D4 - to buy or not to buy?

Three years ago I started looking for a tug for my newly ordered 2.5 tonne off-road caravan. Went to the Toyota and Land Rover dealers and test drove their offerings. I decided that the only vehicles that met my short list were LC200 and D4. After driving both, I could not go past the D4 - better fuel economy, smaller turning circle, genuine 7 seater without knees in chin in third row, fold totally flat seats. I decided that I couldn't afford new so after studying specs and reviews settled on a 2013 D4, found an SDV6 HSE and bought it and added a Traxide dual battery system. I probably paid more for a 120,000km D4 than a brand new MUX would be, but this vehicle is utterly magnificent and 65,000 km later love the car. It has done everything that I've asked of it without fuss. It is quiet, comfortable, and my wife loves the electric seat memory. What more could you ask?

The down side - when it comes to service time, the dealer treats you like a billionaire, particularly when it comes to the bill. Just remember that the best things in life are not free.[bigsmile1]

Good choice. 200s are overrated, porky and thirsty. The 200 only has a payload of 610kg, so deduct 250kg for your 2500kg van, fill the fuel tank, add drawers, a bullbar and winch and some camping gear and you've hit the limit and have to leave the wife and family at home. The D4 is a much better choice.

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Originally Posted by StewG

Three years ago I started looking for a tug for my newly ordered 2.5 tonne off-road caravan. Went to the Toyota and Land Rover dealers and test drove their offerings. I decided that the only vehicles that met my short list were LC200 and D4. After driving both, I could not go past the D4 - better fuel economy, smaller turning circle, genuine 7 seater without knees in chin in third row, fold totally flat seats. I decided that I couldn't afford new so after studying specs and reviews settled on a 2013 D4, found an SDV6 HSE and bought it and added a Traxide dual battery system. I probably paid more for a 120,000km D4 than a brand new MUX would be, but this vehicle is utterly magnificent and 65,000 km later love the car. It has done everything that I've asked of it without fuss. It is quiet, comfortable, and my wife loves the electric seat memory. What more could you ask?

The down side - when it comes to service time, the dealer treats you like a billionaire, particularly when it comes to the bill. Just remember that the best things in life are not free.[bigsmile1]

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Forget the dealer,find a good Indy,then you will be even happier with your D4.

Do a search on here and you should be able to find one in your area.

I agree with the above two contributions, on the basis of my L322 ownership. All is fantastic while mechanically things are going ok. But try to find someone outside of a capital city to look at your car when something goes wrong.

I recently had to have a tow back to Brisbane from west of Roma (cost about $2.5k - thankfully I have RACQ Ultimate cover) on day 1 of a 3 week road trip. I couldn’t find anyone in Roma to look at it. Towed it to Toowoomba LR who quoted $21k repair with parts arriving in 3 weeks.

So elected to tow it hm. Still saving for a repair.

Not sure bout those numbers. Pretty sure the lc200s 610 figure already includes 140l of fuel. The D4 on the other hand needs an aux tank which necessitates a rwc. This modification takes from your payload budget.

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Originally Posted by Markus1

Not sure bout those numbers. Pretty sure the lc200s 610 figure already includes 140l of fuel. The D4 on the other hand needs an aux tank which necessitates a rwc. This modification takes from your payload budget.

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I have searched to check if the figures include a full tank of fuel, but none of the sites I checked, some Toyota, said it did, so I'm not sure at this stage.

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Originally Posted by Markus1

Not sure bout those numbers. Pretty sure the lc200s 610 figure already includes 140l of fuel. The D4 on the other hand needs an aux tank which necessitates a rwc. This modification takes from your payload budget.

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Nope. No full tanks for the LC when tare done, just oils and coolant.

That 140 vs 90 tank size suddenly becomes obvious after a few drives... rare for any LC to get much more than 900km on that tank. The D4 on the same runs will do 850km.

Not really worth the worry.

There are very few genuine reasons to need more than 90l onboard in Australia. Only a few trips actually require it.

Tombie. The VX has a 'kerb' weight of 2705 (this includes a full fuel tank). This leaves a payload of 645.

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Originally Posted by Markus1

Pretty sure the lc200s 610 figure already includes 140l of fuel. The D4 on the other hand needs an aux tank which necessitates a rwc. This modification takes from your payload budget.

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Compared to a 200 series Sahara and its high fuel usage, the D4 does not need a aux tank. My brother has a 2014 Sahara and it has a usable range near the same as my RRS.

In the circumstances where you would need to but in an aux tank in the D4, you would also need to do the same in a 200 series.

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Originally Posted by Markus1

Tombie. The VX has a 'kerb' weight of 2705 (this includes a full fuel tank). This leaves a payload of 645.

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VX is a minimum of 2740kg actually.... 3350 max.
Max payload 610kg

Kerb Includes all fluids and does NOT include driver.

The big difference is the LR figure is including a full tank and a 75kg driver.