Looking to buy a 120 series not sure whether to buy a petrol or diesel? advise required

[dazzman]

A mate of mine recently joined us in our 120 Prado petrol and was amazed a how smooth and quiet it was compared to his NS Pajero. He said it was more comfortable to drive and quiet inside. Also said the ride was smoother in general. I prefer petrol as i usually only do a couple of BIG trips a year and you can get petrol anywhere now.

[ziggle]

a mate suggested i look at the Pajero in the diesel! Im not so sure!

My cousin (main 4wd buddy) has driven a lot of Pajeros in his work as a cop, as well as owning one himself for a while. His take? Loved the diesel engine, loved the economy, loved the way it drove, hated its utter vulnerability underneath because it has no chassis. One of the cop cars hit something underneath in the bush that he reckoned your typical chassis-style 4wd would have barely noticed, and it ripped the gearbox crossmember out of the body. He has a 200 series now :-)

[stevenK]

Thats exactly what I did. I have a 90 Series petrol on lpg , we've had it since 2008 with 211k on the clock , now she has 390k .

Probably 70% of my driving is in town, with 1 long trip to tathra ( 1200 return) yes i know dont all laugh at once! I do about 15-20 hunting trips within victoria, mostly on dirt tracks , no reel offroading.

I do the love the 120 series its a great car , Ive been a little spooked off Diesel though because of all the horror stories, I even considered waiting till i can afford a 150 series diesel, that the D4D looks like its got it problems too!

a mate suggested i look at the Pajero in the diesel! Im not so sure!

If i can find an LPG 120 that would be good , otherwise $3k off the bat!

Petrol way better than diesel on power.
Go test drive both. You'll soon see.

[ziggle]

Personally I'd buy the petrol V6 and put it on LPG, if fuel costs become unpalatable. The LPG system will be cheaper than replacing the injectors on the D4D motor, assuming a piston don't get holed due to a rogue injector.

I would also do that if it was to spend most of its life in big metropolitan areas with cheapish lpg, with just the occasional run further afield. That's exactly what I did for many years with two petrol/gas Patrols, when I had five kids to cart around. But the tradeoff was that touring was expensive, because gas prices go through the roof as soon as you get out in the country. Range was also an issue - you had to plan a lot more carefully (eg - filled up with gas in Alice Springs, but used petrol/jerry cans all the way to Mt Dare Hotel so that I could have full tanks of gas and petrol to cross the Simpson with.) I didn't mind, just sucked that up, because it was cheaper running costs the rest of the year, and I paid probably $10K-$12K less to buy the car than an equivalent diesel would have cost.

But now that the kids are gone, and my 4wd is a dedicated tourer rather than doubling as a people mover, I don't need to make that tradeoff any more, so the diesel Prado is now a lot better deal for me. The last couple of big trips I did in the Patrol (Cairns/Cooktown, and Tassie) cost me $30-$35/100km in fuel, towing the camper, because lpg was so expensive. (Edit: Thinking about it further, I think it was actually closer to $35-$40/100km!) The Prado is around $20-$25. On my next planned trip (to the Cape) I'm expecting to do around 10000 km. I'll save $1000 just in fuel costs, I'll have the glorious range of those 180 litres of fuel, and I'll be able to get fuel anywhere that sells it rather than constantly having to check ahead. Looking forward to it :-)

[tempestv8]

If you are needing to replace the airbags on the Grande, the adjustable shock absorbers are probably on their last legs anyway. Genuine Toyota replacement shocks for the Grande are pricey, so factor that in, when buying a high mileage 120 Series.

Personally I'd buy the petrol V6 and put it on LPG, if fuel costs become unpalatable. The LPG system will be cheaper than replacing the injectors on the D4D motor, assuming a piston don't get holed due to a rogue injector.

Don't buy the cheap knock offs on eBay. Only genuine from Amayama.

[stevenK]

amts, just looked into air bag cost, pretty cheep!

404pug , I'm starting to think the Vx is a better option for me , air bags sound expensive to replace

On the contrary, not very expensive at all.

[ziggle]

Is it an advangate to have climate control with the 120's or is it another thing that can fail?

I really like it. Dual zone, so my wife can freeze in the passenger seat as she prefers while I set my side to a more normal temperature. Separate fan control in the middle row so rear seat passengers can adjust a bit there as well. I've not heard of anyone having any issues with it?

In any case, I'm pretty sure you'll end up with it anyway if you hold out for traction control. I'm open to correction on this, but AFAIK there are no models or options that came out with basic aircon and traction control.

[stevenK]

404pug , I'm starting to think the Vx is a better option for me , air bags sound expensive to replace

[stevenK]

Is it an advangate to have climate control with the 120's or is it another thing that can fail?

[404pug]

VX has coils in rear not the air bags. It doesn't have a sunroof.I had a VX petrol 2005. Great car. Grande has more bells and whistles but I believe that those rear airbags are only good for about 8 years - lots of info on here. VX and grande more likely to have been suburban kid carriers rather than outback warriors [as mine was].

[ziggle]

One other thing to be aware of when hunting for 120's is that some have climate control, with ceiling aircon vents in the middle row and in the back, and some don't. The easy way to spot the difference is that the ones without climate control have three large circular dials below the stereo for controls, whereas those with climate have an electronic panel and pushbuttons. Most (maybe all? not sure?) 120's with traction control will also have the climate control.

Most that have TC (again, maybe all? not sure?) will also have side seat and curtain airbags. This is cool for safety but limits your options for fitting seat covers, and also for fitting rock sliders, depending how fussy you are about the legalities - seems to be a bit of a grey area.

[ziggle]

Good advise! What the difference between the Vx and the grande? Do they both have traction control?

I believe so, but can't speak from personal experience on that one. The Grande certainly does, not 100% sure about the VX.

I understand that the biggest difference between the Grande and all others is that it has height-adjustable rear airbag suspension rather than coils. If you're looking at a Grande you should probably research that further on this forum. I gather there are pluses and minuses to it.