 Poster: A snowHead
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I bought a little 4x4 Diahatsu Sportstrak (£350) for this season and love the little thing. But I need a bigger car to fit in equipment for traveling to Eurotests and training camps. Also the fibre glass roof sucks because theres no way of getting a roof rack on!
I also love beasting around in the mud/snow so something proficient of road is a must. The poor little sportstrak got stuck a few times this season, mainly driver error!
So what i really want to know is the pros and cons between the Hilux surfs and Landcruisers in the late 90's if any of you guys have them. I'm currently swaying towards the hilux surf as i don't need the robustness of the big cruisers. Doubt i'll be doing any massive expeditions!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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i,ve had a 95 m plate jap import pajero for a number of years the big jeeps are great
look around and see whats about there are usually loads of pajero/hilux an landcruisers about
our choice of pajero was the wifes they are all similar but the pajero had 2 fold awy jump seats in the boot making it a 7 seater and it had a ski board carrie on the spare wheel
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Japanese 4x4s are fine until they need service parts or things go wrong and then they get very expensive. How about an old Discovery, 300tdi engine goes for ever and is easily DIY repairable.
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jjc james, I agree with Spyderman, we purchased a landcruiser amazon after we wore out a range rover classic.
Then the expensive bills started...and it was very uncomfortable on long journeys after the range rover,as the base of the front seats are very small so it can be a seven seater.
for example rear trailing arm bushes: for a range rover they were about £100 for the whole poly bush set for the whole car, not just rear trailing arm only, for the landcruiser you had to buy a whole arm at £125 a go each!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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jjc james, You dont have to buy the big Land Cruiser. Loads of the 3-door model available in France and they are great fun and ( a poll of one owner) totally reliable. Ours as done 110 k since we bought it (2003) and only used for running around the mountains and never had a problem ( yet, touch wood) - but is petrol. Only down sides is access is via pax door only for rear seats -- and they do 'roll' under cornering (like all real 4x4s).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Had a Hilux Surf while living in Wanaka, absolutely awesome. Drove up Treble Cone almost daily, often with 60+ pairs of skis in the back. It was old but never packed up, those things are monsters.
Roll on July, turning 25, my insurance premiums dropping and buying a Hilux again.
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jjc james, We've got a Landcruiser Colorado, great in the mountains, very reliable, great workhorse. Only major drawback, drinks petrol. we bought in the UK and imported into France, 'cos prices MUCH cheaper in UK
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What ever you do DON'T get a 2.4L TD Surf, the head is made of aluminium and will crack. I had one, loved the car, it was so capable but on the 2nd gen imports from 90ish onwards the heads suck. Google it, it's not if it's when. That's why they are so cheap.
If you're heart is set on a surf get a 2nd gen with the 3.0L engine or a 3rd gen.
I love them, still thinking of a 4 Runner (the non import version of the Surf).
In one chalet I used to run guests always got stuck on the steep drive way. Somedays I would tow their silly 4x4s out in 2wd just to show off. I rescued a Porche Cayenne which was fun and an upset Pajero driver who to be fair had dodgy tires.
I replaced the head but after it never ran the same so I was too scared to drive from Switzerland to the UK so I sold it to some Africans, it probably has a gun turret now.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Yeah have been looking mostly at Hilux surf's and shorter wheel base (3-door) Cruisers. Will check out those disco's Spyderman, are they as easy to get fixed etc in France as that will be where it does most if its work?
Ahhh i'm torn, will go check a few out when i'm back home as i want to see how they differ inside. I'd like to get a rack up top to put gates and skis in so they don't ruin the inside. Had a small issue on the way to morzine as i had a mate with me! this resulted in every right turn i cut/grazed my hand on my edges as skis had to go length ways up the side to fit in. I have seen these on the all of the models mentioned here. But hell are they pricey, think the best bet is to make one i suppose or rock a massive roof box.
Agenterre, how is the petrol for mpg?
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jjc james, I get gates and plenty of pairs of skis in the back of my Mondeo hatchback.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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jjc james, 18-20 mpg I guess ( 11.5 l / 100km) . Mine is Auto & Petrol though --- havent seen another one. Diesel isnt bad on gas (allegedly).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| jjc james wrote: |
Yeah have been looking mostly at Hilux surf's and shorter wheel base (3-door) Cruisers. Will check out those disco's Spyderman, are they as easy to get fixed etc in France as that will be where it does most if its work?
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The French and the Italian for that matter are very Land Rover friendly. No problem getting bits or getting them fixed there. MPG for a 300tdi should be about 28 mpg.
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Hey guys not a fan of the landrover or estates, doubt you'll think my reasons are any good.
