After 2 years, need your suggestions again regarding 4x4 purchase

[sm.malik12345]

Hi All,
Last time I created a thread for advice on purchasing my first ever car and after consulting with many people, I went ahead and bought an Altis 1.6, 2015 model. Kept it for 2 years and sold It for the same price. Now that bug of 4x4 is itching again and I would like to go ahead with my first 4x4.

I am a silent reader of 4x4 thread and have enjoyed reading about experiences of other people. my budget is 5-6mil. The options that I am considering are:

Prado 2005+ model.
Revo zero meter
Cygnus 2003+

Not interested in Fortuner. Don't like it's shape. Just my Personal opinion

Mostly I am leaning towards Revo as it's new and don't want to pay many trips to mechanics. But ride comfort is a big issue for me. I am thinking about getting after market suspension from Ironman or any other brand. But not sure how comfortable will the ride be even with after market suspension. Rest modification with Revo are endless which is good.

Prado and Cygnus would be really comfortable as compared to Revo. And there is shashka factor also. So I am confused between these two options... Any suggestions from people who have rally experience and have after market suspensions on their trucks will be appreciated. Or people who have driven all three, Would like to hear from you.

Forgot to add: usage will be 85% inter city, 15/% offroad. No serious offroading.

Thanks.

[Baleno1300]

Everyone has their own preferences.
I would have gone for Prado.

[anon36782927]

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[sm.malik12345]

It would be helpful for me if you could please also explain your reasons behind the decision 🏻

[sm.malik12345]

Thanks. Reasons for the decision?

[anon36782927]

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[sm.malik12345]

Hmm.. Apart from documents. Will have to make sure that mechanically it's sound. Recently read a thread from @tintin about LC purchase. the problems he faced, I wouldn't be able to keep up with that kind of maintenance. I live in Multan and will have to good mechanics locally.

[anon36782927]

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[paladin]

You could choose between a Prado 2005 or the new Revo (which has an improved engine).

There is an Isuzu D-Max truck that falls in your budget as well, which is local and can be bought brand new, also cheaper than Revo, although, Revo has an improved engine which is more efficient.

[ahmar.mirza]

And Mr. Tintin LC is a body swap also which again is illegal. Some would say its legal as its of same shape (same series) but actually its a body of a vehicle smuggled and no duties paid on it. So its a body without customs paid and illegal. If custom wants to impound the car they have all rights to do it. But normally for older models with lesser worth I think maybe custom officers are not much bothered so you can see many 80 series these days with body change. But again its a risk

Engine swapping in 4x4 is common as most prefer to swap rather than putting in effort of rebuilding. But if its swapped it must be mentioned on the book and in excise records.

You can get the documents verified from excise office. Go yourself and get those checked. I bought one 80 series which had a typo in model. But its chassis and engine capacity was proper in bill of entry, book and excise records. The typo was of land cruiser mentioned as land cruiser 2. Some people used to do it deliberately and in that case also change engine capacity to pay lesser annual tokens. But I personally went to excise office. Got it checked along with bill of entry. On bill of entry the model was correct as land cruiser. Colors on bill of entry plus the color code as per frame number must match. Again in excise records color typos are/were common. So do check at toyodiy.com for details of vehicle.

[ahmar.mirza]

For 5-6mil you can find a good maintained cygnus maybe 2005/06 model. I have driven 80 series and have 90 series. Comparing the models of those years a land cruiser is way way more comfortable than a prado. And I believe it would be same for 2005/06 prado and land cruiser.

Not much sure about parts prices for 2005+ prado or cygnus but i think cygnus would definitely be more expensive. But a properly maintained and properly spent money on LC can last longer.

If I was you I would first try to find a good condition cygnus. And then would try from other options.

Revo on other hand would be zero meter which is the only plus point of it.

[mshoaib432722]

Zero meter is a no comparison with used vehicles!!! Rest is your risk!!!

[anon36782927]

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[sm.malik12345]

Thanks for the info. I am trying to keep this purchase with me as long as possible and have no intention of reselling it. Keeping that in mind, should I still prefer LC?

[sm.malik12345]

Thanks for the info about Mr. tintin's LC. I didn't know the background about that thread. If I go for a used option,may be I will get it inspected from pakwheels.

[sm.malik12345]

Thanks for your comment. I always enjoy reading your posts and have almost all of your posts on two famous similar threads. Somewhere else you recommended a prado, may be because buyer was only interested in prado, so forgive me in case I am wrong
could you please explain your reasons for preferring Revo over older prado/LC?

[sm.malik12345]

Also, comfort factor is important for me. Any idea how much ride quality can be improved if I proceed with after make suspension?

[sm.malik12345]

Thanks.
@suneelmunj reviewed Dmax and had good things to say in his first review but later on did a comparison video with Revo and that was all Revo. So couldn't decide which one he preferred... so I wanted to play safe with Revo then

[paladin]

Good luck and have fun. New is better. Plus, it's equipped with the latest features.

[mshoaib432722]

Well... in terms of comfort:
Landcruiser > Prado > Fortuner > Revo

In terms of reliability:
Zero meter > 5 years used > Everything Else

Prado / Landcruiser etc would be around 15 years old (whichever you are deciding to buy). That means you will definitely need: suspension repair / replace, lubes change, very high chances of tiny electrical wiring issues, tires change, battery replace, greasing, this n that. Al these thing take time and money. So if you own money to buy a new vehicle, better go for it. Otherwise, you need to be half a mechanic yourself (may be with time) and should have access to good garages for small works you'll need to get done on a 15 year used vehicle. 95% (or a bit more %) mechanics are useless and rip you off... by the way.