Double cab pickup

[Odyssey]

Anyone on here own a double cab pickup? 

Looking for honest reviews of Toyota Hilix vs Ford Ranger vs VW Amorak.

Any real life experience of things like fuel consumption, reliability etc welcomed 🙂 

[Saintly Fish]

I don't have one, but I remember the top gear test they did with the ranger, amorak and the merc. 
Basically forget the VW. Ford was the best out of the 3. But I think reliability it'll be the Toyota. 
If you get a Ford, get the pimped raptor. They are sweet.

[Saintly Fish]

Why a pick up? Why not a twin cab van? 
 

[Odyssey]

Just now, Saintly Fish said:

Why a pick up? Why not a twin cab van? 
 

Twin cab pickup with a 1 ton load is classed a light commercial vehicle… So if it’s a company vehicle won’t pay BIK tax and buisnss can cover cost of fuel. Would also make a good tow vehicle for future as well. 
 

Got a VW T5 camper so not after another van

[GPSguru]

5 hours ago, Odyssey said:

Anyone on here own a double cab pickup? 

Looking for honest reviews of Toyota Hilix vs Ford Ranger vs VW Amorak.

Any real life experience of things like fuel consumption, reliability etc welcomed 🙂 

Yes, @thejollysinkerhas one, a hilux  IIRC

It replaced his increasingly unreliable disco.

The invincible version of the hilux is pretty damn good, and usually available with lots of toys. The ranger is excellent mechanically but they have been known to suffer from hard to fix electrical issues. The Amorak is VAG, and I have never liked VAG vehicles.

 

[Saintly Fish]

Get one of these 👍🏻

[Odyssey]

24 minutes ago, GPSguru said:

Yes, @thejollysinkerhas one, a hilux  IIRC

It replaced his increasingly unreliable disco.

The invincible version of the hilux is pretty damn good, and usually available with lots of toys. The ranger is excellent mechanically but they have been known to suffer from hard to fix electrical issues. The Amorak is VAG, and I have never liked VAG vehicles.

 

I prefer the Hilux but Em prefers the ranger… it’s going to be daily driver so she needs to be happy with it else it won’t ever happen 🤣 I’ll only get to use to to get fuel and chum down to Milford or bringing (hopefully) lots of fish back…

 

[Odyssey]

18 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said:

Get one of these 👍🏻

Off the list… some of these kitted out ones don’t have a 1 ton payload… and Em likes blue 🤣

[Saintly Fish]

13 minutes ago, Odyssey said:

Off the list… some of these kitted out ones don’t have a 1 ton payload… and Em likes blue 🤣

Why do you need a one tonne load? And why are you allowing the lady to have a say in the man's truck? 

[Odyssey]

5 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said:

Why do you need a one tonne load? And why are you allowing the lady to have a say in the man's truck? 

Because if it’s less than 1 ton load capacity HMRC will not say it’s a LCV and charge me a huge amount of company car tax…

[JDP]

Owned a fair few and use various models with work. 
My toyota pre dpf didn't reached 179,000km before needing new engine, turbo, injectors etc etc, which seems common. 12-14lt per 100km.
Work Hilux's, 2.8 diesels, constant dpf issues, poor economy and lacking power. 12lt per 100k
My Mazda bt50 3.2 diesel (built in same factory as Ford rangers), poor economy like Toyota, constant dpf issues, shit loads of power and torque, drives and handles superbly after full suspension upgrade but was also good before that. economy 11-12.5lt per 100k.
VW not owned, not as popular here due to long distances between towns and reliability.
Isuzu Dmax 3lt manual, older pre dpf. Not as powerful but still enough for towing boats, extremely reliable (never failed) best economy  8lt per 100km.
Recently bought another Isuzu pre dpf as I believe them to be the most reliable vehicle on the road. Latest is a 3lt auto space cab which was giving me 8lt per 100km but the engine lacked grunt, so had it dyno tuned last week for better towing. Now Im getting 6.5lt per 100km but with far more torque. Isuzu Dmax's are popular as council  and other large industry business.

I prefer the space cabs as these allow me enough room to sleep on the rear tray. I also get rid of the rear tub and replace with the tray’s for better storage.

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by JDP

[suzook12]

Just to add to the mix

L200

Love mine, 30-32 to the gallon

Carries way more than its allowed

Comes in various trim/power outputs, I have the 4work, 136BHP, the animals etc are around 175BHP

Loads around so spares plentiful

All the aftermarket bits available

Tows trailer no issue, have had 1.5-2 ton on it and its managed handsomely

Had 2 ton of paving slabs in the buck, steering was a bit light but pulled it no bother

Common faults is sagging rear leaf springs, leak on steering rack from an oil seal.

Had mine over its hubs in water no issues. The higher spec models have a different 4x4 system that can be left in all the time or changed on the fly

Edited February 11, 2023 by suzook12

[JDP]

Oh yes, forgot to mention that the utes I mention are considered 3.5ton tow utes but this obviously depends on what load is in or or on the vehicle itself. A group known as grey nomads tow their monster caravans from the southern parts of the country at the start of winter to the top of the country where they can then enjoy year round temps of around 30'c.

