After going away for family Xmas holidays it’s become evident that a Mazda MPV is not enough vehicle for 6 people, 5 of whom are adult sized, and all the related camping paraphernalia so we are considering looking for a replacement.
We’ve looked at 4×4’s after seeing a few at Fletchers Bay and were wondering what peoples opinions were of Toyota Land Cruiser’s or Toyota twin cab ute’s, Mitsubishi Pajero’s, or Isuzu Bighorn’s, all in diesel. Is there anything you’d particular recommend, or recommend to avoid, or got something that may suit that I haven’t mentioned?
Our requirements:
6 seater, with luggage space and able to pull a trailer with 3 bikes
or
6 seater and able to carry 2 bikes on board and pull a trailer with luggage and 1 bike
Able to do the above on gravel roads, nothing rough though
Probably a diesel
Max budget about $12k.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
My Toyota Hiace super custom has just gone on the market. It is 4WD, 3.0 litre turbo. full electrics, 272000km, cam belt all good, wof and reg….
I am getting rid of it, went down to the car yard this morning to list it on behalf but might sell it privately.
super comfortable for the whole family, tow bar and sun roofs front and back.
I think it has just three owners, one for 14 years.
Better than a ute I reckon. Fully reclining seats too a/c front and rear etc etc…
$7700 and you got change for a holiday again. Buy a trailer to tow behind, a fully lockable one that will take luggage too. Not a silly idea.
I went down the same road as you, UTE versus van. I did get a great van, so I reckoned but it turned out to be a big lemon with a great high roof. Sold that and went the comfy way, reliability good re-sale and the luxury of sleeping in it if I want too and also the security of tinted windows, curtains as well. Sliding rear seat makes room for luggage and I think it would seat 8-9 with dog, cat and mother in law…:)
What was the first van you had, the lemon?
I don’t mind the van idea but @Jennifer Brodie isn’t so keen on it.
Nissan Caravan. It used to be an ambulance in Japan. Awesome height but thirst as it was V6. Sits at my neighbours now, he bought it. As for Jennifer not being keen, if she saw it and looked the interior, I reckon she would be converted. Utes have their place, but this is more luxurious with the Utes ability almost. Hi Lux, you’d be paying heaps for, Surfs okay but still to find a good one? em>
I have an older 10 seater nissan caravan its but ugly but 4wd with proper vacume lockers that work well. I have it set up with just two back seats and that leaves room for a double bed or a motor bike diagonaly, they do come in a 12/13 seat version but thats not available in 4wd. We heated the boxy older look of it after our Toyota but its so cheap to run with the super reliable td27. I beleave the later qd30 is just as cheep to run if not cheeper with more power with slighty more styling. Also the 2wd version have beter styling options. My wife loves it now… and it has become her runabout now, once i lifed it then let her drive it, i lots my off road bus.
Honest down sides gear boxs aren’t the strongest but if you know that and factor it as a running cost $1200 every 3-5years if towing alot or running bigger 4wd tyers its axceptable. they are hard on front tyers. But i do rate them off road i can get to most of the places i coud get my Land Croiser to.
Witch brings me to proper 4wds you simply cant beat Toyota and the Land Croiser as the flag ship
I saw the Holden Captiva and really liked the look and features of that, 6 seats is a requirement for us. Reading owner reviews online however indicates they are lemons best avoided. Ah well, the search goes on.
Anyone know anything about the Hyundai Terracan?
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/hyundai/auction-823362800.htm
The captiva is just a Daewoo with a holden badge but insaying that my dad has had two Daewoos from new and driven both too over 350,000ks but niether were people movers.
As for the terracan i really like the look of them but know nothing of them other than “”the terracan challenge”” from sports cafe back in the day. Worth searching for a laugh and ideas on what not to do with one you own yourself
good luck any way!
Well we’re still looking. A lot of the manufacturers should be ashamed at what they label as a 7 seater. The Mitsubishi Outlander rear seats for example is a steel frame with no padding on it, just a seat cover. In the center of the frame there was no cushioning or anything, the only thing stopping you from falling straight through was the seat cover.
We would have looked at over a dozen makes and models on Sunday and they were beyond ridiculous. The only thing we could fit in was a Ford Explorer but the ride quality was extremely harsh and fuel economy was an oxymoron.
The Hyundai Terracan I couldn’t get into the back row of seats, I think even our 12 year old would have struggled.
Diesel engine wise I would avoid anything starting with the letter M. The 4door 3.1Lt Diesel turbo Bighorns are pretty tough and bullet proof. Early 90s Toyota Landcruiser 4lt Diesel suppose to be good, but they are thirsty and bit underpowered. Other one is Nissan Safari, though don’t know much about them, but they are big and you seem to see few older examples still on the road, so I would say they are tough workhorses.
I’ve heard that before, but why?
It’s kinda shocking that the best 6-7 seater we have found so far was a small VW car, the Touran. It has more leg room in the back seats and just as much luggage space as any of the big 4×4’s we have looked at.
Anyone know anything about Volvo XC90’s?
For some reason earlier Mazda and Mitsi diesels had a very poor reputation. They just weren’t very reliable. I am not sure how their new diesels stack up these days, but every one I ever talked to who had either one of these was complaining about reliability.
Do you really want to know what I think about Volvos ???? 😉
By reliability I ment, early Mazda diesels use to crack heads and overheat badly. Dad use to work for Dallas Motors (Mitsubishi dealer) here in Hamilton and he said to stay clear away of them as they had small oil galleries so had poor oil pressure leading to overheating and excessive piston and ring ware.
