Which Pick Up Truck

[Snapper7]

Thinking of selling the Defender 90 hard top and getting a pickup truck instead for work (Gardening business) and don't know which to go for.....

I understand the L200 engine is not a tough as they used to be....

I have been looking at the Ford Ranger and the Isuzu Dmax but reviews seem really mixed...

Anyone able to give advice from personal experience?

[anonymous-user]

Defender 90.......pick up ;-)

[powerstroke]

Snapper7 said:

Thinking of selling the Defender 90 hard top and getting a pickup truck instead for work (Gardening business) and don't know which to go for.....

I understand the L200 engine is not a tough as they used to be....

I have been looking at the Ford Ranger and the Isuzu Dmax but reviews seem really mixed...

Anyone able to give advice from personal experience?

HILUX best of the bunch I've had a few always been good got a 15 plate at the moment and there is a new model coming mid year ....

[Spyder5]

We had 5 Rangers (57 Plates) - we kept them for 3 years and because of the warranty,they were no more expensive than any large vehicle - I wouldn't go anywhere near them without a warranty though.

A Defender would be my choice if you're not going long distances.

If you're looking for comfort the Nivara's were much better.

[diesel piston]

HILUX

[Fleckers]

I have a Navara 3.0 Outlaw

great truck

[Logbert]

We have run Hi lux's for years and years, for using of road most days they cannot be beaten, had the odd Navara and L200 but never again,, recently got a new D-Max very very impressed with this as a road going vehicle, goes like stink ,tows well, not sure I would want to use it like we do the Hi Lux's offroad, but as It does not do much offroading I cant really say how it will stand up.

[groundworker]

I replaced a 110 Defender with a new Dmax in October, been brilliant so far, tows better than the Landy, have to watch your speed. They can tow 3.5 tonne which most can't, I bought it new and got a 5 year warranty. Worth a lot to me.

[CardinalFang]

we run 2 x Rangers (14 reg), having had 5 or 6 DMax over the years. Dmax felt quicker, felt like it had better quality dash & interior trim, but it was black inside vs grey in the Ranger, which I think just looks less substantial. Doesn't seem to be prone to scuffs & scratches anyway. Mine's done 44k in 20 months, averaged 26mpg & had 2 new tyres & one replacement headlamp bulb. Good standard spec (Limited),decent to drive on motorways & dual carriageways, a shipping hazard everywhere else. cant comment on off road ability though. would definitely have another except maybe go for larger 5 cyl engine as this apparently is quicker, smoother, quieter with minimal/0 penalty in diesel consumption. (This was only available in Wildtrak spec when we looked) Choice at the time was Amarok vs Ranger & the decision was purely ££ comparison of lease costs, spec for spec. Didn't test anything else at the time I'm afraid. feel free to ask any specific questions.

[normalbloke]

CardinalFang said:

we run 2 x Rangers (14 reg), having had 5 or 6 DMax over the years. Dmax felt quicker, felt like it had better quality dash & interior trim, but it was black inside vs grey in the Ranger, which I think just looks less substantial. Doesn't seem to be prone to scuffs & scratches anyway. Mine's done 44k in 20 months, averaged 26mpg & had 2 new tyres & one replacement headlamp bulb. Good standard spec (Limited),decent to drive on motorways & dual carriageways, a shipping hazard everywhere else. cant comment on off road ability though. would definitely have another except maybe go for larger 5 cyl engine as this apparently is quicker, smoother, quieter with minimal/0 penalty in diesel consumption. (This was only available in Wildtrak spec when we looked) Choice at the time was Amarok vs Ranger & the decision was purely ££ comparison of lease costs, spec for spec. Didn't test anything else at the time I'm afraid. feel free to ask any specific questions.

We went for the 5 pot Ranger(Wildtrak) Tested both versions of the 2.2 in manual and auto, and were less than inspiring. The auto was actually dire.The 5 pot is a gem, when coupled to the 6 speed manual.it has a ridiculous amount of torque from tick over.

[lol64]

I just got rid of my 14 reg Ranger (bought new) because I hated it so much. It spent two months of the first 12 months broken down at the Ford dealer and it spent more time on the back of an AA truck than all the other vehicles I've ever owned put together. Ford are absolutely dire. I mean, just terrible. They weren't interested in fixing anything at all, total disinterest from the Ford dealer and Ford UK. One time it had been recovered to them (well under 12 months old at the time) and it sat there for 2 weeks before they even looked at it. I spoke to the service manager and he explained that this was due to the "sheer volume" of in-warranty Ford breakdowns (his words, not mine). Totally disinterested in any effect that had on me and felt that because they had offered me a Fiesta to run around in, they could take as long as they wanted. Please tell me how I can tow a stock trailer with a Fiesta.

I had a limited 2.2 manual and the gearbox was dire. Incredibly difficult to get into gear and change gears and crunched intermittently. It was all smoke and mirrors with Ford. Mostly they told me "they are all like that", but when both the master and slave went kaput on the clutch straight after each other (the vehicle only had a couple of thousand miles on it) they had no choice but to take the gearbox off. I got a phone call from their "technician" who asked me whether I had topped up or changed the gearbox oil. On a vehicle with about 5,000 miles on it?? I asked why and he said that there was oil everywhere and he wondered whether I had spilt it. Muppets. When I picked the vehicle up that time, I asked the service bod what they had done to fix the oil leak on the gearbox. "What oil leak, there was no oil leak". The clutch was fixed (for the 4th time) and the gear change was just as dire. Anyway, enough is enough and it was px'd for a Toyota.

