Old vs new: Just what is the rule of thumb when buying?

Land Cruiser 4.2D is a dinosaur, powered by the 1HZ engine, which is a dinosaur egg. PHOTO| FOTOSEARCH

What you need to know:

  • The rule of thumb is newer vehicles are more advanced and, therefore, offer infinitely more benefits when compared to hardware that preceded them by more than a quarter century.
  • A DMAX is better than a Land Cruiser because it offers more power and better economy, it is cheaper and has a smaller, lighter more efficient engine.
  • Used or new, Land Cruisers are very expensive and the reason is they are likely to outlive a large number of us.

Hello Baraza,

I'm an avid reader of your column. I have a great love for hardbodies. I am torn between a Land Cruiser single cabin pickup 4.2D and a brand new Isuzu DMAX single cabin. Which of these vehicles is good in terms reliability, fuel consumption, engine capacity and weight carriage, bearing in mind that I’m a farmer and a city dweller. Gideon Kiragu

Hello Gideon,
Have you heard of questions that have no answers? Yours is one of them. The logical answer here is “Isuzu DMAX”, but that same answer, by acclamation, and public opinion, and sheer common sense, is also “Toyota Land Cruiser”. You better sit down; this may become confusing really fast.

The Land Cruiser 4.2D is a dinosaur, powered by the 1HZ engine, which is a dinosaur egg; the difference here is neither the pickup nor its engine will be felled by a meteorite. These things could even survive a nuclear attack, possibly.

There is a reason insurgents all over war-torn regions resort to the Land Cruiser pickup for use as a tactical vehicle. It is indestructible. This is why everybody will swear by it.

But, it's a dinosaur, as I pointed out. The engine itself is 28 years old and the vehicle it powers is even more archaic at age 34.

Given the developmental increments (and incremental developments) that can and have occurred in the automotive industry over three decades, the Land Cruiser qualifies as a classic. You don't see many people using vintage vehicles as taxicabs, do you?

The rule of thumb is newer vehicles are more advanced — by a large margin in our particular example — and, therefore, offer infinitely more benefits when compared to hardware that preceded them by more than a quarter century (that Land Cruiser is old).

Land Cruiser single cabin pickup 4.2D. PHOTO| FOTOSEARCH

The DMAX is the better option in so many ways. It offers more power and better economy, it is cheaper and has a smaller, lighter more efficient engine, and the single cab version has a bed into which one can fit the entire contents of a small county.

The Land Cruiser does not offer any of these benefits. It doesn't even have stability control, which is now available in the DMAX and has been found to be of great use in saving lives at code-brown moments.

The Land Cruiser is shaped like an apartment building, which does wonders for its aerodynamics the way drinking water straight from the ditch outside your house does wonders for your gastrointestinal health. Wind noise is in plenty, cruising speed is not.

The car is extremely uncomfortable, and let me remind you: most of it is older than the supporting staff in the NGOs you see lurking in Nairobi's leafier corners.

But it just won't die. The Land Cruiser is infinity personified. There is a reason the engine is still available almost 30 years down the line and the J70 model itself almost 35. It is because they are very good at what they are meant to do and if something ain't broke, don't fix it.

These are attributes you want in a commercial vehicle, especially if it is going to face hard use. The Land Cruiser name is what all these "resale value" Car Clinic inquisitors should be looking at: Land Cruisers don't lose value; they are worth what you think you should ask for when selling, ridiculousness be damned; if you even sell. Used or new, Land Cruisers are very expensive and the reason is they are likely to outlive a large number of us.

So this is the problem we are facing. The loud, shouty answer to your question, responded to by those who don't take their time to read carefully, is the "Toyota Land Cruiser".

It is the obvious answer here, no contest, but then I see deeper, and I see “fuel consumption” and “city dweller” and “carrying capacity” listed among your priority areas and that is where the Toyota loses the fight.

You don't need a troop carrier with low range and diff locks for city use unless you are planning an invasion, and the suspension on that pickup is nightmarish over any kind of surface, even smooth ones. It is not a modern vehicle by any standards and it shows in a number of ways — the interior is from the old Testament and there are few, if any, creature comforts (powered windows can only be seen through the windscreen at the RAV4 next to it on the showroom floor).

The payload is lower, and the vehicle is thirsty, even in naturally aspirated diesel guise. It is time the J70 is relegated to the hallowed hallways of niche occupation and sales limited to hardened off-road adventurers, because that is the honour this overqualified veteran deserves, not as an inner city delivery-boy. Buy the DMAX

Isuzu DMX single cabin. PHOTO| FOTOSEARCH


Here’s why ccs matter


Hello Baraza,
I’m looking for a car preferably a Toyota Allion. Is there a big difference between the 1800cc and 1500cc? Gideon

Yes there is a difference, about 300cc, which is pretty substantial. 300cc is like, what, 20 per cent of the 1500cc's entire engine? Twenty per cent is one-fifth. That's a big fraction; it's almost an entire cylinder. 300cc is also 16 per cent of the 1800's engine — "one-sixth" in biblical arithmetic — which is not trifling either.

Besides that... same car. The 1800 is faster, though, noticeably so; but not in any significant or life-changing manner. Get the 1500 if you really want to be miserly about fuel and never stray outside of city limits, get the 1800 if you sometimes wander onto the highways and are not averse to a bit of time-saving between urban centres.


