Taking into consideration.....

4WD abilty / Fuel / Rego / Comfort / modifications / PRICE

 

My short list:

Suzuki - Sierra, Vitara

Toyota 4Runner, Landcruiser 80series / and the boxy one

 

What else is out there ?

Sierra's are meant to be pretty good off road. There's plenty of mods available to help them go further off road, and you've got a few options available as far as performance mods go. Obviously as they're only available as a 1.3/1.6L, rego will be cheaper than the others.

 

I'm not sure of the Vitara's off-road ability, and I don't think there are many performance mods available. Not as expensive to register as the Toyota's you've got listed.

 

4-Runners are obviously just HiLux's with a cabin back. Therefore all the mods available for HiLux's apply to 4-Runners. HiLux's have proven off-road ability, but not as good as the LandCruiser 80 series in this respect (according to the 4WD nuts I used to work with at a Toyota dealership).

 

LandCruiser 80 series are meant to be WAY better than the current model (100 series) off-road. They sell far quicker from used lots than 100 series models do, and maintain their value pretty damn well. There are HEAPS of mods available (HiLux's and 80 series are about equal in number of off-road mods available), but as they're a LandCruiser, while you can get performance bits (eg turbos and superchargers), they're more targetted at improving torque for off-road use and better highway acceleration.

 

As for 'the boxy one', I presume you're referring to the 80 series' predecessor, the 60 series. These are meant to be very good, provided you buy the right one. I can't remember which one this is meant to be though. They can be bought cheaper than an 80 series, but aren't quite as common, and don't seem to have nearly the same number of mods available. You also have the downfalls of it being older than the 80 series, ie it may require some rebuild work and it will be less comfy. Both the 60 series and 80 series will cost about the same to register, and being of such large capacities (4.0 to 4.5L) this will be a fair bit more than the other vehicles you have listed.

 

If it was up to me, I'd go for the 4-Runner. It is not far off the Cruisers for off-road ability (VERY close), there are better performance mods available (for the petrol motors especially), rego will be cheaper than the Cruisers, and comfort should be better than the Cruisers or the Sierra (not sure about Vitara) as you'd get more modern stuff and more space for it.

Oh yeah, and the price of a 4-Runner shouldn't be too bad either. Compare prices with imported Surfs as well, as they're the same vehicle, but the Surf often comes with more gear, and usually a bit cheaper I think.

depends what you want. a cruiser would be better off road, but it's a big heavy thing with a big engine so it would chew heaps of fuel. a sierra would be awesome, but the engines are a bit wussy. dellow make a kit to put a K motor in them, or stick a 4ag or sr in there

 

stay away from pretend fourbies like vitaras, crvs, ravs, etc

ummm.....vitaras arent pretend fourbies.....they actually are built properly....separate body and chassis.....not all in one like the rav4....

 

around the 93 model is a good choice...

Get one of those mini pejeros ! The 2 door ones with the turbos. The older boxy ones look better. Carnt find a good pic

 

2 door

Edited July 10, 200521 yr by Jason

Yeh so far I'm leaning to Vitara .... I would believe it is heavier then the Sierra so might go a little better on the freeway.. (got to drive to 4WD spots :n: haha)

 

The 2 door Pajero! man I feel in love with on ages ago.. they rock! its like a big sierra how its softtop like and all the mods that you can stick on normal pajeros are a straight fit on the 2 door!

 

How cool is that!!!

 

:n:

Thats a beast.... i love it!!! :n:

Get one of those mini pejeros ! The 2 door ones with the turbos. The older boxy ones look better. Carnt find a good pic

i had a pajero mini in gran turismo 2, full worked with a turbo kit it made something totally pus like 131bhp. i messed around with custom suspension for ages and GODDAMN could it drift, you'd chuck it into the first two corners at seattle (the right angles) and it would just hold the whole thing perfectly, smoke pissing from the tyres, looked totally phat :P

 

 

a swb pajero would be a bit of fun. they look pretty light compared to a bigger 4x4 and they have a v6. of course, there would always be the temptation to put 23s on it like jett racing :n:

Edited July 10, 200521 yr by Super Jamie

 

Do you mean one of them :n:

 

I reakon the mini pajero - Pajero IO is a little bit to small and only comes with 4cyl engines.

 

The one above comes with a petrol turbo v6 .....

 

I don't know tho... I really like Vitaras and Sierra's... i wouldn't be scared to scratch one

sr20det into sierra, there's one down here

 

once we were driving up the coast and it drove past us, closely pursued by an s13 180sx. they lined up right in front of us and took off racing. up ahead, the road merged into one so somebody had to win

 

we all pissed ourselves laughing at the nissan drift wannabe as it got absolutely anhililated by a little suzuki 4x4 :n:

The Vitaras is pussy compared to thats pajero. Thats looks so tuff :n:

 

 

sr20det into sierra, there's one down here

 

once we were driving up the coast and it drove past us, closely pursued by an s13 180sx. they lined up right in front of us and took off racing. up ahead, the road merged into one so somebody had to win

 

we all pissed ourselves laughing at the nissan drift wannabe as it got absolutely anhililated by a little suzuki 4x4

 

 

hahahahaahahahah :P

Edited July 10, 200521 yr by Jason

 

That doesn't look pussy to me! ..... if I get a new job up in Brissie, I'll sell the Astra and buy a Vitara :)

 

 

I have a feeling these little vitaras do quite well off road !

 

Vroooom :D

 

Even the Grand Vitara isn't a road going show pony!

Edited July 11, 200521 yr by TOMsGPTurbo

Of course it doesn't look pussy. It's got NT plates. They'll make anything look tough. :D