pros and cons of 4.8 petrol and 3.0l CRD

Ok patrol gods i am looking at upgrading my old ute to a family wagon and am quite keen on the newer models i would like to here from the owners of both of these engine owners for the pros and cons of each one other than fuel economy.. my bus runs at 17-20L/100km so any improvement is great but i need the towing capacity as i do alot of country driving long distance and sand driving...(to fishing spots) with a camper trailer and i want something that will get me through the soft stuff..

i have researched as much as i can fuel economy wise i know the 4.8 is heavy around town but get between 12-13l/100km on open road and the 3L is better than that but 180kw vs 115kw meh

any feed back would be great

sorry if this is abit hard to understand first shift of nights for the weekend and it is 1am

cheers Shane

My 3L only get 13l per 100 when towing my boat down Hume , but I'm relentless 120 all the way. Except that one big hill where temp get to 600 and must back off.

do you get on the beach much monster?? whats it like in the real soft stuff or the mud?

I'm went diesel auto this time, great on fuel same as above, you'll get a higher tow rating on the 3lt manual and the 4.2 ltrs models
up to 06 but you'll be paying top dollar for these vehicles, If I had my time over again I'd go a 4.2 t/d wagon and convert to auto

yeah i would prefer a 4.2turbo but im not gonna pay $30+ for a 4b thats done over 200k i am going to keep it along time i ve have my 93 ute for 8 years now and put 120k (its done 300k now)on it mostly towing the work trailer around but i am no longer in my trade and i can fit most of my tools if i need them into a wagon. Plus i m converting the work trailer into a camper trailer so i can take the family and they can sleep in comfort.. i am happy to have a beverage or 2 and kick out the swag but the minister for war and finance is bit more in to the comfort side of things..

what are the 3l like i keep hearing they like to break.. My bro had the STR Navara with the 3l it had only done 80k and blew the turbo and cracked a piston.. he had a timer and gauges on it thats more the reason i am leaning on the 4.8 i guess dont know if i can trust the diesel.


we do have a pretty good zd30 builder in bunbury though GTS engineering they seem to be well spoken about but some forums i used to haunt like perth4x4

If you are considering the 4.8 then expect fuel economy in the 30l/100 in sand/4x4 . I have never heard of a 4.8 running 13l/100 any where but happy to be proven wrong. You should expect around 18-20l/100
The CRD will pull your camper no problems but economy seems to vary a little between vehicles. I get around 12.5l/100 with 33's and a bit of weight on the vehicle. Towing close to 3T I was getting 19l/100.

The 4.8 would be great vehicle but for me the fuel economy would be a killer.

i have a mate the has a 2002 4.5lt and he can get around 600km on one tank no reserve tank when we went up to coral bay last year cruise control on 110 i thought that was pretty good considering i was towing my brother 5.5m ally boat and was lucky to get 400-450km out of my 4.2d with 85lt tank sitting on 90km/h that was flat out

but this feed back is great please keep it coming

The best thing you could do is go and drive one of each. As you will be purhcasing one you will be wanting the car that performs how you like it to. Some blokes are happy to deal with the 4.8's fuel usage because its a ball tearer of a motor. The diesels with the right mods are as reliable as most others but not as good as the 4.2.

Petrols have heaps of power for towing, combine that with a gas system maybe a radiator upgrade for towing.
Can you see yourself sitting in a dualfuel Ti Patrol cruising down the hwy, that may be your weapon of choice.