My car is pulling to one side. What could be the issue?


Hallo there,

I’m an ardent follower of your column and I’m really impressed by the invaluable advice and information you give concerning various motoring issues. A few months back, I bought the Mercedes C200 CGI and changed all the coil springs to give it better ground clearance. That’s where my problems started. The car seems to be “pulling” to the left side despite trying everything including countless alignments and even buying new tyres.

Please advise me because I’m almost giving up. Muchiri M N

Hi Muchiri,

Start by going back to your original suspension. See if it works properly if reinstalled (no pull to one side). If it does, then whoever installed your new springs didn't have his mind on the task. If the car still pulls to one side even after reverting to the original running gear... well, then perhaps your steering geometry is off, because I don't see what else could be the cause that cannot be solved by alignment or tyre replacement.

I love my Galant Fortis, but I’ve a slight problem


Hi JM,

Thank you for your response on the AWC pump on Galant Fortis. The problem is that I can't get a new one from Simba Colt since they said they have not dealt with that vehicle and it’s not in their production line. I also can't ask other mechanics who are not Mitsubishi specialists. However, I read one of your articles from Mr Gukemba Gachoki, who might help me to get his mechanic, Misheck. I would really appreciate it if you can get me his email since I like the car very much and I would like to fix it soonest. I would also like to thank him for his generosity. Murimi Mbae

Hello,

Mr Gachoki was really chuffed to discover I remember him from our social media engagements and says he hoped the response was of assistance to you. I will need to ask him whether or not I can share his contact details with you (privately, of course and for obvious reasons). Let us keep this thread alive until we reach a resolution.


Help! My menu is in Japanese

Dear Baraza,
I really appreciate your column and you are my last hope in this. My car’s menu is in Japanese, so there are things I still don’t know how to do, for example changing its cruising speed. It’s a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado TZ 2010 model. Kinimwa Salis

Hi Salis,

I'm not getting the picture here. What exactly is expected from me? Translation of an owner's manual from Japanese to English? I can't read or write Japanese anyway.

You want to change the cruising speed of a Prado? You could use the pedal box at your feet: use the thin right hand side pedal (there is an oxymoron if there ever was one) to go faster; use the fatter, stiffer pedal in the middle to go slower.

You want to use the cruise control? I have never used cruise control on a Prado before, but since a lot of these stalk-manipulated controls tend to be universal across a lot of car models, look for a switch or knob or stalk with a tiny little graphic of what looks like half or two-thirds of a clock face on it. Press, pull, twirl, swipe, mash or do whatever needs to be done to the controller bearing the clockface and a little green arrow should appear in the instrument cluster within the speedometer. Use the controller to move the arrow up and down to the speed you want to cruise at then confirm your selection. Then take your feet off the pedals.

This is how it's done in most cars, but as I said: I haven't really used cruise control on any of the myriad of Prados I have driven over the years. I'm made to understand there is a facelifted version of the current J150 on sale beginning very recently and I hope to sample it — and do a report, naturally. That report will include if cruise control is present and if so, how it is manipulated in that car.

Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. PHOTO| FOTOSEARCH

Please expound on these cars

Dear Baraza,

Thank you for your educative articles in the Daily Nation. I have read several articles about motoring in your weekly columns and hardly have I come across information regarding this monster vehicle — Mitsubishi Delica.

I’m planning to buy a family vehicle with adequate space and comfortable enough for seven people. The machine should be safe and reliable and should not be a Toyota or Nissan. I’m narrowing my search to Delica and Stepwagon. Which is the best between the two? Henry


Hi Henry,

I’m taking a small vacation from discussing Mitsubishis — yes, even awesome ones like Evos and Fusos, but I will let you all know when I return to form. Thank you.

P. S: It’s nothing serious; I’m just conducting a little research.

Hi Baraza,
I want to buy a second-hand Toyota Starlet. It’s a 1300cc automatic FWD. Could you please advise me on this model. Erick


Hi Erick,

Buy it if it’s cheap and in good shape.

Hi Baraza,
I recently bought a manual Toyota Corolla ZRE152 1800CC 2011 local model. The mileage was just below 50,000. Just done around 1,000km since purchase. So far so good. The performance is great compared to my 1500CC 2006 Fielder. Advise on common issue noted with the ZRE152 (if any) or what to look out for. On service, I was used to servicing the Fielder at 9,000km. Is this a good way of servicing any petrol car as long as I put genuine parts?

Hello,

Congrats on your recent purchase. I hope it serves you well over time, and in the course of that service:

1. The brakes are not confidence-inspiring on a good day and will throw you under the bus on a bad day. Literally. For real, just keep an eye on braking distances, especially during long trips that call for extended brake use. Also, try and tone down on enthusiastic driving if you like to dabble in it occasionally: in one of the first ever reviews after this column swung into existence, I described how a Corolla made two attempts on my life during a rather spirited test drive I was doing for that article.

They are not racers (unless otherwise specified) so don't drive them like racers and you'll be good.

2. 9000km seems fair enough, but this depends on the engine oil you are using. Read the sticker to be sure of what you are getting into before setting the date for the next appointment with the oilman.