Why did you buy your 4wd?

[crackacoldie]

Bought the cruiser to tow the 24ft caravan I have now sold to buy a camper.  Fell in love with the off road touring, all the places the cruiser opened up that I just couldn't take a caravan to.

[Joff]

coz it was cheap and it constituted the basis of a build that couldn't be matched by any manufacturer

[Prado BB]

Natural progression really....
Started with an MK Patrol shortie in the early 90's
Then bought this (which I still have)


Sold the wife's Falcon  :'( (I loved it)



and bought this, because we love the freedom and variety of adventures it allows us

[jeeps]

I bought it almost 10 years ago after owning an old diesel ute. I wanted something with power that didn't overheat while towing & on the beach and had more offroad ability that was also affordable. My old man and i went around looking at toyotas as i was looking for a cruiser or hilux and we took a jeep for a test drive as a joke. After driving it, i couldn't think about anything else! Apart from the disadvantages of lack of space and the short wheelbase choppy ride, it's proved to be fairly economy, extremely cheap to service, capable offroad and in true american build quality irony the most reliable vehicle i've ever owned. It's also proved to be a great hit with kids (particularly mine) and a real conversation starter with complete strangers out on the road/bush. After almost 10 years with the jeep it'll never be sold, i'll just have to add another 4wd to shed if i ever need anything bigger.

cheers

[lucky1]

We had to have a dual cab ute for 2 dogs and doing"stuff" around the house. Also having two little ones in car seats it had to be a Triton or Hilux and the Triton was a better deal at the time. Have had 2 Cruiser utes both diesels and a Petrol 80 series and an extra cab hilux before buying an MK Triton to change the Toyota theme  Very happy with it so far

[Hairs]

Hmm, Interesting numbers to come out of the poll in this thread  http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=1237.new;topicseen so far.
27.3% own a Nissan
42.0% own a Toyota
12.2% own a Mitsubishi
4.4% own a Holden
And all other makes are spread out and 15 members don't have a 4WD, which is cool.
Maybe an addition to the poll could be, Purchased New, Secondhand.
I also understand that this isn't an across the board poll. It's a poll taken of those that tow a camper of varied configurations. If it was taken from a group of 4wders that only use their vehicle for recreation or work, Maybe these figure would change, I don't know
Anyway,
What is it that makes Toyota have the most vehicles represented here?
Is it Brand marketing, Reliability, serviceability or have people bought their vehicle because they have always had that brand name or their father has or their mates.
I realize price plays a part in this decision also, but so does many other factors.
I guess I'm just curious as to why Toyota is so well represented here.
I purchased my 80 for a few reasons, I couldn't afford new, so second hand was the option, Reliability fore most with Reputation and I was prepared to pay for the right vehicle after a long search. Availability of parts played a part as well.
As I said, Just curious, By the way, I don't want to start a brand war.

[bommy]

Just curious, what made you buy your particular 4wd? 

Hmm good question... I went from a Pathfinder to a Hilux dual cab SR5 & that was simply because Jase had the Hilux when we started "dating" & in all honesty it out performed the Pathfinder so it was natural attrition,now buying the '76 series wAS a work of art. we both wanted a 4wd we could takeout & play with & that would also perform on the highway, it took us over 6 months of trialling

We drove mates vehicles covering all the majors & some not so major & the '76 series gave us what we wanted at a price where I wouldnt cry if we hit a roo or got it scratched & that would perform whilst towing or climbing..

I love the '76 he isnt overtly stupidly luxurious BUT he gives us luxury whilst doing what its built to do.

[bert56]

Hi,
I bought my BT50 in 2007 after it won ute of the year. If I had my time again I would buy just a ute and not a dual cab. The kids won't come 4wding or camping unless their made, and that takes the fun away.
BERT

[cruisindub]

Dont yet have the 4wd !  
Still on the look out for our next travel car.
Really want a troopy, but prob cant afford it.
Our next best choice is a 'extracab/space cab' ute with a ali canopy to store all our crap we take but dont need.

Never had a new car, and not sure if we would be happy with one.
In Australia have had a 78 XC Falcon panel van, 79 XD Falson Sedan,  then in Europe I had a Citroen BX, (dont remember the year) now have a 85 Ford Sierra 1.8 sedan hatch with 60k genuine km's and a 1983 VW T3 van with home made camping interior genuine 160k km's.
Was my mother in laws car and been in family for over 18 yrs.

Gotta love the Dub !!!!  

[mystq]

88 GQ with all the mods done just needed a paint job, but as it turns out every week its up on jack stands and I’m replacing something with the in laws, but it's good fun get to learn how to do everything and in the end it will be a good bus.

