Sold the prado: jeep?

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

There's three sides to every argument. There's, yours, and the truth. As stated I the article there were complaints that the initial testers overloaded the car:

"Jeep’s parent company Chrysler Group responded to the criticism, claiming that the Grand Cherokee in question was tested in an “overloaded condition”. A subsequent evaluation was conducted by the magazine in the presence of Chrysler Group engineers, and despite testing three vehicles over 11 runs the original two-wheel-lift-off result could not be reproduced.

German publication Auto Motor und Sport has now conducted its own independent moose test, which was performed at a
test site sanctioned by the Europe’s largest automobile club, ADAC, with the course dimensions and layout in accordance with those set by the International Standards Organisation.

At the completion of the test, Auto Motor und Sport concluded the Jeep Grand Cherokee remained safely on the road at all times.

I read all that. If you watch the vid, they state that the car is loaded according to the appropriate specs. Then after the company techs make some changes and supervise the tests, the heap of shit blows seven tyres on the loaded wheel. Additionally, the video is edited, but you can check all of their data if you want.

I agree with their concluding assessment.

[rhs58 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rhs58]

I have 2 mates with 200 series . The only diesel car that has impressed me . If I wanted to tow something regularly , the 200 would be it ,other than a 4.2 turbo 100 series , or the 4.2 patrol . Yeah sorry , I mentioned a Nissan

I drove a 200 Sahara V8 diesel - very nice.
I drove a Land Rover Discovery 4 SDV6 diesel - very nicer. Have bought one. Wouldnt have 5 - 10 years ago. Tows mighty fine. Very happy. So far.

[scoopix Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close scoopix]

Well I am now a Toyota owner, 2014 gxl diesel in white, so I might be around for a while. also the service costs up to 60000 ks, the breakdown blow shows how exy the jeep is to maintain
Jeep $4390
Prado $1260
cheers and thanks Craig

[pete8205 Member Find all posts View Profile Close pete8205]

hey Griag

that's a massive difference in service cost.
I went through the same before buying our prado for us we were leaning towards the prado for the larger luggage space, what made us buy the prado in the end was we ran into a jeep club while 4wding and they told us the hardest thing was getting parts, they found it was quicker and cheaper to buy from a dealer in England and have the parts shipped here instead of going to the jeep dealer. With plans to travel, having access to parts we thought was important.

enjoy the new ride. pete

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

I briefly considered the Jeep before promptly giving myself an upper cut. I've been in the market for a new 4B for a while now and, after previously owning two TD 100 series, I was starting to lean towards the 200 series. Mainly due to the interior space to fit the boss and I plus three young kids and gear when touring. However, my bias toward the 200 series has been marred slightly and I've gained a new respect for Landrover Discoveries. At work in the Northern Territory we traverse a lot of roads washed out by deep water, mud and often are deeply rutted - particularly during the wet season. A few of us are mad keen into four wheel drives and have had a fair bit of experience - getting ourselves bogged at least!

This is what I have noticed. The Hilux's are rubbish (in standard form with only all-terrain tyres) and regularly have to winch themselves out. Personally, I like the Prado's as they're light and I think quite capable - though the winches still get used from time to time. However I'm in the minority, most people at my work think the Prado's are rubbish and don't like driving them.

Then there's the 200 series. We have three, two are used for mostly dirt roads over long distances. The third is used more regularly on a daily basis and in more challenging conditions, again, generally deep water, mud and deeply rutted washed out roads. The same conditions the Hilux's and one of the Prado's are used in. I and one of my mates (who is a work colleague) generally use the 200 series most often and my mate also owns a Landrover Discover 2 (2005 TD5) with more than 200,000kms on the clock. During the wet season, we manage to get the 200 series bogged at least twice a week or more (usually more). Sometimes we're trying to (gotta enjoy your work) and sometimes we're not. Now while I admit that some of the conditions are challenging, I find the 200 series to be too heavy and rely on brute force to make its way through washed out roads etc. In fact, there have been a few instances that we couldn't winch ourselves out and had to call in the cavalry to give us a hand - the cavalry being a 2005 Landrover Discovery 2 TD5! The only mods the Landrover has are all terrain tyres and honestly it just glides through the same conditions the 200 series begins to struggle. As much as I hate to say it, as far as more serious four wheel driving goes, the Landrover seems highly capable and in every situation we have experienced, it just keeps going where the 200 series stops.

Don't get me wrong, I still think the 200 series is a great truck and as a general touring vehicle - in reasonably stock form - they are sensational. But, for the more serious stuff the Landrover, in my view, is outstanding. On the issue of reliability, my mate's Landrover has had very few issues over the years he has owned it for. The Hilux's and 200 series however, are regularly in for warranty work. Our newest 200 series (10,000kms), just over 2 months old, has already had multiple warranty jobs performed on it. Though I accept this is partly due to the way we use them.

Back on the topic of my mate's Landrover, we often head out on days off for a bit of fun into some pretty serious mud territory. Recently, over the course of a day, he assisted in 10, yes 10, recoveries on mostly Toyotas and the odd Nissans. Most of the Toyotas were 70 series Troopy's or utes getting themselves stranded in deep mud and water (with hopefully no crocs around!) - three of the recoveries was on the same Troopy. By the time we got to the tenth recovery his winch was starting to struggle due to the constant draw on the battery. I wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't there.

The shortened version of the story? I think Jeeps are rubbish. 200 series are rugged and capable, BUT, at least in reasonably stock form, not as capable as they should be. Prado's are a great all-round package and Landrovers are simply outstanding...though I wouldn't buy one, I'd still rather buy a Toyota.

My 2 cents worth.

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

[QUOTE=Croozer;460469]I briefly considered the Jeep before promptly giving myself an upper cut.


So glad you gave yourself that uppercut.
I worked at a dealership that had jeep a bit over 3 years ago.
It would be nothing to see 4 to 6 arrive weekly on tow trucks.
The various electrical systems modules would have a conniption whilst trying to communicate with each other on a regular basis and the car would go to sleep until a tow truck arrived to gracefully whisk it back to its maker for another repair.

That was when they were not filling up with water every time it rained or you hosed it the wrong way whilst washing it.
When i left, the JK's were up to their 7th (yes 7th) revision of windscreen, door & window seals to try to stop them leaking.

In this modern age? Really?

Oh i don't miss them.

Regards, Jason.