Thread: Suitable Touring Vehicle - Toyota 100's Factory TD Wgn vs LR Defender Wgn?

Guys....
With me buying my 1st LR Disco, I had always had the intention to eventually "buy" the last of the Factory TD Landcruiser 100's Wgn. There's a few reasons for this which I'll list later.... but then I happened to come across a new Landrover Defender Wgn, which got me re-thinking my original choice of the LC 100's as our Touring Vehicle that would need to do us for many, many years to come.... Currently we have a 150's D4D Prado as our current Tourer, but on our recent Cape York Trip, it was obvious that as our 3 kids grew & if we still wanted to continue to do our remote touring throughout the country, that we would need a larger vehicle that would enable us to carry more fuel; water and spare parts w/o towing a trailer..... or, keep our current setup & start towing a trailer..... which I may need to do as a temporary measure until funds come available....

Now, I'm not wanting to start another Toyota vs LR debate, but my original reasons for wanting a Landcruiser (Year model bet'n 2004 > 2006) were:

Pros:
1. It's one of the only Wagons that I've found that can carry around 250>260ltrs of Fuel under the car, giving me a exceptional fuel range.
2. It's one of the last reliable engines that I believe Toyota have built that is not fully electronic (still mechanical to a certain degree)
3. Sourcing parts (if required) in remote areas is more likely going to be easier a Toyotas are more common and have more dealerships / mechanics in those areas
4. A large range of accessories available
5. The modifications that can be safely done to the engine to get it to perform as good as the V8 200's is possible while still maintaining reliability
6. Greater amount of Room for our family as our 3 kids grow, while hopefully still having room to carry those necessary spare parts
7. They come with a "Auto" which is a benefit for my wife who hasn't driven a manual car in 17yrs+ even though she has a manual licence.
8. Vehicle as a whole has a fairly good history of being reliable
9. Good Towing capacity for when we start doing more towing our Van during our retirement years
10. More Vehicle Servicing Centres (mechanics that can work on them) throughout the country than most other makes of vehicles.....
11. Assuming better Noise and Dust sealing qualities than LR Defender.....
12. Less rattles, etc than what u would find in a Defender ?? (not sure about this one)
13. Still fairly comfortable whether ON or OFF the road and should be suitable for us as we go into our retirement years....

Cons:
1. Weak Front Diff - (This can be rectified though via install a Locker and another mod to the Diff Pinion.)
2. Front Lower Control Arms breaking/cracking - (Again, there's fixes for this)
3. Vehicle has "Some" electronics which may proove to be an issue as the vehicle gets older.....(I'm assuming I would have this same issue with the LR Defender if I got a similar year one)
4. Ground Clearance - (this can be increase via taller tyres / suspension mods)
5. 6cyl Rego - (not a real big deal, but obviously going to be dearer than the LR 4cyl Diesel)
6. Dearer Servicing Costs than the LR. (holds more engine oil than the LR I assume)


Now after seeing the LR Defender, it got me thinking as to whether this vehicle would be more suited to us into the future.....Unfortunately, I know very little about them and what their strengths &/or weaknesses are and this is why I thought I would post up here to get the "Good Oil" on these LR Defenders......
The Defender that I had a bit of a look over, was the latest 2.2ltr TD version, so maybe they haven't been out long enough for any issues/faults to arise, but I'm not familiar as to how reliable the older TD5 is in the Defenders (heard of some of the issues with the TD5 in the Disco-II, but unsure if these are also experienced in the Defenders as well)
What I'm hoping for is u guys to help "enlighten me" as to the the "Pros" and "Cons" of the LR Defenders (probably leave out the Tdi as I know how reliable it is & has no electronics.... I want to compare similar years if possible)


I'll start a Pro's and Con's list from what little I know......

Pros:
1. A LOT more room available than what I would get in the LC 100s
2. 4cyl Rego
3. Probably wouldn't need to tow a trailer due to more room.
4. Should be more ecomonical than the 100s
5. Better "Offroad" ability & better Ground Clearance in standard form.....
6. Cheaper Servicing Costs than the 100s
7.

Cons:
1. Limited leg room for the kids in the 2nd row of seats, due to them not being able to slide their feet under the front seats and therefore stretch their legs a bit
2. Poor Dust (& water) sealing qualities from what I've been told
3. Lack of LR Mechanics (knowing what they are doing) throughout Australia when compared to Toyotas
4. Parts availability & Costs ?? (I realise it maybe cheaper to source parts O/S, but sometimes time doesn't permit this)
5. LR Reliability ?? -- I'm hoping others can enlighten me if this is a myth with the newer 2.2ltr versions (Pumas)
6. Underneath Fuel carrying capacity is limited ??
7. Lack of having a Auto Transmission available ( I believe there is an Aftermaket option here??)
8. More Rattles ??
9. Towing ability?? (when it gets time where we start towing / touring more with our van than remote touring/camping or a combination of both?)
10.


as I said at the start, I'm not wanting to start a Toyota vs LR fight, but I would truly like to be able to make a better informed decision as to which vehicle would suit our needs way into the future..... When searching the web for the type of touring vehicles people use when travelling throughout the Australia & the world, LR's are quite often seen but I don't know whether they are the old Tdi's or the newer CRD versions.....Looking forward to reading your responses....



cheers....
Rob

Originally Posted by workingonit

Have you considered the Toyota GXL? You were considering the 100 for wife's driving confidence, and believe your wife might be persuaded to drive the Defender, so the GXL is not that far removed. Bit more basic than the 100 and a bit more superior/inferior to the Defender (leave it to the pundits to drive the conclusion).

Yeah possible, but I want to stay away from the V8s for the moment + I'm not a real fan of leaf springs.... Trying to stay with all coils or IFS suspension