New tow vehicle - which one? Brought a Jeep GC in the end.
- Thread starter Neil
- Start date
If you go the Nissan, PM me, I will get you a lot better price than $59000 on an option pack ST-L.
As you are getting a novated lease nissan salary pricing will give you about $7000-$8000 discount on this model...
Thanks mate, only started looking Saturday but need to do something sooner rather than later so will be spending some more time on it today. Also as mentioned the prices listed were prior and form of discount.
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Now there's a good question.twscoot is there any car that you have not had
Out of the three you have driven which one do you rate the most?
Truth is they are all different.
The Ford was a company car and I was limited in choice when I received it. That said, it was a very comfortable touring car. I did try it on the beach at Bribie Island but wouldn't make a habit of anything but fairly hard sand or soft road conditions. As a tow vehicle, it was competent and stable with our 1850kg Expanda. Yes the fuel use (petrol 6 cylinder) was high but on a trip without the van would get close to 10l/100km. A smallish fuel tank limited the range. I think the new diesel Territory would be a great vehicle, and street prices make it good value in my opinion. Shame Ford took so long to update it as in terms of handling and ride it is in BMW *Try posting a bit more so your post isn't boring* company.
The Pajero is a well sorted real 4WD. My NS version had a maximum tow capacity of 2500kg so it meant an update after 5 years of ownership was necessary when we went to the Starcraft. Much of my driving between caravan trips is school runs and city driving. It drove a little like a truck and was quite noisy on the highway. The NT (current) model dropped the noise a little and upped the tow capacity. Significantly more torque from the engine too.
Overall though, I loved the Pajero as it was an honest vehicle in the way my Suzuki Sierra was many many years ago. Doesn't pretend to be anything it isn't. Can't beat the 5 year warranty too. I did have an electronics issue late in its life which left me stranded (luckily at home) once and despite good service, Mitsubishi could never solve the problem which was a bit like having a snapped accelerator cable (which of course they don't have).
As a tow vehicle it was solid. Not fast and the NS with less power and torque than the the NT meant 100km/h was often achieved with the revs slipping the torque converter rather than locking it out. Fuel economy was in the 17's with the Expanda. I used a drop shank WDH and nothing else. No air bags and we had 5 years of many trips up and down the east coast. 15,000km between services too. Rear door was heavy and was always a challenge when the van was hooked up.
Which leaves the Jeep. After 7 months I have had one problem relating to the diesel particulate filter. There's a few of these issues popping up (the NS Pajero had hundreds of DPF issues when it was first released - check out the Pajero club thread) and I'm hoping the DPF regeneration they performed is the end of the issue. We will see.
Apart from that, it is superb to drive. I love the power, 8 speed (German when you buy the diesel) gear box and quiet ride. We can actually talk in the car and hear each other. But it is noticeably smaller in the boot than the Pajero. Only 5 seats too. Probably more like the Territory really in many ways only with Quadralift and the Offroad pack far more capable. (the offroad pack is really a necessity if you think you are going to call it a real 4WD - otherwise all you'll have protecting the underneath is tuppawear....)
As a tow vehicle, I did have a quick tow with the Expanda before it was replaced with the 2675kg Starcraft. I couldn't believe how much more power it had compared to the Pajero. But remember, I was never really worried about the Pajero. Everyone gets excited about the torque numbers and I do too but we should all drive to the conditions of the road, the weather, traffic and our capability.
Move to the Starcraft and I'm sort of back to the same take off performance I had with the Pajero towing the lighter van. There's no doubt what I am towing is big and I'm not sure I'd go to 3500kg with the Jeep although I'm sure it could do it. Tail wagging dog etc etc. I have a redarc brake controller which is neat but you do need to know how brakes work and adjust it for the speed and conditions you are driving in. Ideally a proportional controller would be better but many Jeep dealers are hopeless at knowing how to set up a car for towing despite their excellent advertising that makes this a key feature. The alternator on the MY 14 Jeep is variable and puts out much of the time only 13volts which is not enough to trigger the commonly used redarc battery isolator which has a cut in voltage of 13.2 volts meaning no power to your high amperage plug which runs your fridge.
The suspension is very clever and time will tell about its reliability. I must say as a car around town, it ticks all the boxes. A trip to the sunshine coast without the van saw me use 6.8l/100km. (Yes you read that correctly!). Amazing really and I was trying to max out the economy by driving at 95-105km/h just to see how low I could go....
