What to replace the Prado with?

[A10 Member Find all posts View Profile Close A10]

I am retired from work but not from Pradopoint - yet.

Unfortunately, we have to move on from the Prado due to its towing capability being a bit less than what is necessary to legally tow our new van. We love our Prado and will be sad to get rid of it.

I think allowing members to continue on PP with other vehicles is a good idea. I would be keen to see what vehicles members have moved on to and how they find them compared to the Prado. It is all very well looking at other forums but they are all biased so comments from actual Prado owners (or former owners) would be welcome.

[A10 Member Find all posts View Profile Close A10]

Graham,
A fine 150 you have. What will you be getting instead?
Cheers
Robert

Robert,

Not sure I want to say on here what we are looking at yet!

There are not too many suitable vehicles that can tow 3000+kg and have a good payload. One of the problems with the Prado, apart from the 2500kg tow limit is the payload. When you add the weight of the various accessories like bull bar, tow bar, drawers, fridge, full fuel tank and the towball force from a van, there is barely enough capacity in the car to legally carry the driver and passenger.

The various brands of ute have the best payload and most can haul over 2500 kg but they are too long to fit in our garage.

That doesn't leave too many vehicles in the Prado size.

All suggestions and comments welcome!

Graham

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

Graham,
Y61 Nissan Patrols are going cheap now with the Y62 here. (3200 KG towing)
200 Series TD Landcruiser. (3500kg towing)
Pathfinder (3000KG towing)
Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 V6 diesel (3500KG towing)
I presume a new dual cab 70 series Landcruiser is too long for the garage?

Cheers
Robert

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

SWB prado 3000kg limit..

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

bt 50 is a good choice, in auto, 3.5t limit but im a bit bias. cheers samo

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

Had a good read up on the 70series GXL wagon last night.
If i didn't have a prado that would be sitting in the driveway. ( V8 TDiesel, Live axles, bigger tyres, diff locks each end).

[A10 Member Find all posts View Profile Close A10]

Graham,
Y61 Nissan Patrols are going cheap now with the Y62 here. (3200 KG towing)
200 Series TD Landcruiser. (3500kg towing)
Pathfinder (3000KG towing)
Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 V6 diesel (3500KG towing)
I presume a new dual cab 70 series Landcruiser is too long for the garage?
Cheers
Robert

Thanks Robert.
No real surprises there although I hadn't looked at the 70 series. While it will fit OK, it seems to only be available in a manual transmission. As it will be our only vehicle, we are not keen on a manual - we're getting too soft as we get older!
The Y61 Nissan Patrol only has 3200kg towing in the manual. The auto is 2500kg - no better than the Prado.
The new Patrols and the Landcruisers are just too big and expensive for us. Would you believe the Landcruiser actually has a lower payload than the Prado.
The Pathfinder is a possibility but I have seen poor reviews particularly of its suspension. I know someone who has one and he had to upgrade the rear suspension for towing.
That leaves the Jeep. It seems to tick all the boxes and is probably the front runner at the moment. The new model Grand Cherokee was launched last night in Brisbane and, at face value, seems to be more capable than the Prado and better value (that statement should get some reaction!).
The last 5 cars in my family have all been Toyotas and I just need to get over my issues of reliability, servicing and parts supply for other brands.

Hutch,

We are not keen on the limitations of 3 doors for our only vehicle and the 3 door Prado still has the payload issues.

This discussion is getting a bit off the original topic of this thread so if one of the mods wants to shift these messages to a new thread on Prado Replacement Vehicles, it might be a good idea.

Graham

[cbm8880 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cbm8880]

Hi Graham,

As a former Jeep owner myself i feel I am qualified to say the following :

It was the most capable 4x4 I've ever owned and a lot of fun to drive in a range of conditions. That includes 40, 60, 79, 80, 120 and 150 series Toyotas.

I sold it just after 3 years and would never own a Jeep beyond the warranty period. The build quality was pretty poor! (07 model, so I'm pretty sure that nothing would have really changed since then). I personally probably wouldn't buy one again, as I'm planning on keeping my Prado, but they do represent good value for money in terms of inclusions (when they are working).

Whatever you go for, good luck, and enjoy it! :-)

[RussKie Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close RussKie]

Thanks Robert.
No real surprises there although I hadn't looked at the 70 series. While it will fit OK, it seems to only be available in a manual transmission. As it will be our only vehicle, we are not keen on a manual - we're getting too soft as we get older!

you can always convert it to automatic. Wholesaleautomatics chaps are doing that I heard

[Guest Close Guest]

Whichever car you get, you'll need to look carefully at the aftermarket offerings. If you're happy with a standard car, then it's not an issue as long as it meets your payload requirements. But if you want better tyres, bullbar, upgraded suspension, snorkel, etc, then you'll have more aftermarket support if you stuck with Toyota and N.. N.. N.. Nissan

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

you can always convert it to automatic. Wholesaleautomatics chaps are doing that I heard

I hear they charge $18K for the conversion through!

Not sure if you'd consider buying second hand, but I think the LC 100 series Turbo Diesel would be pretty hard to go past as a towing rig. The 100 series can't be that much bigger than your 150.

[chester ver 2.0 Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester ver 2.0]

X 2.
The BT50s are a good ute.
The Roo.

Sorry boys i have to completly disagree i thought the bt50 auto gearbox was absolute rubbish they seem to have stuck in to many cogs and left the software programming to a monkey my experience was as follows

First is to low and it only stays in there for a car length
The silly thing then gets into second for a millisecond then realises it is going to fast and clunks into third
6th seems to be a waste of time
When you overtook the thing dropped 2 cogs every time and then revs its head off
When you rolled around a left hand turn at say 30kph the thing once again could not decide on second or third.

I dont know if it was cause it was new or a dud but this thing was the biggest POS i have ever driven and my 120 diesel with an old 4 speed auto gave me a better ride.

Out of the utes the nicest combo i have drive so far is the ISUZU Dmax dont ask me how it comes out on paper with less power but must put it to the ground better some how cause it just always seems to be in the sweet spot

I am personally waiting to see if the new Hilux is released at the end of this year then i will make a move probably to a duel cab ute as we are now taking to many toys away (kayaks and bikes) to fit in the prado and i am absolutly trashing the roof getting stuff on and off

[Sako85 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sako85]

I picked up a new 76 series last week, love it. Towing capacity is 3500kg braked, and there and a lot of guys are doing a relatively simple GVM upgrade.



I'm coming out of three Patrols previous to this and there are pros and cons with it. Definately a basic vehicle but that is exactly what I like, less things to go wrong IMO. Live axles, F & R lockers standard, turbo V8 Diesel... yes thakyou very much. You are right though, no auto option.

[jss Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close jss]

I test drove a Range Rover sport last week and I have to say for the money they are just not up to scratch, to be honest my Altitude felt like a better vehicle when I jumped back in it. I actually went in to test one of their Vogue Autobiographys but their are none in the country to buy or test drive so they are going to call me when a customers order comes in a couple of months time so i'll see how that goes then, plus they are 230k+ so are not for everyone.
I know they're not perfect but bang for your buck and towing capacity I think the 200 series is the way to go, and resale is much better than anything Euro too.
Just my opinion

Cheers
James

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

Maybe if u put a bullbar on to hide the front, Colorado 7 has a 3 tonne towing capacity.