Thread: Disco 1 days are numbered - which dual cab ute?

My 101 rides nearly as well (or badly depending on how you look at it) as my Hilux. . I’m exaggerating but they are bloody awful day to day when unloaded.

While I think the newer Rangers aren’t ****ting gearboxes like the older ones, we have just finished exiting the last of them out of the fleet due to reliability issues. Out of the 10 field service units we had in Melbourne, 4 of them have required a new gearbox before 150KKM.

They seem ok when used in lighter duty conditions but heavily loaded or towing seems to **** them pretty quickly.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Having Rangers on our LV fleet and my primary work vehicle:

Reliability - they’re ok, no better or worse than others.

Noisy - bloody hell do they make a noise, so much intrusive engine noise under throttle

Ride and handling- far better than a Hilux. Not that that is saying much!

Fit and finish - average at best, very plastic.

Size - turn worse than a 130 Defender, horrible in tight areas. High country would be horrible. Was bad enough in a 110, this would be beyond that.

Electrics - huge amount of exposed electrics just behind LHS of cab. We have lots of issues with them.


Would I own one? NO. I’d go a Triton any day.

We have a BT50 in our fleet,I get what you are saying.

Compared to our Hi Ace vans,just no comparison in fit and finish,general quality control and reliability.

As for drivability,we have no other utes to compare it to,atm.

Probably get a Ranger soon,Hilux doesn’t have the variant we want,and I don’t know if the Triton will handle the weight we carry with the rear wheel so far forward from the end of the tray.We will need the longest tray available,on a space cab,which can only be fitted to the Ford.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Having Rangers on our LV fleet and my primary work vehicle:

Reliability - they’re ok, no better or worse than others.

Noisy - bloody hell do they make a noise, so much intrusive engine noise under throttle

Ride and handling- far better than a Hilux. Not that that is saying much!

Fit and finish - average at best, very plastic.

Size - turn worse than a 130 Defender, horrible in tight areas. High country would be horrible. Was bad enough in a 110, this would be beyond that.

Electrics - huge amount of exposed electrics just behind LHS of cab. We have lots of issues with them.


Would I own one? NO. I’d go a Triton any day.

How tall are you?

Originally Posted by edddo

How tall are you?

6’1”

Originally Posted by Tombie

Having Rangers on our LV fleet and my primary work vehicle:

Reliability - they’re ok, no better or worse than others.

Noisy - bloody hell do they make a noise, so much intrusive engine noise under throttle

Ride and handling- far better than a Hilux. Not that that is saying much!

Fit and finish - average at best, very plastic.

Size - turn worse than a 130 Defender, horrible in tight areas. High country would be horrible. Was bad enough in a 110, this would be beyond that.

Electrics - huge amount of exposed electrics just behind LHS of cab. We have lots of issues with them.


Would I own one? NO. I’d go a Triton any day.

PM sent.

Originally Posted by Tombie

6’1”

Thks for the recommendation.
My concerns re the Triton are ride comfort and rear overhang/departure angle.
Although the latter is not really an issue as I will run a shortened tray and a bit of lift ultimately.
It is the one ute I have yet to drive to check leg room/driver comfort.
In most utes, so far, Im finding that the seats are too low relative to the floor, leaving my knees up in the sky or bent to the sides..other than the Ranger and I guess Older BT50’s. Colorado wasnt too bad either.

Originally Posted by edddo

Thks for the recommendation.
My concerns re the Triton are ride comfort and rear overhang/departure angle.
Although the latter is not really an issue as I will run a shortened tray and a bit of lift ultimately.
It is the one ute I have yet to drive to check leg room/driver comfort.
In most utes, so far, Im finding that the seats are too low relative to the floor, leaving my knees up in the sky or bent to the sides..other than the Ranger and I guess Older BT50’s. Colorado wasnt too bad either.

Ride comfort is a personal thing. I have long arms and legs and find the seats in a triton suit me far better than a lux or a rok after playing with adjustments on all.

You need to drive any of them for a couple of hours at least to really find out.

Tne last couple of tritons have a vastly improved turning circle compared with earlier ones where it was an issue.

Drove a late model one towing a boat doing a job up at Ned's corner for a week 18 months ago and didn't have any issues with rear overhang crossing narrow gullies maybe 4-5 metres deep or launching off banks.

cheers, DL

Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

according to one of the latest multi dual cab ute torture test comparos I sat though on you tube last night , the final analyisis came down to the new Isuzu D-Max and its more expensive twin the BT-50 as being the best utes , with everything factored in , which included things like potential for future suspension modification , which surprisingly a few of them dont lend themselves to .....and transmission cooling and longevity.

Yes, after much consideration, I am the owner of a 2021 D-max Isuzu tray back ute. It was the Isuzu engine, and little things like the transmission cooling, and potential GVM upgrade [ if needed ] that clinched it A tad over $ 55,000 for the base model, with most of the fruit . A hard top vinyl canopy fitted was a bit hard to get used to, vision wise, but with the clear view mirrors set up properly, all good. She drives really well, plenty of power when needed for towing, a bit bouncy on dirt roads unloaded but I found a sort of solution with the fitting of a 70 litre water tank under the tray, even half full makes a difference.

No idea how these would go in a fleet carrying heavy loads, but for a touring vehicle, loaded sensibly, she goes ok. Will definitely consider a suspension upgrade at some stage, with a 40mm lift. Yet to load it up fully and take it over the scales. I considered a long range fuel tank , carrying jerries and lifting them in & out wasn't an option, but found a poly 40 litre fuel tank with hose & nozzle , gravity feed with a 12 V pump option, just the ticket. I'll buy two, and mix & match according to the trip, & fuel & load weight calculations. Early days yet, but happy as with the vehicle, and the dealer .

The most difficult thing is making a decision to get rid of the Disco. Can't bring myself to do it, and keep making excuses not to. Like losing a member of the family, but SWMBO loves the ride in the new vehicle. As long as the disco doesn't throw a fetlock, requiring emptying the wallet, the old D2 looks like being the vehicle of choice for beach trips [ occassionly]