Thread: 4WD Ute to $18k - Rodeo, Triton, Colorado - what are your owner experiences?

The era of Mitsi you are likely to be looking at in that price range had known issues with electronics and electrical systems. Biggest problem with that is the issues caused mechanical and performance issues and were hard to resolve - the pesky limp mode dramas.

The Isuzu is likely to be the pick of the litter for the vehicles you list, and the Isuzu does seem to have a reasonable rep for being reliable if thirsty and slow.

Availability of parts is good for Isuzu and Mitsi, Holden can get a lot of the mechanicals from the Isuzu equivalent but there are some model specific parts and I'm not thinking that dealer closing will improve the supply situation going forwards.

The drivetrains and steering are all relatively similar on these vehicles, none are built to the strength of the old saffa's and won't stand for the same use(abuse). Mechanical reliability is the same - anything over 200,000 on these and you are on the downhill slide. Mostly fuel systems, cooling, timing, clutches if fitted and used for towing, and suspension/steering. Factor in a rust check too!

Edit: any reason you've excluded the BT50's (pre the newer ranger-twin shape which would be the equivalent to the PJ Ranger with the 3.0L that was superseded in about 2011)? Reason I ask is the Mazda version is basically the same vehicle but cheaper than the ranger, and those things were as close to unkillable as you'll get in the modern utes. Way more reliable than the later version anyway!