way this works???

as i said i'm here to be a sponge -- fill me up with information about my future car

[DISHoh Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close DISHoh]

I fill my petrol up every week and a half roughly. Putting around 150L in as that's the 4c discount limit. Can notice the weight a bit, but they're not designed to be nimble so not really fussed.

My fill up bill is normally around $220, woolies servo has an extra 4c/L off when spending $5 in store, which when putting in around 150L equates to around $6. Meaning I get my $5 worth of products for free and an extra dollar off!

[Abraxix Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Abraxix]

nice one DISHoh.

next question - the GX -> GXL -> VX -> GRANDE.
i understand the GX - is the base model.
i understand the GXL - is the luxury model.
i understand the VX - is the upgrade luxury (fancy sat nav features)
i understand the GRANDE - is the top of the top sort of like the best of the best edition)

do each model have specific problems i should look out for? - eg: is the GXL better than the VX / due to the extra features the VX - are there more things i should look out for? OR common problems between these models?
sorry if it doesn't make a heap of sense. basically which one should i buy and why? i don't have the money for the GRANDE. BUT i could possible afford the VX / GXL / GX. which would you buy and why?

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Depending what year you end up getting the Grande and VX offer things like stability control and traction control that wasn't offered on earlier GXLs and GXs. After the 2006 update you could get all this through option packs on the GX and GXL.

I think the GXL is best bang for the $ though the VX is awfully close. The grande has self levelling suspension which means rear airbags and these don't appeal to me.

If you send me a pm with an email address I can send you through pdf versions of the 120 brochures and you can look through what was on offer throughout the years.

[Toy4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toy4x4]

I agree with mjrandom the GXL represents better value for money, it depends on what purpose your buying the car for i guess if you were going to stay on the blacktop then yeah why not get the VX or the Grande if you can.

I went for the GXL because it does the job i want it to do comfortable for driving around town and just a capable off road.

[MidLifeCrisis Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MidLifeCrisis]

Being a Grande owner, if I had my time again I would go VX. I.e the leather and some bells and whistles but no air bag suspension. This is based upon my modifications more than anything. If you have no intention of lifting the rig then Grande is a sweet option.

I have no doubt that if I had a VX it would have some serious suspension mods right now.

If buying a new one, the Altitude is the go.

[Abraxix Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Abraxix]

oooo thanks thank's a really good peice of advise i didn't know that it was air bagged.. and i'll send you a PM MJRANDOM - i'd be interested in reading about the differences, i did find a wiki page with the different series on them and such which is why i knew which order it went in like base -> BMW series of the Prado lol...

and if the Grande is air bag - i don't know anything / enough about that at all to make mods / fix it anyway if i'd want to. so it certanlly sounds like the VX is the way to go, even if the GXL is the best bang for buck i'd really like sat nav.. hahaha and the wife would also though i suppose if i found a GXL with it already installed that'd be really nice!!!

thanks again. i'm not sure i have many more questions at this stand point i'ev learnt heaps it's now just down to what i want to buy i guess...

someone else feel free to drop some knowledge on me... ooo what type of suspension is under these actually? are they spring and shocks all 4? or spring / leafe ? what's the story there ?? - where do you buy your modifications that bolt to the rigs from?

[Toy4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toy4x4]

Check with your local dealer the costs of updating the maps on factory sat navs it can be expensive

[Guest Close Guest]

oooo thanks thank's a really good peice of advise i didn't know that it was air bagged.. and i'll send you a PM MJRANDOM - i'd be interested in reading about the differences, i did find a wiki page with the different series on them and such which is why i knew which order it went in like base -> BMW series of the Prado lol...

and if the Grande is air bag - i don't know anything / enough about that at all to make mods / fix it anyway if i'd want to. so it certanlly sounds like the VX is the way to go, even if the GXL is the best bang for buck i'd really like sat nav.. hahaha and the wife would also though i suppose if i found a GXL with it already installed that'd be really nice!!!

thanks again. i'm not sure i have many more questions at this stand point i'ev learnt heaps it's now just down to what i want to buy i guess...

someone else feel free to drop some knowledge on me... ooo what type of suspension is under these actually? are they spring and shocks all 4? or spring / leafe ? what's the story there ?? - where do you buy your modifications that bolt to the rigs from?

Better read more on PradoPoint. There's a whole lot that you can do to all models of the Prado.

[Dune Buggie Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dune Buggie]

I'm pretty sure the VX doesn't come standard with Sat Nav, my 08 spec didn't anyway, so if you're thinking of getting one just for the sat nav, you're probably better off saving the money and buying a glx , glx with the option pack also comes with rear aircon.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Yeah your right Dune Buggie the vx doesn't come with satnav and to be honest I wouldn't buy a car based on that anyway. You can buy after market head units now Abraxix for a fairly good price and don't cost the earth to update the mapping. The VX I like due to the side airbags, traction control, stability control and a few other goodies. There was also changes in these not sure what year, one of the differences was electric seats where the earlier VX's only had electric lumbar and height adjustment plus there was a couple of other changes. I wouldn't buy the 4 speed auto, Id definitely go the 5 speed auto which come out in 04. Nothing wrong with the 4 speed just the 5 speed bit better on fuel (both good boxes). I love my petrol. Don't forget as mentioned above you can get a optioned up GXL with traction control duel climate air etc cheaper then a VX. If you have children I would certainly be searching for the duel aircon option. Either way there all a good vehicle I have found and the only vehicle I can drive straight for 10 hours or more and get out with out a sore back...Cheers Steve

[prado2004 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close prado2004]

I agree with Steve M, I have a GX and it is so comfy to drive, I actually like the seats more than a mates Grande (go figure). The only bad thing about the GX is no cruise control, it has power windows, power mirrors and everything else I could want.

[wholesalesuspension Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close wholesalesuspension]

I think if i end up with a D4D, i will shell out good coin for a decent pre filter system for the Diesel fuel.
There are a couple of really good ones out there & it's a cheap investment.

Regards, Jason.