Stereo and electrical wizardry is good but the 6 month /10,000km service intervals should be factored into the whole of life cost.
So from the above my ultimate choice....? Cross the Japanese heritage of the Mitsubishi with the power and comfort of the Jeep. I am watching for the 2015/16 next generation Pajero which I am hoping might just do this....
Sorry for rambling. But hey, you asked!
Just don't ask me about the 19 other cars I have owned in my life! I dont think my old 1974 Fiat 124 could have towed a van!
Cheers
Andrew
Neil a thing to have a good look at coming from a Kluger is build quality if the little things are important to you? The kluger a are one of the quietest best assembled cars on the market IMO. I went from a Kluger to a Pajero and like Andrew I found the Pajero a great vehicle BUT a Toyota in build it ain't. After 120,000kms the Kluger was as quiet as day one. After 20,000 kms the Pajero had a chorus of little squeaks and rattles. Nothing overly annoying some might say I was pedantic but they were there. Again this time with the 200 the way Toyota do things and assemble their cars shows why they are well respected for build quality.
I believe the Pajero is a better tug than the Prado , having noticeable more power and a smoother transmission than the Prado. If your pushing the 2.5 T limit the power is to be considered. The other nifty thing is if you don't need the 7 seats in the Pajero when touring you can remove in seconds and gain 90 litres of storage in the back. With the Prado you are stuck with the extra seats and the raised floor. But you are correct the Pajero design is starting to shows its age, but this should be reflected in great pricing?
The jeep seems to be the flavor of the month and it's pricing/features is certainly right up there. I hope that they than can overcome historical issues with unreliability that have plagued the marque for years? One of our guys in Melbourne has a new jeep and so far the front discs /pads squeal and can't be fixed! When he tried to accelerate with his foot on the brake as well to see if the squeal persisted the car went to limp with a "throttle position" error. This has reoccurred.
The AM reception doesn't work and has had the radio replaced to no avail.
The parking sensors go of Randomly and the dealer fix is a cancel button on the kick board that looks totally out of place. And there was something else I can't recall. But he loves it and these things don't I really annoy him! Me I would be livid, so it really depends a bit on what you are willing to accept.
Good luck.
I believe the Pajero is a better tug than the Prado , having noticeable more power and a smoother transmission than the Prado. If your pushing the 2.5 T limit the power is to be considered. The other nifty thing is if you don't need the 7 seats in the Pajero when touring you can remove in seconds and gain 90 litres of storage in the back. With the Prado you are stuck with the extra seats and the raised floor. But you are correct the Pajero design is starting to shows its age, but this should be reflected in great pricing?
The jeep seems to be the flavor of the month and it's pricing/features is certainly right up there. I hope that they than can overcome historical issues with unreliability that have plagued the marque for years? One of our guys in Melbourne has a new jeep and so far the front discs /pads squeal and can't be fixed! When he tried to accelerate with his foot on the brake as well to see if the squeal persisted the car went to limp with a "throttle position" error. This has reoccurred.
The AM reception doesn't work and has had the radio replaced to no avail.
The parking sensors go of Randomly and the dealer fix is a cancel button on the kick board that looks totally out of place. And there was something else I can't recall. But he loves it and these things don't I really annoy him! Me I would be livid, so it really depends a bit on what you are willing to accept.
Good luck.
@achjimmy refer your guy to this website, there is a TSB for the squealing brakes.
http://www.wk2jeeps.com/wk2_tsb.htm#NEW
It would appear most Jeep service dealers are still finding their way with the Grand Cherokee and combined with the incompetence of Jeep Australia, after sales support is concerning.
Mines going in for its 10000km service this week. Hopefully she comes out the other side unharmed.
http://www.wk2jeeps.com/wk2_tsb.htm#NEW
It would appear most Jeep service dealers are still finding their way with the Grand Cherokee and combined with the incompetence of Jeep Australia, after sales support is concerning.
Mines going in for its 10000km service this week. Hopefully she comes out the other side unharmed.
Mine is going in next week for its 40K service, (just aranging the finance with the bank manager lol) and needs new tyres also.
