Which Pickup

[AndyH86]

Hi All

Looking for some advice on getting a pickup. It will spend 80% of its time on the road but during winter it'll be in boggy fields, farm tracks and the snow. It won't be carrying huge loads, just dogs and some equipment and unlikely to tow so I'm more concerned about off road ability (it will have AT tyres put on), comfort on the road and general reliability.

I've narrowed it down to either a Hilux or Isuzu D-Max, does anyone have experience of either/both? I also really like the look of the Ford Ranger but I've heard bad things about reliability, is that founded?

If it makes any difference I'll be looking to get an auto and have about £18k to spend so will be getting something around the 2013/14 mark I think.

Cheers

[powerstroke]

Ive run various makes for my personal and business use
nissans ,isuzus and fords but overall Toyota have been just awesome every time I've gone elsewhere I've been disappointed with them
Toyota GB however are bit crap and don't make much effort to offer different specifications or models ,or options ... they would have gone out of business years ago if they had been selling a lesser make ..

[Griffalow]

I have a Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian Series 5 automatic. Bought new in November 2015. Now done 36000 mostly down to the alps. Running on Toyo AT, in the snow it is phenominal, French local authority love them. Has been 100% reliable can run on the motorway in 4wd. Narrow enough to park in normal width car parks which both Ford and VW struggle. Is quite long. Average mpg is 30. Towing is a pleasure. Value for money, tough and really really comfortable, on par with my Volvo.

[MrAverage]

We currently own 2 isuzu pickups. A w reg tf 3.1 and a 63 dmax plate 2.5

The old one was a farmer's so spend much of its life in muddy fields and the rest of the time towing pigs. It has held up very well and sits on 220k miles. It is suffering with rust on the body and surface rust on the chassis. You need to take care when washing them to get the mud out of the books and crannies.

The new one is much more civilized but does appear to have lost the rugedness of the old one. It's sitting on 130k and feels brand new, was used for surveying so spent time on all types of terrain.

Edited by MrAverage on Wednesday 14th February 21:44

[rangie999]

I have had a 3.2 Ranger Wildtrack for nearly 3 years now. It’s good on fuel and easy to drive. Being an automatic it tows very well and does regularly pull heavy trailers.
I have managed 65,000 miles in it without any misfortune so far.... It seems to be well screwed together so would say my experience has been very good.

[cdrick4]

Hilux gets my vote. Toyota is known for their durability.

[Mammasaid]

Another vote for the L200 series 5, mine's been fantastic in the snow, and goes across the fields nicely, it's also a bit lighter than a ranger, which helps with traction.

[anonymous-user]

I k ow they get a bad press but I have nothing but good words for my Nissan navara. The snow hat before Christmas emphasised how good it was in 4wd as we serenely passed people in expensive wannabe suvs sliding everywhere.

Because it's not popular it's cheap too

[lol64]

FWIW, I paid to get rid of my Ranger early. It spent nearly as much time sat at Ford waiting to be fixed as on the road. Ford totally disinterested. One time it was waiting for nearly 3 weeks after recovery before they even looked at it due to the sheer number of warranty breakdowns (their words!).

Edited by lol64 on Thursday 1st March 17:12

[Hdj80 1]

you wont get better than a hilux, will hold its value much better as well