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Thread: Suitability of Perentie for Daily Driver?

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    Lionelgee is offline YarnMaster Silver Subscriber
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    Suitability of Perentie for Daily Driver?

    Hello All,

    I am interested about whether anyone has a Perentie as their main car? As in the vehicle you drive on a daily basis for around town and the only vehicle when you have to take a long interstate trip?

    My wife and I are empty-nesters so there is just the two of us; oh and a dog.

    My wife has a Toyota Corolla for her runabout. I have always had cars like a Commodore wagon for the long interstate trips and family excursions. You know the type of car you can confidently grab the keys knowing that you could travel interstate at at short notice. My car has been the one that fills the "family" car role.

    Apart from the military aspect of the Perentie I also appreciate its Isuzu 4BD1 motor and its towing capacity. However, for the same money as a Perentie I could get a very decent and more comfortable Discovery. Of course they do not have the same motor though.

    There is this common sense side of my brain; "get a Discovery". Then there is the "oh but it is a Perentie with a big Isuzu motor that will take you anywhere... "Oh Perentie errr." in a similar style to Homer Simpson's "umm ... doughnuts...". So I am in a bit of a quandary.

    Having feedback from someone who a Perentie as their main flagship vehicle would be greatly appreciated.


    Kind regards
    Lionel

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    There is no way I could do it but I'm also not a fan of the 4BD1. Personally I think you would prefer the quietness, smoothness and luxury of the Disco. The water and wind doesnt get in, its got climate control or AC, you can hear the stereo and when you're parked you can lock it. They are just very comfortable vehicles. Every 4BD1 Perentie I have been in has been horrific, I'm not a fan of them athough the die hards will tell you it's the best vehicle on the planet... not even close in my book, especially for a DD, but the Perentie is designed as a tool and nothing more, and that said it is very good at what it was designed for.
    Cheers
    Slunnie


    ~ Discovery II Td5 ~ Discovery 3dr V8 ~ Series IIa 6cyl ute ~ Series II V8 ute ~

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    What Slunnie said. The Perentie is a Military vehicle, and the Army didn't even give Generals many creature comforts. The Army limited them to 80 km/h, due to high noise levels if you can believe the shop talk. A fine vehicle for what they were intended for, and virtually unstoppable, but require massive modifications to be even acceptable as a DD. I'd prefer a D1. Heck, you could get a D1 and convert it into a brilliant ute ( dog ) for way less than you'll pay for a Perentie.

    That said, I'd have one for a weekender with a swag. Just the thing for gathering firewood.
    ​JayTee

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    ​JayTee

    Nullus Anxietus

    ​Getting involved in discussions is the best way to learn.

    2000 D2 TD5 Auto: Tins
    1994 D1 300TDi Manual: Dave
    1980 SIII Petrol Tray: Doris
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    JDNSW's Avatar
    JDNSW is offline RoverLord Silver Subscriber
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    I think it depends on what your "daily driving" involves.

    Drawbacks to the perentie (assuming it is the most common variety):-


    • canvas roof = no security
    • No power steering = good exercise machine, and hard to manage in close quarters
    • noisy, and vibrates = uncomfortable
    • Designed to carry a heavy load; i.e. it is a truck not a car = rough ride if driven empty or near empty
    • Placarded towing mass is fairly low = cost to get this changed. If towing much you won't be towing it fast.
    • Relatively low performance=you'll have to stick to the speed limits


    Advantages
    • Reliable and cheap to run
    • Durable
    • You can carry a heavy load. Not like many modern four wheel drives that are overweight by the time you fill all the seats with typically obese Australians and fill the tank.
    • You can service it yourself, easily


    As far as reliability goes, I recently drove my County (same drive train) with no preparation other than a normal service.
    John

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    Lionelgee is offline YarnMaster Silver Subscriber
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    Quote Originally Posted by JDNSW View Post
    I think it depends on what your "daily driving" involves.

    Drawbacks to the perentie (assuming it is the most common variety):-


    • canvas roof = no security
    • No power steering = good exercise machine, and hard to manage in close quarters
    • noisy, and vibrates = uncomfortable
    • Designed to carry a heavy load; i.e. it is a truck not a car = rough ride if driven empty or near empty
    • Placarded towing mass is fairly low = cost to get this changed. If towing much you won't be towing it fast.
    • Relatively low performance=you'll have to stick to the speed limits


    Advantages
    • Reliable and cheap to run
    • Durable
    • You can carry a heavy load. Not like many modern four wheel drives that are overweight by the time you fill all the seats with typically obese Australians and fill the tank.
    • You can service it yourself, easily


    As far as reliability goes, I recently drove my County (same drive train) with no preparation other than a normal service.
    Hello John,

    Thank you for your detailed reply. A County was the other vehicle in my thoughts. However, they are rarely on the market. One was for sale in Bundaberg in late 2019. However it was not a good time for me.

