second hand 150

[kevb1 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close kevb1]

G'day guys,
I am thinking about buying a second hand 150 to replace the 80 series DX and the wife's VW EOS (sell both and get the Prado), the wife has become used to all the gadgets on the EOS and will settle for no less then a GXL diesel, manual (she prefers manuals, as do I, so lucky in that respect). What we will need is something that is reasonably good off road and able to hold its own in that respect and also tow the camper to the out of way places. My questions are,
Will she get the gadgets she wants and will I get the off roadability I want?
Are the 3.0 D4D's reliable (the 1HZ in the 80 has never given me any trouble, the rear diff is a different story though)?
Are they capable off road (rocky surfaces, slippery mud tracks and the likes)? I don't intend to drive through massive water ways any more but would it do a cape trip?

Ohh and as an introduction, My name is Kev and I live on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and I love camping and wheeling.

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

In response to "Would it do a Cape trip?" 120 series Prados followed by 150 series are the most popular models you see on a Cape trip. They'll do the cape no probs. We kept a tally amongst our 3 cars on our last trip and those 2 Prado models topped out head & shoulders above the rest from Laura to the tip and back (incl Tele Track and other places along the way). 3rd place was taken by the mighty 100 series Cruiser. 4th were Landcruiser Utes grouping them all together. 5th were GU Patrols. To round out the top 7 to give some more cred to Toyotas again was the 200 series Cruiser in 6th place then the 80 series. 8th were GQ Patrols. 9th were Tritons. 10th were Hiluxes.

The 120 series Prado in our group had to tow the P.O.S Jeep that his brother drove all the way up the Tele track from Palm Ck onwards because it broke. The Jeep driver was a cocky so and so leading up to this knocking Toyotas to no end so it was a bit of karma biting him in the *ss. Never seen karma work so swiftly ever... Ever!

[RBJET Member Find all posts View Profile Close RBJET]

I've just had 2 mates in 120 Prado's come back from the Cape in the last week and both were fine.
Do a bit of research for all the little bits and pieces and you'll have a long and happy life with the car.
You'd be surprised at how capable a 150 Prado is compared to an 80 with thing like traction control to help through the rough stuff.

I'm not too sure what gear the VW comes with but a 150 GXL has all the basics like Bluetooth, reverse camera and sensors, plenty of air bags and stability control.