What's the best old 4 x 4 ?

[Yorkshire Brummie]

We’ve got an old Ranger (55 plate, same as the Mazda) that has been abused and has been excellent. Best value vehicle I’ve ever run. 

I run a 57 plate Mazda BG50, it certainly ain’t a looker but copes with everything it gets thrown at it![emoji106]

[spuddog0507]

hi got a old l200 on a 54 plate about 2 1/2 yrs ago with 146k on it wasnt dear and came with 12 mth ticket on it, tows a 10ft ifor tipper about , not great on fuel but it does the job some people say there crap but i tend to disagree with this,its got 168k on it now been very reliable with no issues but where it came from it had been looked after and had what ever it needed and it only came from a house 3 feilds away so i knew it, its not a racing car and 70mph is fast enough in it, it has very little corrosion underneath and at the moment i would not part with it as it saves me so much leg work in the woods and it is supprising where i go in it, may be worth a look,

[wicklamulla]

1 hour ago, billpierce said:

The ones you mentioned all have a good rep, and for sure could be that buckets, buy atleast you will be able to tell if you have good luck underneath first.

I have had a few older hiluxes and they have done me very well. Very slow as the older ones are n/a but less to go wrong. Hiluxs also have a excellent resale value.scrappers export for £1400 easily.

I'd look at towing capacity aswell if required as it can be surprisingly low. My DC mk3 hilux is 2t for towing and the single cab I had was 1450kg or something ridiculous.

Cant remember which but some if izuzu 3.0 or 3.1tds have had poor engine issues but this may have only affected troopers. If I needed a replacement vehicle I'd certainly look at the isuzu

It's the Isuzu Troopers that had the (sometimes but not always) troublesome 3.0 TDI engine from 1998 till the end of production/sales in about 2005.  As the Op is looking for a pickup then they need not concern themselves with the worries associated surrounding that sometimes dodgy Isuzu (it is actually a Caterpillar power plant!) engine as it was never fitted to the pickups.  The low tech bomb proof older Isuzu pickups (2.5, 2.8 or 3.1) that were available up to 2003 are now very hard to come by,  i 'lucked out' last December and found a perfect one for good money that will give me years of service (fingers crossed) and will legally tow 2700kg.  The later Isuzu Rodeo pickups available from 2003-2012 are available with either a 2.5 or a 3.0 TDI motor,  most of them can legally tow 3000kgs and are in my opinion a good used buy if you can find one that is not too rusty underneath.  I personally think Hilux's are awesome but physically a bit on the small side and generally under powered and gutless whether they be n/a or turbo charged and they are too feckin' expensive compared to the competition.  If ya were after a cheap 4x4 truck that didn't have to be a pickup i'd look at a Vauxhall Frontera.  Lettuce snow how ya get on.

[Rough Hewn]

Got a twenty year old disco2,petrol,4L V8.
It's a tractor basically,
With 5 seats and room for saws.
[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

[richardwale]

Mark 4 Hilux, had it 11 years, brilliant truck, spent a few quid over the years but by god it's been a great motor. Pulls a trailer ok, 2 tonne only but still does the job. I'll be gutted when she dies. 

[arboriculturist]

I'm not looking for speed, towing, heavy loads or economy, so some of the posts are extremely usefull - thanks ?

[Con]

I've got a v-reg mitsubishi L200.

Don't know if it's the best but I'm happy with it. 150k on the clock, had it for a few years, goes to work most days, only had to service it. Passes mot each year. Only downside is it's thirsty, I reckon I average 23-24mpg.

Don't know how that compares to other similar makes

[miker]

if you type in the reg number of the motor you are looking at into google,normally the first hit will be " regit" this will give you past mot history, you can check if rust has been picked up as an advisory, also mileage etc, i was set on a ranger and then checked mot history and it was a rust bucket

[arboriculturist]

36 minutes ago, miker said:

if you type in the reg number of the motor you are looking at into google,normally the first hit will be " regit" this will give you past mot history, you can check if rust has been picked up as an advisory, also mileage etc, i was set on a ranger and then checked mot history and it was a rust bucket

Well that's uncanny - I did the same yesterday on a 91 Ranger and chassis corrosion has been picked up as an advisory on the last 5 years MOT's. Still passed last August though - I'm wondering how. Good idea to research though. Thanks.

[miker]

i got caught out on a landcruiser, cost me £700 to get it welded up, just about passed its mot , but was rotten as a carrot, probably wouldnt have passed its next mot, lost a few quid on that one, im more careful now