150 Petrol or Diesel?

[GLXMAN Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close GLXMAN]

Hi all!

This is my first post on here but have been looking at everyday for about the last 6 months. I am currently in the market to buy a new 150. I was leaning towards the Diesel as it will be mostly used for touring. I know that the diesel is better for this situation for fuel economy and engine braking etc but there seems to be a lot more problems with the diesel motor compared to the petrol! I cant seem to find any problems with the petrol other than the fuel economy.

I did some quick calculations and lets say that the diesel is 10lts per 100km and the petrol is 15ltrs per 100km on average, that means with the current approx price of $1.50 for diesel and $1.40 for petrol, (I know its changes but diesel always seems to be 10c more).
That should mean approx $60.00 more in petrol than diesel over a distance of 1000km. And that adds up to $6000 more for 100,000km of driving.
Now what are your guys opinions of these stats? For 100,000km of use (approx 5 years of driving) Would you spend $6000 more on maintanence and repairs for a diesel over a petrol?
It just seems the diesel motor is so fragile compared to the petrol motor.

Please share your opinion as I havent made up my mind yet!!

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

Can't be specific regarding the 150 but with my 120 petrol i have no complaints. Plenty of power for towing my pop top van , off roading etc. The fuel economy really depends on how heavy your right foot is. I used to give mine heaps and wasn't overly concerned about fuel usage otherwise i would have bought something completely different but one change i have made with my driving is to "baby" it until the temp gauge gets to normal before planting the foot etc

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

I'd never drive anything other than a diesel. I find they're much more enjoyable to drive that a petrol motor.

I don't think there is much difference in the servicing costs between the two. and at that few km that you talk about you'll be on fixed price servicing for the first 3 years anyway.

I suppose the savings for me are much greater though, doing ~100,000km a year. But either way: there's just something about driving a diesel.

[maxjj Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close maxjj]

I wouldn`t be to worried about the problems, I have got a two year old GXL 150 diesel and have had no issue whatsoever. There is plenty out there with no problems. You have got to put it into perspective.

On the diesel vs petrol issue, its not as simple as looking at fuel economy or outback touring range or maintenance costs.

You need to drive either and then make a decisions based on that. On a purchase cost of a Prado and the running cost a few dollars either way become less relevant if you are not happy. I don`t see a 4wd as a performance car so for me its diesel all the way.
I much prefer passenger cars in petrol and 4wd drives in diesel.

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

If I had the $$ at the time I would have bought the D4D but as I didnt (without borrowing money) we settled for the 120 V6 GXL auto.

Yes it uses more fuel then the D4D no doubt about that BUT Ive also continously been reading the issues with the D4D in the 150's and the later 120's with the D4D's and to be honest Im so glad I got the petrol.

Shit load of get up and go, plenty of grunt for towing although this is where you will save $$ if towing in a diesel. This issue with injectors, engine mounts, oil pick up sludge (how many dont know about it ??) and probably never will unless they get on here at PP they wont know till they have issues which for sure as shit will raise its head when out of warranty then cost mega $$ to fix.

You wont get the economy out the V6 the stickers says (never do) but not that bad either. I can get 11.6L per 100 out of my 120 loaded sitting on speed limits with 3 on board running aircon not towing.
Now none of this is off road and running standard tyres (grandtrecks) I'm really happy with that and that is better then I ever got out of my V6 90 series and stuff all difference with my 1KZ turbo diesel I had.

The D4D's really excel with there economy especially the 150's but if I was in the position to buy a new 150 or even second hand Id still go the petrol. I think the D4D if getting old now and Toyota need to lift the game in engine design and come up with a more powerful motor.

Resale will always be better in diesel then petrol and you will certianly lose more if buying a petrol new over buying a second hand one. That is some thing else you need to look into as well when determining the $$$ between the two.

You may get fixed price servicing but will still be dearer for the diesel then the petrol. I dont understand why the price difference in filters is so extreme ?? Petrol filters over diesel is a massive difference same as oil filters (and if you really care about your D4D you will be doing that every 5k) compared to petrols 10k.
Then price up new injectors for a diesel (what $800 a pop ??) when they shit them selves and /or out of warranty there $3200 + labour, timing belt when due (not one on the V6 that needs replacing at 150K).

Depends also where you will be going with it and whatyou will be using it for. Some outback areas your not aloud with petrol, diesel only. If towing all the time or a fair bit of it I think diesel would be the way to go due to fuel usage.

For me I tow no more then 4 weeks of the year so isnt an issue. For me at the moment and for what we do the petrol suits me fine. Smooth, quit, and no issues. If I had a 20 foot van then Id probably would I be going diesel but then I would probably jump the fence and go a pajero DID for touring over the prado, love their DID motor...........decisions decisions Cheers Steve

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

Shit Wooley you do some big klms !!! you must update on a regular basis doing them sort of klms...Cheers Steve

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

This should bring out all the petrol fans.

If you tow a lot or plan to do long range touring then diesel. If you tow once or twice a year petrol. I don't think the servicing $$ really comes into it anymore. You pay more for the diesel to buy but you get better resale. They're both as susceptible to water ingress etc. Diesel has better low down torque for 4wding. Drive em both and decide for yourself.

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

Shit Wooley you do some big klms !!! you must update on a regular basis doing them sort of klms...Cheers Steve

Yeahhh that's between a couple of vehicles though. will probably do 75,000 in the prado this year.

I'll probably keep prado for 5 years, and try upgrade ute in about 2 to keep things current. But... we'll see.

also... paragraphs! :P

If I had the $$ at the time I would have bought the D4D but as I didnt (without borrowing money) we settled for the 120 V6 GXL auto.