Some of the grey nomad forums are worth looking at in regards to what people are using as tow vehicles, however this can also be a bit misleading as most grey nomads are self funded retirees who tend to replace their vehicles when the warranty's run out, which is often around 5-6yrs. Also most people will upgrade from the standard stock suspension because of towing either big caravans or boats close to the 3.5ton limit. Electronic brakes are also compulsory over a certain weight. Landcruisers, f250 and dodge trucks are often used for the bigger tow loads.
 

This site has some interesting info which might be of use to you, it also has a forum much like the fishing forums where people help and share info. https://www.thegreynomads.com.au

[Odyssey]

1 hour ago, JonC said:

Are you buying new or used? Leasing may be a decent way to go, at least then you don’t need to consider maintenance costs etc. 

given the cost it’ll be used. It’ll be bought through a company so I’m looking at finance options too. 
 

Got a few bits to sort out on boat but hopefully back in water soon and then take some for a test drive. 
 

L200 is a contender but harder to find from what I can see…  Decent load capacity be useful as can chuck all boat kit in back and not worry about ruining car which is wgst currently do…

[Saintly Fish]

1 hour ago, Odyssey said:

given the cost it’ll be used. It’ll be bought through a company so I’m looking at finance options too. 
 

Got a few bits to sort out on boat but hopefully back in water soon and then take some for a test drive. 
 

L200 is a contender but harder to find from what I can see…  Decent load capacity be useful as can chuck all boat kit in back and not worry about ruining car which is wgst currently do…

It's not a great time to buy any used vehicle atm, prices are sooo high due to demand on stocks. Buying new would make much more sense. Or as Jon said, leasing. 

[thejollysinker]

20 hours ago, GPSguru said:

Yes, @thejollysinkerhas one, a hilux  IIRC

It replaced his increasingly unreliable disco.

The invincible version of the hilux is pretty damn good, and usually available with lots of toys. The ranger is excellent mechanically but they have been known to suffer from hard to fix electrical issues. The Amorak is VAG, and I have never liked VAG vehicles.

 

I'm so sad to read this Ian.... 🤣 the disco wasn't becoming increasingly unreliable but increasingly expensive to run at 17-19mpg and I needed (at this point in my life to give up the love affair for various reasons 😬) to get something with more grunt and less time spending maintaining. Btw, it never let me down once in 5 years 😊 I still miss it 😞

@Odyssey my 3.0l Hilux DC Invincible (2013 model) is just about the best vehicle I have ever owned. It's an auto and does 28mpg on average for the journeys we do in it. I bought it in favour of the Ford Ranger based on the fact it is an inline 4 and pretty basic and easy to service/maintain with less to go wrong. My neighbour is a mechanic by trade (runs a crane hire company) and he said a mechanic he knows had nothing good to say about the Ranger's engines but you can make of that what you will 🤷‍♂️

Having owned it and used it for towing my twin axle 'van for 9 months I can honestly say it is an awesome vehicle. Towing with it is just great, not as powerful as the Ranger or some others but it's got what you need when you need it. 

Hope you get what you're looking for 🤞

 

[Saintly Fish]

17 minutes ago, JonC said:

Nobody has mentioned the new Defender. 

Maybe that has something to do with the price tag and the fact that it looks like a Lego car?

[Odyssey]

3 hours ago, thejollysinker said:

I'm so sad to read this Ian.... 🤣 the disco wasn't becoming increasingly unreliable but increasingly expensive to run at 17-19mpg and I needed (at this point in my life to give up the love affair for various reasons 😬) to get something with more grunt and less time spending maintaining. Btw, it never let me down once in 5 years 😊 I still miss it 😞

@Odyssey my 3.0l Hilux DC Invincible (2013 model) is just about the best vehicle I have ever owned. It's an auto and does 28mpg on average for the journeys we do in it. I bought it in favour of the Ford Ranger based on the fact it is an inline 4 and pretty basic and easy to service/maintain with less to go wrong. My neighbour is a mechanic by trade (runs a crane hire company) and he said a mechanic he knows had nothing good to say about the Ranger's engines but you can make of that what you will 🤷‍♂️

Having owned it and used it for towing my twin axle 'van for 9 months I can honestly say it is an awesome vehicle. Towing with it is just great, not as powerful as the Ranger or some others but it's got what you need when you need it. 

Hope you get what you're looking for 🤞

 

Thanks for the insights! 
 

Not too worried about towing as don’t have a tow boat yet, maybe in 18 months a 6-8m RIB maybe on the scene, so hence the towing requirement. However, a rig that size shouldn’t be too heavy. 
 

I guess if it’s too good for towing in the in-laws will want to borrow it to drag their classic cars about 😬😬😬

I’ll add it to the shopping list and jump in one to test drive 🙂 Main concern is that Em needs to understand it ain’t a car, it’s a truck to lug fishing gear/boat kit/drag a boat about….

[JDP]

Just picked up another ute, this one is for my youngest daughter. Like all hilux’s, greatly lacking power but will be ok for her not towing boats etc.