Not a fan of the look of the landy and my mate craig has an estate and i think its more of a dads car! also want a 4x4 because i do love an off road session!
Does anyone know if the 3 door cruiser or hilux's have diff locks? Been looking at autotrader and now seem to mention diff locks. will be looking at other 4x4's over the next few days.
Cheers for the input is very useful!
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You know it makes sense.
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Subaru would be my first choice,Legacy Outback or Forester.
You may think they are soft roaders but they are definateley hardcore,just look at youtube and see what the Poles and Ukrainians get up too in them
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I bought a 3 door diesel Landcruiser Colorado in late 96 and ran it for 13 years a total of 260k km only really needed to change shocks and new contacts in the starter, parts bill €7 (pig of a job to get it off though) .
Fuel consumption for general running about averaged 28mpg but on the motorways cruising over 3,000 rpm it would drop to 23mpg! I did at least 2 trips a year to the Alps at about 4,000 km each time from here in Spain, plus many trips to Andorra.
I always had a full set of winter tyres and never had to put the chains on. However you need to remember that 2 tons of landcruiser on snow takes time to stop! the GX version I had came with central diff lock and a LSD on the rear axle. Only use the diff lock to get out of trouble in a straight line, the permanent 4 wheel drive copes well with most situations.
I have a year ago replaced it with the latest version, which has much the same engine but now much more sophisticated with 50bhp more and I now get 33mpg generally and at similar motorway speeds a much improved 30mpg.
Skis go inside diagonally, tails in the rear passenger footwell. My garage has a low beam which doesn't allow a roof mounted carrier (I'm sure I'd forget it if I did  )
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Poster: A snowHead
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A topic close to my heart
We've had 3 hilux surfs and loved them all. I used to be a keen off road enthusiast and wanted something that could take loads of kit be comfortable and reliable. I would strongly recommend a 3.0L Surf 96 SSRG. Its the newer shape and comes with all the mods of the era.
Forget what people say about spares and repairs too. Toyota is one of the largest vehicle brands in the world. There are hundreds of Toyota service centres across Europe and if planned well you can make sure you download them to your iphone for later use if needed.
We drove 8000 miles across europe in our Surf. It was a kitesurfing/snowboarding trip with full camping gear and 3 people over a month. The cylinder head cracked (as it was a 2.4) 2000 miles into the journey but the truck kept going after a few minor alterations to the bonnet to aid cooling.
Surf is the only way to go for your needs. Last year we took our surf to the Alps and it dumped for 3 days. I had no chains but a set of BFG All terrains and I spent most of the day towing people out of trouble. Also im 6ft 3ins and there is enought room to sleep in the back with the seats down.
And dont worry about it being long wheel base either. The chances of you ever doing the kind of incline were this would be a problem is minimal.
MPG was a concern for us however you need to expect for a large 4x4 of that era to be thirsty. Afterall you are getting alot of truck for your money. We used to run our Surf on 70% vegetable Oil (41p a litre at the time) and 30% diesel! Now thats better than any modern 4x4!
I spent a few weeks on the following forum. Turned out to be the best forum in the world for everything Surf related. I even had a thread follwoing my expeditions through Europe with Advice tips from members for the cracked head
http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/index.php
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A Discovery is reliable compared to an unreliable Japanese? Spyderman, I think your statement is the wrong way round...
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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it all depends on how handy you are with the spanners i have a 98 disco es model never let me down in 6 years use it every day for work as self employed spark.if you look after a landrover as in servicing the engines run forever and as for wear and tear parts are cheap and suppliers are everywhere you only need a set of spanners and a good socket set and a haynes manual and you can do everything yourself.I have had three discos and they have all been reliable and they really do go anywhere with 50/50 tyres on 7 seats big load area with the seats down.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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James the Last, Our range rover classic was more reliable than the land cruiser, you just had to service it properly and look after it. Yes putting up with trim falling off from time to time, which the toyota didn't do, and the rear tailgate rusting away was a factor. It was quite easy to fix DIY, and make better easily with things you can buy from the various specialists for them. The toyota was not easy to fix at all.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Cruiser FTW With any ricer diesel you just need to make sure that its been looked after.
Anything other than a late model disco is a spendy experience IMO. And again IMO without a proper locking centre diff why bother??
Surfs aren't great either, especially the 2.5td ones, they do more head than my best mates mum
Anything mitsi other than the latest models if its diesel are a nightmare with a bit of distance on them.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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There's a reason why Land-Rover parts are cheap - they make plenty of them 'cause they always need fixing 
After doing the LR thing I've now seen the light and have a double cab Hilux. Superb bit of kit.
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ive got a subaru wrx pro drive estate and its gooooooood but not big but i forgive it cos its oooooooooooh
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