Originally Posted by
Cuppa
Good choice! When I was in the same boat as yourself I chose a Patrol over a Hilux (or similar) based on just one thing. I wanted a car which would stand up to long term outback touring. When we were in Broome & wanting to hire a 4wd to go up the Dampier Peninsular all the hire companies had a variety of 4wd's but specified that only their Patrols & Landcruisers were allowed on the heavily corrugated road up the guts of the Peninsular. Folk hiring cars often drive them with less care than if it were their own, speeding 4wd's up & down that road are common to see. Reason for the restrictions on which hire cars were allowed by the companies was an economic one. The heavier/stronger build of the Patrols & Landcruisers meant they last longer in those conditions. Check out the dimensions of a Patrol chassis vs a Hilux chassis.
Big Col is right about the difference between 4.2's & 3.0's. The 4.2 is no speed machine, & when towing even less so, but I love it's 'relaxed gait' for touring. 3" exhaust + dyno makes the car into what it should have been off the showroom floor. If you can resist the temptation to go for the higher boost figures(above 15psi) then this is the most economic improvement you can make. I asked my tuner to 'tune it for towing" - ended up with max boost of 13.2psi, retaining everything else 'factory' & am very happy with that. EGT gauge is essential though. Fitting the exhaust alone freed up some 'go', but it came with rapidly increasing EGT's making the extra 'go' unuseable. The tuner changed that when he waved his magic wand at it! Beware, just like owning an espresso machine doesn't make the owner a barista, owning a dyno doesn't make the owner a 'tuner'. Seek recommendations for your area