[Griffalow]

Big vote for l200 Barbarian series 5 - been to the Alps twice 5000 miles in 3 months - very very comfortable, quite and will cruise all day at 85 miles per hour. 5 years warranty just eclipse both ford and volkswagen - the 4wd system is very clever and will get you out of most situations - I have not had to use chains so far , in some places we were in 2 ft of snow. Around town I am getting 31 mpg long trips 40 mpg - the price I paid after discount made the Ford and volkswagen expensive -

[Snapper7]

Hmmm

Went and had a look at the Isuzu Dmax and the Toyota Hylux yesterday..

Dmax Utah 6 Speed manual with nice canopy looked good but was £ 24,300.00 plus vat.. And was offered £ 15,000.00 plus VAT for my 12 plate Defender 90 hardtop commercial, which is a fully loaded county edition (Less leather seats)..

And I also looked at the current run out 5 speed Toyota Hylux with a canopy.. I was offered £ 14,500.00 for the Defender

The 3l in mid range spec which was going to cost me £ 10,000.00 plus Vat to change
The 2.5 in a slightly lesser spec would cost about 9,000.00 plus vat to change

Anyone able offer any advice on their experience between the run out Toyota Hylux and the Isuzu Dmax?

[powerstroke]

Snapper7 said:

Hmmm

Went and had a look at the Isuzu Dmax and the Toyota Hylux yesterday..

Dmax Utah 6 Speed manual with nice canopy looked good but was £ 24,300.00 plus vat.. And was offered £ 15,000.00 plus VAT for my 12 plate Defender 90 hardtop commercial, which is a fully loaded county edition (Less leather seats)..

And I also looked at the current run out 5 speed Toyota Hylux with a canopy.. I was offered £ 14,500.00 for the Defender

The 3l in mid range spec which was going to cost me £ 10,000.00 plus Vat to change
The 2.5 in a slightly lesser spec would cost about 9,000.00 plus vat to change

Anyone able offer any advice on their experience between the run out Toyota Hylux and the Isuzu Dmax?

Ive run a current hilux for 4 years do about 600 miles a week , so far almost faultless I'm happy with the ride and comfort
and enjoy driving it, does about 500 miles on 70 litres its a 2.5 extended cab a 2015 that replaced same on a12 plate,
I looked at the dmax wasn't as refined or as well built as the toyota and the choice of colors were limited to drab greys and other depressing dark coulors and no ladder rack that I occasionally need ,however better towing capacity and longer warrenty on the Dmax personaly I would wait for the new hilux its out in Aus and had a very good press... comes here in june !!

[Snapper7]

Thanks for the Hylux review...

I am aware of the new Hylux coming out soon but I guess that the price will jump up conciderablily
like any new vehicle. I guess that the current deal on the Hylux is very good value for money as it is a run out model.

[anonymous-user]

What proportion of on-road/off-road do you do?

I have a Hilux when home for work (roads construction sites) and it's bloody horrible on the road. Wallowy, bouncy, noisy tractor of a thing (OK, it's an old '10 plate but it's on 25k miles, serviced on the button and cleaned weekly), guaranteed to make kids puke. It slides at roundabouts, the cabin is pretty basic, and personally I'd rather pay to drive my own car to and from work, than to take the Toyota. Reasonable stereo/iPod connection.

Whilst they have that reputation, I managed to quite comprehensively break one whilst driving (mildly enthusiastically) on a muddy track through the middle of a tank firing range (snapped a driveshaft, the main one that runs the length of the truck).

And in doublecab form, the bed isn't that big at all.

A Ranger drives far, far better on road, lower loading height, and given the right tyres is just as capable off road. Just saying, don't be swayed by the Top Gear hype. Yes, they're good, but they certainly have flaws.

[Davel]

Very impressed so far.

[IJDW]

Got 2 of the new Rangers (3.2 auto Wildtraks) for work 2 months ago. Very impressed so far, I think the face lift makes them far better looking. They drive extremely well for quite a big vehicle, I'd give one a test drive. Quite like the front end of the Izuzu though, aggressive look.

Also worth nothing the Ranger and Dmax can tow 3.5 tonne, not sure if any others can.

[normalbloke]

Davel said:

Very impressed so far.

As far as we were concerned, the Amarok and the Ranger were the only 2 in the running. After driving both, disliked the lack of torque( and it's wheezy delivery) of the 180 VW, felt the steering and composure of the Ranger was much better( probably due to having a proper rack)
I've also had my ears pinged to a lot of the 180s (with low mileage) consuming oil due to knackered bores. There's a VW tech bulletin out there somewhere about it.
This thread will always be like a ' which oil' thread!

[powerstroke]

Snapper7 said:

Thanks for the Hylux review...

I am aware of the new Hylux coming out soon but I guess that the price will jump up conciderablily
like any new vehicle. I guess that the current deal on the Hylux is very good value for money as it is a run out model.

Yes but they will still have to compete with other makes so maybe no or little discount but its doubtful list price will be much higher and you may gain in 3 years or when you change, I personaly think the old model is good against the competition , I have the choice of any make as its my own money , I've had nissans,rangers l200 and isuzu in the past and always wished I'd bought a toyota, as does a mate with a amarok which is just a car with a pick up body he hates it but its a company car and he is stuck with the gutless heap for another 2 years..