Had no real problems so far, towed the van in extreme heat over christmas and was happy with the fuel consumption and reliability, sat on around 110 and just over 120 passing road trains. I have heard of a couple of gear box failuers which does scare me as its out of warranty this Christmas, having a good dealer is an absolute must, I have had the computer re-flashed once (intermittant starting problem) and always ask the dealer to check for updates, none current which means things must be okay. By no means is it the best vehicle ever made, but for us it suits and hopefully it remains reliable as I usually get around 300-400K before changing, time will tell. I think when the new Pajero is released (if they do it properly) it might give the Jeep some competition but there is nothing out there at present value for money. Am definately fitting an ARB bull bar before the Cameron Corner trip, you would just pour petrol over it and burn it if you hit a roo out west, all plastic and all sorts of stuff up the front like electric steering etc that would get damaged by a medium roo strike.
Had no real problems so far, towed the van in extreme heat over christmas and was happy with the fuel consumption and reliability, sat on around 110 and just over 120 passing road trains. I have heard of a couple of gear box failuers which does scare me as its out of warranty this Christmas, having a good dealer is an absolute must, I have had the computer re-flashed once (intermittant starting problem) and always ask the dealer to check for updates, none current which means things must be okay. By no means is it the best vehicle ever made, but for us it suits and hopefully it remains reliable as I usually get around 300-400K before changing, time will tell. I think when the new Pajero is released (if they do it properly) it might give the Jeep some competition but there is nothing out there at present value for money. Am definately fitting an ARB bull bar before the Cameron Corner trip, you would just pour petrol over it and burn it if you hit a roo out west, all plastic and all sorts of stuff up the front like electric steering etc that would get damaged by a medium roo strike.
Neil post: 68369 said:
None. Only problem was in the first 100km. Poor dealer delivery caused that. Oil leak from a loose pressure switch and software not up to date.
(Check out my thread under 'Tow Vehicles')
No DPF problems yet, maybe because it gets a fang once a week along the highway.
Test drove VRX this morning. Ride is firm but that would most likely loosen up after a bit of driving car only had 7klm on the clock, handling was fine, engine noise was noticeable in cabin. For the 15-20 minutes I could spare on it this morning overall not to bad, might see about having another drive on the week end. Car yards policy is to send a salesman with you on your test drive, what the? Is that a new thing, didn't have a salesman when we test drove the JeepGC or Pathfinder. Maybe it's the way I look :spy:
In the 70's we took a E38 charger for a test drive after a counter lunch at the local, the salesman got out and walked back nuff said lol
Salesman going with you all depends on the dealerships insurance.
When i worked at Mazda, a car wasnt insured unless a staff member was in the car when been test driven. Loan cars had different cover but demos didnt.
At Nissan the customer can take out a car without staff, but 2 forms of id must be copied, Licence and medicare card etc...
Hey mate,
Just thought i would add my comments to this thread for you also.
My VRX has just under 7000kms on it now. No Warranty issues. Like others have said, its no toyota build quality. Why don't Toyota make the Prado with 3t towing is beyond me, especially since they do in the 3 door model...
A friend of mine went from a Pajero to a Jeep just before I got my Pajero. He has had only one issue, all the electrics on the dash went out one day. Car drove but he had no display. Turns out a plug behind the dash wasn't plugged in correctly. Apart from that no warranty issues on his. He loves the economy of the car but said he is over the car and preferred his 2011 Pajero. Im not sure why.
Good luck
Image attached for you too!
Cheers mate
Ants
Just thought i would add my comments to this thread for you also.
My VRX has just under 7000kms on it now. No Warranty issues. Like others have said, its no toyota build quality. Why don't Toyota make the Prado with 3t towing is beyond me, especially since they do in the 3 door model...
A friend of mine went from a Pajero to a Jeep just before I got my Pajero. He has had only one issue, all the electrics on the dash went out one day. Car drove but he had no display. Turns out a plug behind the dash wasn't plugged in correctly. Apart from that no warranty issues on his. He loves the economy of the car but said he is over the car and preferred his 2011 Pajero. Im not sure why.
Good luck
Image attached for you too!
Cheers mate
Ants
Depends on dealer and yes depends if secondhand. We had salesman come for rides and when you notice something negative they correct it with some bullcrap. ends up pissing you off.
When we brought the Land Rover it was ex fleet. We went for a drive by ourselves then said not sure it fitted in garage so they let us take it home to check around a 60+ km round trip so gone a few hours Needless to say we brought it.
When we brought the Land Rover it was ex fleet. We went for a drive by ourselves then said not sure it fitted in garage so they let us take it home to check around a 60+ km round trip so gone a few hours
Needless to say we brought it.