[Malcur]

I don't believe I have any car bias. I have owned 4 fords, 6 holdens and 2 toyotas in my time. About 7 years ago I owned a falcon which was turning 7 and in need of a rest. I was looking for something to get me offroad and decided on a Subaru Forester. It was a realy nice car, and got us started in off-roading. However, it is made a bit light (I tripped and fell against it one day and dented the rear panel  :'(), and it struggled to tow our CT which we had purchased. We started looking for a "real" 4wd. Had a brief flirtation with a 3ltr patrol, but eventually decided on a Prado. Decision was based on the number of Toyotas out in the scrub, and went for the smaller Prado rather than the 'cruiser as I could not see the need for such a large vehicle - kids had left home and didn't see holidaying with mum & dad as high on their list of priorities. Test drove a 2005 GXL V6 and fell in love. It already had bullbar, cargo barrier, towbar & AT tyres so didn't need to add anything immediately. Since then have added snorkel, coil rites, roof bars & rear drawers. I love the Prado. It is my daily driver as well as weekend warrier, plus does the job towing the camper on longer trips. I have also used it to teach 2 sons to drive (2 x 120 hours  ).

Mal

[cancan]

We don't have a 4wd as such but I wanted a cheap hatchback as a daily runner to go work in but couldn't get a park at the dealer so parked next to Audi (same dealership). When I got back from test driving mine I found that my wife walked into Audi to get out of the rain, saw the Q5, decided she liked it and bought it. So much for my cunning plan to buy a cheap hatch.

[speewa158]

cancan  Self Exclusion from the planning deptment please . Do they let you out alone ?

[AKB]

We don't have a 4wd as such but I wanted a cheap hatchback as a daily runner to go work in but couldn't get a park at the dealer so parked next to Audi (same dealership). When I got back from test driving mine I found that my wife walked into Audi to get out of the rain, saw the Q5, decided she liked it and bought it. So much for my cunning plan to buy a cheap hatch.

I like your wife's style Cancan

[Astro]

I needed a 4wd for my business. Didn't have to be anything fancy, just a cheapie.

1st = Suzuki Sierra soft-top.
Kept it a few years, but as a family of 5 and the Zuk only having 4 seatbelts, it eventually had to go.

2nd = Holden Rodeo dual cab diesel.
Love the diesel. It serves the family better, takes the dog in the back for quick trips to the beach.
It rides a bit rough, and as the 4wd-bug has definitely bitten, we're now looking for a comfortable tourer.




3rd = either
Disco 3,
Landcruiser HDJ100
Patrol
Landcruiser 76 series

[schmik]

We've owned a few in our time:

First one ever was a shorty patrol. It was an impulse buy. $4000 i think. It was on 33's and the ride was so rough that it almost shook your teeth out out.

Then came hilux surf. It was actually a pretty good 4wd. It had a 2.5L turbo diesel and was cheap to run. Insurance was a problem though. Insurance company doesn't like the 'word turbo and import'.

The Mrs then got a 2008 grand vitarra. Sure it's a soft roader but it has low range and will get to places it probably shouldn't have. Great fun to drive too. Handles great and due to the 2.7L v6 it goes hard.

As I kept taking her car on harder tracks she told me to get my own. I got a 2006 model. This was part time 4wd and didn't handle any where near as well but was an awsome beach car. Great fun to drive. 6months into owning that one we found out child number 3 was coming.  The little 2006 GV had to go.

But what to replace it with? It's got to be bigger. And wide (forget the utes then). So i went from one extreme to the other. From a tiny little GV to a 100 series (with rigid front axle and 4.5L petrol).  Geez! What shock it was driving it at first. It is HUGE!

I got the petrol 105 for a few reasons. I could not afford the 100 (v8 or turbo deisel). The diesel 105 was also expensive and the 1HZ motor is quite slow.  A petrol 105 is approx $10k cheaper than a diesel. The economy gains of a diesel just don't add up and the petrol has more go anyway. Having only a 10km drive to work each day the fuel cost didn't matter too much.

It's got the usual mods, cargo barrier, 2" lift, cooper rubber, bar, lights. I am happy as Larry driving it around!  It tows the CT easily and fits the 3 kids easily (and their stuff). It is really is KING OF THE ROAD!

mike

[Yoda42]

Yoda has had a couple of Hiluxes, Mrs Yoda had a  1993 4Runner (that she foolishly rolled about 70km out from Nhulunbuy ) and replaced with a 1997 Pajero GLX.

We currently have a 2005 Navara D22 dual cab and have been stoked with it. It was the last model built in Japan before they went to Thailand, and what we saved instead of buying a new stock Hilux we could spend on accessories. It's only recently hit 100,000km, and we were seriously considering offloading it to upgrade. At 5 years old, average mileage and meticulously serviced, we were at the crossroads of - sell it to upgrade, or hang on to it until it dies.

If we were going to upgrade it was to be a novated lease on a Disco 4. The reason being - we do an awful lot of driving to get anywhere, and comfort is up there. Bang for buck, yes, it's xy, but the build quality and features for about $10k more than the best model Prado is WAY more than $10k.

We didn't consider Land Cruiser as they are over priced for what you get (in our opinion), the Patrol engine is outdated (not counting the newie that has yet to arrive in Aust). Jeep Grand Cherokee could have been a goer if the local dealer bothered to have one in stock to test drive. The sales eejit tried to tell us that it is more common for people to buy without test driving, so it didn't matter that they didn't have one available! Well, fella, no sale!

On balance, we decided that we're better off keeping the Nav with all its mods, as even with a private sale we wouldn't come close to recouping what we've spent on it. Mr Yoda has TBWITW (The Best Wife In The World) as he doesn't have to ask Mrs Yoda permission to add stuff

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