    I am aware that some people have fitted the Isuzu motor to a Defender. Not sure if it has been done to a Discovery though?

    While it would be considered an act of desecration by many - I have been reading the "Fitting a Hardtop to a Perentie" thread.

    The ability to carry and tow a heavy load is the biggest point of interest to me apart from the military history aspect of a Perentie.

    What is the towing capacity of a Perentie? A Discovery is 3.5 tonnes has the Perentie the same towingcapacity or more/less?

    Kind regards
    Lionel

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lionelgee View Post
    I am aware that some people have fitted the Isuzu motor to a Defender. Not sure if it has been done to a Discovery though?

    While it would be considered an act of desecration by many - I have been reading the "Fitting a Hardtop to a Perentie" thread.

    Kind regards
    Lionel
    It has been done to quite a few RRC's also. It's the one Jap motor that the LandRover die hards appreciate.
    Cheers
    Slunnie


    ~ Discovery II Td5 ~ Discovery 3dr V8 ~ Series IIa 6cyl ute ~ Series II V8 ute ~

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    Lionelgee is offline YarnMaster Silver Subscriber
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slunnie View Post
    There is no way I could do it but I'm also not a fan of the 4BD1. Personally I think you would prefer the quietness, smoothness and luxury of the Disco. The water and wind doesnt get in, its got climate control or AC, you can hear the stereo and when you're parked you can lock it. They are just very comfortable vehicles. Every 4BD1 Perentie I have been in has been horrific, I'm not a fan of them athough the die hards will tell you it's the best vehicle on the planet... not even close in my book, especially for a DD, but the Perentie is designed as a tool and nothing more, and that said it is very good at what it was designed for.
    Hello Slunnie,

    Today marked the first day of my looking for possible alternatives. I already have a number of military Land Rovers - okay they are a 2A and Series 3; so I do have my bit of Australian military vehicle history ownership slot filled.

    It was just while searching on eBay today I started to realise that some of the newer used Discovery options were beginning to come up to the same price line of some Perenties. So that expanded my options.

    My other concern is that a County and the Perenties are actually older vehicles than my 2004 Commodore. I already have the "Classic" vehicle slot in my fleet filled. It does not make sense to me to age my main vehicle.

    I would like to be able to on rare occasions be able to hire a car trailer and hook it up to my own vehicle and pick up a parts vehicle. Most importantly something I can at last turn off the bitumen and check out some tracks in. I have had four wheel drive vehicles now for eight years and none of them have been registered.

    Yes - comfort and climate control, a good sound system and being able to hear it is important to me. It looks like that was a very short foray into Perentie land. Thanks Slunnie!

    Kind regards
    Lionel

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    yep, they're great.

    If I need more than what I can get on the bike I use a 6x6 as a daily.
    Dave

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    JDNSW's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lionelgee View Post
    Hello John,

    Thank you for your detailed reply. A County was the other vehicle in my thoughts. However, they are rarely on the market. One was for sale in Bundaberg in late 2019. However it was not a good time for me.

    I am aware that some people have fitted the Isuzu motor to a Defender. Not sure if it has been done to a Discovery though?

    While it would be considered an act of desecration by many - I have been reading the "Fitting a Hardtop to a Perentie" thread.

    The ability to carry and tow a heavy load is the biggest point of interest to me apart from the military history aspect of a Perentie.

    What is the towing capacity of a Perentie? A Discovery is 3.5 tonnes has the Perentie the same towingcapacity or more/less?

    Kind regards
    Lionel
    I should have mentioned - my County had done over 600,000km when I drove to Perth last year.

    Towing capacity - somone will correct me I'm sure if I am wrong, but I believe the standard towing capacity is 750kg, although this can be substantially increased with little modification.

    My County lists a GVM of 2950 and a GCM of 6950 in the Australian supplement (3050/7050 for the cab/chassis), which says a maximum towing mass of 4 tonnes, so it should be possible to get the towing mass increased significantly. There will be complications, including that the Perentie has a military tow hitch and that they (mostly?) predate the requirement for towbars to be placarded. So all modifications will need engineering approval, even if nothing is changed except a placard.
    John

    JDNSW
    1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
    1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol

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