2.8 pajero or 3.0litre surf (both turbo diesel & auto)

[natedogg]

hey guys,

trying to decide what my next truck should be.

have been doing abit of price research.

for roughly the same price i can get a 4 door pajero 2.8 turbo diesel auto or the 3.0litre surf, auto aswell.

i plan on doing a little bit of 4wding, but by no means will i be into hardcore 4wding.

i'll get a suspension lift, muds, and possibly a winch at a later stage so....

i know this is a super open ended quesiton, but what are peoples opinions? or what would you go for? and why.

i prefer the look of the surf, but if one is better out of the box offroad then im all ears

cheers

[gimmemud]

go the toyota. far nicer to drive and better engine

[Dace]

gotta go with toyota all the way

but then again, the only thing wrong with the pajero is the fact its a Mitsi

[smurf182]

Interesting. After I sell the cruiser these are the two trucks I'll be in the market for, albeit the Pajero in SWB form only. IMO the Surf looks much nicer than the gumpy slab sided LWB Paj, though either looks tough on 33s. Personally If I had one of each truck lined up I'd be buying on the quality of the service history and results of mechanical/compression check etc, not some one-eyed brand loyalty thing. A good example of either will treat you well.

[tgaguy1]

Get a NZ new LWB Paj. These came with a factory fitted rear diff lock which will over come some of the short falls in having an IFS front. I have fitted Nissan LWB patrol rear springs which has lifted it 4", wound up the torsion bars, flipped the ball joints, trimed the bump stops and fitted 33" mud tyres. It goes really well on road with more than enough power to turn the tyres. I have towed my LWB patrol winch truck on a heavy transporter trailer with this truck, It handled it OK. Off road it is surprisingly capible.
I have not owned a 3.0l surf so can not comment on those, but the diff lock should be a point for you to consider.
Here is how it looks with the lift

[UBZ]

Go the Toyota , Its a Toyota

Im still amazed at the places my 1KZ Surf has been on open diffs, looks fantastic on 33's and drives great on the road with tons of power. Just have to be careful not to over heat it.

[surf_tomo]

Go the surf in my opinion. I know people with both and the surf would be the pick. They can overheat but preform better off road.