Which pickup?

[Brushcutter]

I have an 07 Navara Outlaw. Been impressed with it so far. It's massive inside and the rear seats fold up so you can put stuff in the back of the cab. The load bed is very big too. I have it as the nissan garage is about 2 miles from my house. So service and parts are very local.

[steve collins]

hilux are good allrounders but crap at towing! if you go for one get one with solid axles if you go off road alot if not any one will do.Defenders are good off road and tow extremely well but always seem to have something going wrong with them plus the cab is cramped. l200 are ok but dont seem to last as well being used off road. nissans are sweet, lots of power and space but yet to see the test of time going off road alot. fords are surprisingly good off road but lack some clearence and tow pretty well. To be honest whatever you pick choose wisely as all of them have there faults, just check they have service history, a sound engine and have not been abused.

 

good luck

[Billy]

only a landrover, Hi lux or American pick up will give you a decent load space inthe bed...the maerican by far the most, and also will pull the most, with ease. But if that's not a conern then you they're much of a muchness imo. The onyl thing i will say is th ernager's are plagued with problemsdue to design faults and are horrible to work on./..My friend works at a Big ford commercial dealership and ones that work ae ina nd out of there all the time, They like a clutch! I say get something LHD with a massive diesel in it

[Dts trees]

Rangers they are cheap to run and will last

[Chris Gagen]

i picked up a vauxhall brava, single cab with 110,000 on the clock and a knackered rear diff 2 years ago for £1250, paid that again for a recon diff and not had any probs since, reasonable at towing, got through places i expected to get stuck in and 500 to the tankfull on light duties. also got truckman top which i nearly sold but am glad i didn't cos i do find occasional use for it!

[Ty Korrigan]

What am I to believe..?

Many reviews slag of the Ford.

Based on 2 Ford ownerships I will run with the comments.

Toyota come out well overall.

Nissan Navarra reviews are acidic to the extreme!

I'm in France so Isuzu or Ho Xhi Min 4x4 are not an option.

So this week I test drove the Amarok from V.W

Its a V.W.

Small engine but 2litres developing 163hp.

I only tow a 750kg chipper or an occasional trailer weight to 2.8t

Very good m.p.g figures.

Too soon to tell if it will be a mechanical disaster though I think not.

Any experiences out there?

Ty

[scraggs]

I have had 2 rangers

The first was an 02 plate, a really good truck but the gearing is pretty low and the fuel economy was pretty bad, the good point with the low gearing is that they tow quite nicely especially when pulling away.

The latest is an 09 plate and I hate it, I spend most of my life towing at full capacity and the gearing is the opposite to the 02 plate, it's way too high, pulling away uphill is hard work and I have to think about where I am going to reverse because reversing up hill loaded is a killer, but it's way more economical, averaging around 30mpg fully loaded and towing.

Out of the two I prefered to 02 plate, had they put a lower ratio first gear and lower reverse on the 09 it would have been a terrific truck. I believe the later facelift ranger has a lower first & reverse ratio.

But thats just my opinion.

[Ty Korrigan]

Back again,

A question about pulling away in low.

During my test drive,

I selected the low range and tried pulling away in first just on tickover, the engine stalled each time.

Is this a feature or a fault?

I have read many comments on other 4x4 forums (the zambia one makes a good read! )

but it it is still too early to tell the Amarok's faults.

[knights tree services]

dont get an l200 just spent all week fixing mine