As for Volvos, Volvo in latin means vulva, which would explain why only c$%ts drive them…..
absolute crap! In Latin it means I roll or turn, volvere – think of ball bearings. SKF which was Volvo in the early days!
Ask Clarkson? Oh wait, we can’t he has been fired!
Well, someone obviously didn’t get my joke…..
its a good 4wd if you have a search of the nz 4wd mag they did a year long review on this truck i would say the discovery is a good deal and parts are everywhere
The problem with the Terracan is even our 12 year old couldn’t get into the rear seats. ANyone past 6 years old probably wouldn’t fit comfortably, like all the other 4×4’s we have looked at it’s not the a 7 seater they claim.
If it is a 4×4 that you are after and it has to have seven seats, why not look at a 4×4 van/mini bus or something. I doubt you will find anything within your price range that is going to suit. Nissan Safari or the big Landcruiser is probably the only two that will meet your requirements. But they either going to be pricey or very worn out, or even both..
You suggest a van or bus to Jennifer…….
It doesn’t have to be 4×4 but it needs to have enough clearance for gravel roads and seat 6 adults comfortably while towing a trailer.
Problem you have that anything other then a van or a mini bus will not comfortably carry six. The last 2 seats are generally very small, so while ok for small kids, they will not seat adult size passangers comfortably. You have to remember that the kids, while small now, will grow up quickly so not sure if going that way is a good idea. The other thing is that with the extra seats in the back, you are sacrificing baggage space in the boot as those seats have to go somewhere. Even when they fold away they will take heaps of room. So it means that most of your luggage would have to go either on the roof rack or in the trailer. She might not like vans, but in your case that would probably be the most practical way to go. And when the kids grow up you can turn it into a camper or carry bikes inside if only two or three of you.
Ford Territory comes with 7 seat option. Drives like a car, but still offroady enough for most situations. Thirsty around town, but OK on a long trip. Tow real well.
Diesels aren’t much cheaper when you take RUC and WOF into account.
Whats RUC? 😉
Optional…similar to a REG on a motorbike
Oh, and I meant to say REG instead of WOF above. Diesels are more expensiverer to register.
We test drove a Exploder, one of the older square ones. The ride quality was terrible and the gas mileage even worse.
Territory is a very different beast. It’s a crossover based on a falcon XR6. The Explorer is a truck.
Ah missed that, dunno how.
Anyway, they have the same issue. The rear seats are only good for double leg amputees, they aren’t really seats. It was looking good up till then.
i just picked up this thread, we have had the same issues over the years with 4 children, camping gear and bikes, often ended up taking two vehicles and two trailers camping which gets a bit ridiculous. at the mo im using a mazda tribute and trailer to go trailriding, good setup but only for 4 adults. our 7 seater odyessey is comfy for six people and a small amount of gear, but will tow a laden trailer no sweat. as you say, the modern 7 seater suv’s are pathetic in the back, although the older prado’s arent too bad at all and less pricey than a landcruiser or safari. vans make the most sense, im considering an e51 nissan elgrand
probably the 2.5 litre one,loads of space and comfort,,then all id need is a 6 berth caravan with a tailgate style rear door to load bikes into!
p.s i have weaned myself off diesels after nearly 20 years, petrol is working out cheaper annually
..even the 3L v6 tribute.
Thanks Eddie. We had an older 3ltr V6 Odyssey before the MPV which had done it’s time. We tried out a newer Odyssey and the kids heads were touching the roof in the back seats as the shape of the back of the car slopes down.
To get decent leg room on the third row of seats you’d have to remove the rear axle, or go higher, like a van. Good luck with that.
Well we gave up on the 7 seater idea as none of the vehicles really sit 6 or 7 people and we realised the only time we had more than 5 people in the car over Xmas and New Year, and we can make arrangements around that.
So we settled on a 2006 Suzuki Escudo/Grand Vitara 2.7 litre petrol 5 seater with 2 tonne towing capacity.
Late to the party, but if you really need 6-7 adult seats, then it’s best to consider vans / people movers. As a kid, the family had 4 Toyota Estimas/Previas, some of them in AWD. You still get luggage space and in some configurations you can flip up the rear seats, or remove entirely for even more space (ie, leave one of them down). We favoured captain seats for the middle row.
I’ve ended up going even bigger, getting a Hiace ZX in mini bus config (the lining/carpet means it’s quieter), so it can be a 10 seater but I’ve removed 6 seats, so have 2-2 and behind I’ve put plywood down and 2 wheel chocks so it can take 4 people, gear and at least 2 bikes (depending on their size). AWD so I can get to more tricky places, however, at 2.3m high I can’t go through most drive-thrus, parking garages etc and parking at almost 5.5m long is also tricky.
I use motorbikes for daily transport anyway 😀
The problem with that was wifey wouldn’t be seen dead driving a van.
She wouldn’t have to be seen dead in it. Just driving. That or tint the windows and problem solved.
Gotta make some sacrifices somewhere in order to get what you want…
3 Clients have parking garages I can’t get into… 1 I can’t visit at all because it’s downtown CBD with almost no parking… others I can visit when parking is available (nights/weekends). However, it’s a personal vehicle, so my priority was mountain biking, transporting motorcycles (the GSA is a large bugger) etc. I’ll steal one of the bosses vehicles if I have to…