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Hi there,

We are about to purchase a tow vehicle to a tow horse and float, approx 2300 kg max. We have decided to purchase a petrol and so far are considering Toyota Prado 3.4L, Mitsubishi Pajero 3.5L V6, approx 1996-2002 years, kms vary from 70-200kms, is there anything we should be careful of with these vehicles? what would be an "acceptable amount" of kms you would expect these vehicles to do before they give you any trouble? The Prados tend to have higher kms than the Mitsi's for our price range $10-$15k. Does this mean they are better vehicles?

Kind regards
Sharlene

If you purchase the Mitsubishi I suspect you would need to tow a fuel tanker as well as the horse float to keep up with the fuel consumption. They are a very thirsty beast when towing such loads.

The reason the Prado is either more expensive, or has travelled higher km’s for the same money as the Pajero is because it's the vehicle of choice for most people in this market. Hence sellers can command a premium on price.

They do have the better reputation for overall reliability, driveability and fuel consumption (especially in comparison to the petrol Mitsubishi).

Buying into your price range however you have to be careful regardless of what you buy. A proven past service history is important along with knowing the environment the vehicle has been used in and exposed to.

The question on the preferred number of km's travelled is a difficult one to answer however anything up to and over 200K is getting into high risk territory in my view.

I can’t criticise your decision to go for petrol over diesel although an awful lot depends on how far you intend to travel towing the horse float. Diesel will win every time in terms of fuel consumption and certainly tow better under certain loads, but higher maintenance and overall ownership costs, can quickly drag the petrol back into favour more than people realise at times.