Thread: Why didn't you...

When I bought my D3 in 05, a big part was that it was an LR as had always wanted one....plus I think the look of the D3 leaves the others behind. Another part was have never been a fan of japanese cars....never owned one...never will. Though to be objective I did go and test drive some of the other makes. With 4 children at the time, the 7 seat set up left the others for dead. It had what I called practical luxury and I knew it would take me where I wanted to go. It was functional and practical.

On road handling was fantastic and as I later found...off road...brilliant. And if Im going to be really honest.....prestige as well......I just dont see Prado's/Patrols etc in the same light. I still miss the D3 and as they drop in price.....like mine did...will have another one in a year or 2.





Regards

Stevo

I have had several 4wds, including Toyota, and my short list included Prado, Pathfinder, and Pajero however the test drives, including off road tests, convinced me that it was way ahead of anything else in a similar price range. So far I'm very happy with it.

Test drove a Toyota 100 series, 2 weeks later test drove A D3, the rest is history.

And exactly as stevo68 said except I've owned only Toyota/Nissans in the past, probably never again,the only problem i see is you get the Land Rover Bug, now all I want is a Defender 90 and a clasic series to complete the set.

Regards

Originally Posted by schmoogene

...i can't even bear putting the rear wheel carrier on it. besides it sits on the wrong side because it covers the assymetrical tailEugene

Alas, the rear wheel carrier which fits to the plastic bumper has to go on the right side, as the rego plate is on the left side. I've had the carrier for nearly 3 yrs now and it's much better to use when sitting in mud than trying to extract the spare from underneath. Also, when SWMBO forgets to latch the spare carrier and it swings out towards oncoming traffic, one gets lots of odd stares from swerving cars.

I was replacing a 2000 D2 and our family had grown by two since I bought it. A Prado was smaller than a D2 and SWMBO would not have a Pajero after getting sore jiggly bits from one of the old leaf sprung non intercooled ones I had as a work vehicle years ago.
That leaves:
Patrol. I dont like the 3ltr motor much and its just too old a design, although rugged enough.

Landcruiser. When I was buying the disco 3 the 200 series was just released and the attitude from the dealer when I asked if I could drive before I ordered one was "NO". Besides I'd rather nice dead cow interior than acres of grey Toyota plastic.

Defender. Not really in the same market as we were looking for a comfortable vehicle to do 50,000 Km a year in.

Troopie. As for defender but with less class.

When I bought the D2 it was a significantly larger purchase than my D1 at $56K versus 40K but I had been glad that I had made the choice as I got a significantly nicer vehicle than the 80 series GXL cruiser that was current then. Interestingly I looked at a Patrol that time but the Canberra dealer said that they didnt sell the six cylinder diesel as no one wanted them. The same differences between the D3 and the Cruiser apply today.

So for me the choice came down to a proper 4wd with a comfortable interior and a D3 was the only one that ticked all the boxes.

Regards,
Tote

Looked at lots of other possabilities:

Jeep Grand Cherekee- Dog wouldn't fit.

Pathfinder too plastic, rough engine. Dog fitted............just.

Pootrole- too old.

LC100 too old and crap value, when I asked for a test drive the dealer said they did not have one. Could you get one? No!.............Too expensive, same price as D3 for old technology and no goodies.

Pajero, poss but not as good value.

Prado- as LC100.

D3 was great value for money for latest and best off-road vehicle and could fit two of my dog in it.

In my case, I have owned a Jeep and then a '03 Jackaroo TDI. The Jackaroo was great as far as room went but my wife found it very uncomfortable for her back on trip (even a Sydney to Canberra run).

Looked at Pathfinder, however when my 13 year sat in the second row seat his knees were around his ears and he is not that tall. Didn't bother to test drive.

To get Prado or Pajero of similar spec to D3 involved almost similar dollars. Prado 3rd row seat fold up and take up room an load area and affect all round vision.

Reviews of TDV6 and automatic gear box (unfortuately I am the only one who can drive a manual) were uniformly good and after 9000 km I have to agree.

Finally did a deal on an ex demo SE TDV6 - basically no contest.
Cheers
Mike

We did the car comparison excercise a couple of months ago, looking to upgrade our 2003 D2 TD5.

Don't like the Prados and too expensive when compared to others.
Came down to a D3 TDV6 S or a GLS Pajero.
The Pajero has lots of fruit but the engine is very noisy (compared to our D2 or especially the D3) and has a lot of road noise through the body etc. The D3 rode much quieter and was a nicer vehicle. When talking pricing, there was about $5K difference between the two (in favour of the Pajero).

My overall impression was that with the Pajero GLS you are buying a mid spec model of the range and noise/finish etc is aimed at a $90K vehicle. With the D3, you are buying the base model of a $110K car. You see this through better noise proofing etc.

Have decided to keep the D2 for now, but was a good excercise.

Cheers,