ManOfTheWest
Active Member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2017
- Messages
- 64
- Country Flag
Evening all. I’m considering replacing my Citroen Berlingo Multispace with a Land Cruiser at some point over the next twelve months. I live at the end of a long, badly rutted track with a ford halfway along it that floods to a couple of feet deep several times every winter, which is a problem given that the kids need to get to school. I have a Land Rover Defender Hi-Cap pickup, of which I’m very fond and which has no problems with the track (or anything else), but it isn’t really suited to either children or passengers.
I want a proper 4x4, not a crossover, that will be able to handle the track, muddy verges and the occasional field in this part of rural West Wales, that can carry five people in comfort and is reliable enough to travel long distances. Finally, it must be an automatic, because my wife doesn’t have a manual licence.
I’m fond of Defenders for many reasons, but 110 station wagons seem to be getting more expensive every month, and I would need to put in an automatic conversion which would cost thousands of pounds on top of these already elevated prices. And even the fondest user wouldn’t claim that comfort is a strong point of the Defender.
As our Toyota has been extremely reliable - it is now 10 years old and literally nothing has gone wrong with it - I’m considering a Land Cruiser. Decent-looking 120 series with less than 100k miles seem to be coming on the market for less than 10 grand. I have briefly looked at the 100 series, but although attractive they seem physically just a bit too large for the narrow lanes round here. (Are they actually that much bigger than the 120s?)
My main concerns about the 120s are:
Thanks
Dan
I want a proper 4x4, not a crossover, that will be able to handle the track, muddy verges and the occasional field in this part of rural West Wales, that can carry five people in comfort and is reliable enough to travel long distances. Finally, it must be an automatic, because my wife doesn’t have a manual licence.
I’m fond of Defenders for many reasons, but 110 station wagons seem to be getting more expensive every month, and I would need to put in an automatic conversion which would cost thousands of pounds on top of these already elevated prices. And even the fondest user wouldn’t claim that comfort is a strong point of the Defender.
As our Toyota has been extremely reliable - it is now 10 years old and literally nothing has gone wrong with it - I’m considering a Land Cruiser. Decent-looking 120 series with less than 100k miles seem to be coming on the market for less than 10 grand. I have briefly looked at the 100 series, but although attractive they seem physically just a bit too large for the narrow lanes round here. (Are they actually that much bigger than the 120s?)
My main concerns about the 120s are:
- the air suspension in some models;
- parts prices;
- difficulty of DIY spannering (I’m not very good);
- complicated electronics that may limit my options when it comes to finding a good local independent mechanic.
Thanks
Dan