Yes it uses more fuel then the D4D no doubt about that BUT Ive also continously been reading the issues with the D4D in the 150's and the later 120's with the D4D's and to be honest Im so glad I got the petrol.

Shit load of get up and go, plenty of grunt for towing although this is where you will save $$ if towing in a diesel. This issue with injectors, engine mounts, oil pick up sludge (how many dont know about it ??) and probably never will unless they get on here at PP they wont know till they have issues which for sure as shit will raise its head when out of warranty then cost mega $$ to fix.

You wont get the economy out the V6 the stickers says (never do) but not that bad either. I can get 11.6L per 100 out of my 120 loaded sitting on speed limits with 3 on board running aircon not towing.
Now none of this is off road and running standard tyres (grandtrecks) I'm really happy with that and that is better then I ever got out of my V6 90 series and stuff all difference with my 1KZ turbo diesel I had.

The D4D's really excel with there economy especially the 150's but if I was in the position to buy a new 150 or even second hand Id still go the petrol. I think the D4D if getting old now and Toyota need to lift the game in engine design and come up with a more powerful motor.

Resale will always be better in diesel then petrol and you will certianly lose more if buying a petrol new over buying a second hand one. That is some thing else you need to look into as well when determining the $$$ between the two.

You may get fixed price servicing but will still be dearer for the diesel then the petrol. I dont understand why the price difference in filters is so extreme ?? Petrol filters over diesel is a massive difference same as oil filters (and if you really care about your D4D you will be doing that every 5k) compared to petrols 10k.
Then price up new injectors for a diesel (what $800 a pop ??) when they shit them selves and /or out of warranty there $3200 + labour, timing belt when due (not one on the V6 that needs replacing at 150K).

Depends also where you will be going with it and whatyou will be using it for. Some outback areas your not aloud with petrol, diesel only. If towing all the time or a fair bit of it I think diesel would be the way to go due to fuel usage.

For me I tow no more then 4 weeks of the year so isnt an issue. For me at the moment and for what we do the petrol suits me fine. Smooth, quit, and no issues. If I had a 20 foot van then Id probably would I be going diesel but then I would probably jump the fence and go a pajero DID for touring over the prado, love their DID motor...........decisions decisions lol............Cheers Steve

[matt150 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close matt150]

Now I have owned both petrol 120 and diesel 150, it's diesel all the way for me..

[Richoson Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Richoson]

Aargh Matt another one over to the dirty smelly fuel pumps


Sent from Richos iPhone using Tapatalk

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

Now I have owned both petrol 120 and diesel 150, it's diesel all the way for me..

once you go black you never go back... nothing beats the smell of diesel in the morning.

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

Just sold the 120 petrol and purchased a 150 diesel.

I was very happy with the 120 petrol, despite the ribbing I copped from the PP group here in SA, but decided to go to a diesle for the 150.....
Only had the 150 for 300kms, so can't really comment too much, but it seems to have plenty of pickup for what I need.....

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

I wouldn't get too excited about all the talk of the D4D being a fragile motor. Like pretty much all common rail diesels they have there issues but if you believe some of what you read you might think that every second D4D is on deaths door. I know plenty of people who own D4D's more Hilux than Prado that do stacks of km's, they don't visit forums so don't get scared by the odd issue and just keep on driving them day in day out without an issue. And if this was such a major issue then why do diesels hold their value so well?

Diesel where I live is actually cheaper than Petrol at the moment, but that goes in cycles. The economy of the diesel often means you can drive past the expensive outback fuel stop and onto the next town for cheaper fuel which can be an added saving.

If you get into really remote travel the extra range can be a blessing. On my recent trip across Madigans we had 5 diesels and 1 petrol, the diesel drivers had to carry fuel for the petrol as they physically couldn't carry enough! If we had all petrols we could not have done the trip.

Horses for courses really but diesel everytime for me.

Cheers Andrew

[barajak Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close barajak]

If you can't make up your mind, get the diesel. Before you have done 1500km you will be hooked on diesel as well. My first 4x4 was a 90 series Prado petrol 13 years ago and the 3.4 was a gem of a motor and no doubt with the extra development the current 4.0 will be even better. As AJ120 says there are lots of situations offroad that petrols just can't do it (steep downhill as an example). When you first drive the diesel you will notice it does not leap instantly of the mark as the petrol does. If you need to jump into traffic at a give way intersection, initially plant the right foot and try to hit the rear bumper of the vehicle in front of your space, the slower buildup of power will have you nicely in the slot. Be warned, once you are used to it and anticipate the torque buildup you will need a bullbar to keep your nerve. Seriously once you start driving with torque instead of power, you will love the diesel and never want to go back.

[bdee Member Find all posts View Profile Close bdee]

A tough choice and one I agonised over.

In the end the wife swayed me but it could have gone either way.

Petrol drives much more like a car and is very responsive.

I would like to think resale differential will not be great given that most 150 series are now diesel and perhaps the petrol may be harder to get your hands on?

I think the differential in fuel consumption is about 30% and petrol is about 10 % cheaper.

Interstingly many here seek the extra horsepower on the diesel hence chips exhausts also become additions to people's car. No need to alter the specs on the petrol because it goes just fine.

As for problems I too was a little concerned with some problems expressed on here but given the numbers of diesels sold no real major issues probably just weight of numbers.

Every time I fill up I regret not getting a diesel but everytime I need the extra pickup I love the power of the petrol.

Brett