Pickup - Pickup for a Family - Advice

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Fri 3 Jun 2016 14:11
Pickup - Pickup for a Family - Advice - pitbull
Hi,

I am looking for a pickup truck for work, a double cab pickup so I can use it for family use as well. I have a budget of about 9-12k. Being used for family I am looking for ride comfort at the top of the list.

I have only been in one pickup before and that was an L200 on a 05 plate and the ride was not great.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Neil
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Fri 3 Jun 2016 14:41
Pickup - Pickup for a Family - Advice - RobJP

Very few of them have great ride comfort. The load carrying capacity of the rear deck means that most of them have heavy-duty leaf springs at the back, and when they're in use as family transport that leads to poor comfort.

The one I've had most experience of is the Navara D40 doublecab (the 2005-2015 one), which I thought had very good roadholding, comfort and handling. However the back seats didn't have a lot of knee-to-foot space, meaning that taller children (or adults) riding in the back tend to have their knees up in the air. Meaning possible discomfort, especially on longer journeys. It was my wifes, and we had it for 80k miles without problems. I know someone who ran one without problems to 140k.

A friend has a 2011 Isuzu which has now done 120k with only minor niggles, and she finds that very comfortable.

As always in these cases, the best thing you can do is go and do some test drives. What I (or someone else) might find perfectly fine you might find has one thing that makes it impossible to use/drive.

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Fri 3 Jun 2016 15:59
Pickup - Pickup for a Family - Advice - Metropolis.

Agreed on ride comfort. The Nevara seems to get the best reviews in this area. If I were in this position I'd opt for an Isuzu with auto box, and convert the rear leaves to coils if never going to put heavy loads in the back, or air suspension so you have the best of both worlds.

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Fri 3 Jun 2016 16:10
Pickup - Pickup for a Family - Advice - Metropolis.

(No, I'm not joking) One of these would be perfect. Decent legroom in the back, coil springs all round. Long wheelbase will help with ride comfort. Chassis has been waxoyled so none of the usual rust issues long term and the TD5 is a proven engine. I've had one for 17 years and never had a breakdown. Granted this is a Category D but a Defender is very simple to repair so i dont see it being an issue. Not refined enough? Just fit some dynamat soundproofing and an overdrive gear for the motorway.

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20160528439...p

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Fri 3 Jun 2016 16:27
Pickup - Pickup for a Family - Advice - RobJP

It's a Defender, so the problems are :

Condensation inside. Huge amounts of it. As a 130, 25 mpg on a very good day (downhill with a tailwind). Our Navara D40 with the 2.5 diesel used to average 33-35, the Isuzu a friend has is 35-37mpg. The defender is uncomfortable, slow, primitive, noisy, poorly equipped.

While those can be fixed, as said with soundproofing, overdrive, getting it chipped ... you could buy one hell of a good Isuzu or Navara (or other) that is a lot newer, a lot better equipped, a lot more comfortable ... hell, a lot more everything better ... for that sort of money. And it wouldn't be a Cat D either, which is going to clobber the price and pool of potential buyers forever.

There's an old joke about Defenders : they don't leak fluids, they mark their territory on your drive.

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Fri 3 Jun 2016 16:52
Pickup - Pickup for a Family - Advice - gordonbennet

Battle Cruiser has a better turning circle than a 130, seriously you have never seen anything like it.

We found the Hilux twin cab very acceptable for comfort, but you have to take into account they are all leaf sprung at the rear and made to carry loads so the ride is going to be a bit lively empty, however we found our Hilux very comfortable, in 3 litre form with the auto box a very nice drive and surprisingly rapid.

Be aware if you haven't had a pick up before they are all (as far as i know) RWD for normal road use and they can be skittish, very skittish, good tyre choice is a must.

If you could manage with a estate version of the pick ups, eg Surf version of Hilux they are fitted with coil sprung rear ends so a more comfortable ride, but be aware if you should be tempted to a Pathfinder (Navara estate) watch the VED cos they go into the top band so regd after March 06 will give you a £500 annual bill, the same warning applies to many more normal 4x4's though.

I'd have another Hilux without hesitation.

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