Thread: Replacement ute advice

Answering your original question, for me it's a Hilux, not because it's better or more legendary than any other brand but purely because I've had....5 of them and none of them have broken the bank or let me down. Unlike the two Nav D40's I've had which I just had to keep throwing money at to keep them on the road. I tend to do big miles carrying heavy gear and reasonably frequent towing, diggers, packs of timber, aggregate etc plus a bit of moderate off road and the Hilux's just seem to lap it up, my current is a 2008 N70 extra cab chassis with a tray on the back and it's perfect for me, can carry 4 bodies when it needs to and bags of room on the back but yeah, ute choice is very much "what's out there that's good and not a polished turd" that being said, you couldn't pay me to have another Navara

That sucks. I will keep my eye out for that ute in my travels around the waikato for you.

Funny, as I was coming thru Stratford last night at around midnite I saw a person breaking into a ute, Blatant as.

I couldnt stop. No response from Plod's.

Plus one for the Triton, everything comes down to what you want and how much you want to spend. Have a 2019 Triton and it was perfect for what I wanted, it does everything I need it too plus more for a reasonable price. The added bonus of a newer vehicle over the older models are the safety features if you're adventuring around with kids etc.

Stay away from the Triton MN; the 2.5L had a few issues. The MQ (2015-2019) and MR(2020-now) 2.4 is a far better engine, very underrated.

Originally Posted by paddygonebush

Stay away from the Triton MN; the 2.5L had a few issues. The MQ (2015-2019) and MR(2020-now) 2.4 is a far better engine, very underrated.

Think the MR model has since superseded by this. Not sure what the model designation is for it.

I have a 2017 MQ GLS Triton. Full leather Ralliart bucket seats, push button start and super select 2. Can’t really fault it. It does have a low end lull which is a pain at intersections. Put your foot down and not much happens, then suddenly it’s all go. Can be a bit scary if you have a car coming up faster than you expected. I have a throttle controller which does make it better but it’s still there. Thinking of getting a DPF delete and retune, but that may mess with its insurability
I bought mine for $26.5k with 140k on the clock and has all the fruit (lift/front and rear bars/winch/load lid)

I feel for you a very nice well kept vehicle by the look of it, I hope you get it back

Originally Posted by paddygonebush

Stay away from the Triton MN; the 2.5L had a few issues.

And also the MN double-cab had a poor tray design, too much overhang behind the rear axle gave poor departure angle and the big ass was prone to getting dinged.

Originally Posted by paddygonebush

Stay away from the Triton MN; the 2.5L had a few issues. The MQ (2015-2019) and MR(2020-now) 2.4 is a far better engine, very underrated.

Or go the other way, ML Triton (2006-2009) had the mighty 3.2L in the 4WD versions and shorter tub in the double-cab, much better than MN. The last of the MLs had Super Select and rear diff lock in the GLS version, a great all-rounder (if you can find one).

Originally Posted by paddygonebush

Stay away from the Triton MN; the 2.5L had a few issues.

And also the MN double-cab had a poor tray design, too much overhang behind the rear axle gave poor departure angle and the big ass was prone to getting dinged.

Originally Posted by paddygonebush

The MQ (2015-2019) and MR(2020-now) 2.4 is a far better engine, very underrated.

Or go the other way, ML Triton (2006-2009) had the mighty 3.2L in the 4WD versions and shorter tub in the double-cab, much better than MN. The last of the MLs had Super Select and rear diff lock in the GLS version, a great all-rounder (if you can find one).

I have an 04 hilux that I'm thinking of selling if your interested. In hawkes bay, welcome to test drive and everything. Owned for around 8 years but now have a work vehicle, so it's not getting much use at all. It does lack the new features but it still runs well and does the trick

Originally Posted by Delphus

I have a 2017 MQ GLS Triton. Full leather Ralliart bucket seats, push button start and super select 2. Can’t really fault it. It does have a low end lull which is a pain at intersections. Put your foot down and not much happens, then suddenly it’s all go. Can be a bit scary if you have a car coming up faster than you expected. I have a throttle controller which does make it better but it’s still there. Thinking of getting a DPF delete and retune, but that may mess with its insurability
I bought mine for $26.5k with 140k on the clock and has all the fruit (lift/front and rear bars/winch/load lid)

That low end lul can be solved by one of those plug in computer throttle controllers - my old man has a 2016 and that solved it, makes it much nicer to drive. I have a 2023 for work and it still has it a bit but significantly less than what my olds had.

But my 2c on vehicles to look at:
My hunting truck is a 2015 hilux d-cab - but the older n70 shape with the 3l in it, not the newer 2.8

Mine has been absolutely bullet proof - has 330k on it and I only use it for hunting so can sit for a month before being driven and always starts first pop and takes me wherever I need to go and back.

Being the 2015 it’s had all the kinks worked out over the older motors.

The tritons are still worth looking at though and you’ll find a much nicer condition one with lower kms than a hilux for the same $$

I reckon a Mitsi Triton is a solid choice

I'm about 2 years and just over 40K into my new Triton and so far pretty good. It's obviously early days but the 10 year power train warrantee sounded good. The lag in the accelerator is a shitbag if you're not aware of it.

Originally Posted by rugerman

I'm about 2 years and just over 40K into my new Triton and so far pretty good. It's obviously early days but the 10 year power train warrantee sounded good. The lag in the accelerator is a shitbag if you're not aware of it.

Throttle controller, like chalk and cheese, takes about 2 minutes to put on

Originally Posted by HUNTY

Throttle controller, like chalk and cheese, takes about 2 minutes to put on

Do the ones for rangers make much of an improvement?