............A friend of mine runs a fleet of trucks and 4wds out of Cobar.  His accountant does the figures and it costs them less to run the v6petrol models than the diesels and they do HUGE k's..............

...............o problems buying at those klms mate, 1 of the only vehicles I would though, purchased mine 14mths ago with spot on 200k on it, 1 owner car, full logs, no offroad, just had a big service with all fluids (diff, trans, etc) + a new radiator, battery and air conditioner compressor, paid $16k for it, Ive run up 30k between now and then, towing a van from QLD to sydney, through blue mnts etc, been up a tonne of beaches and a fair bit of offroad, runs like a dream, uses no oil, no coolant and I have no doubt she'll go 500+, some bloke on here uses hiluxes for work with the 1gr-fe and has a few above 500k with 1 above 800k with minimal work, The motors are rock solid, and an accountant blindfolded could do a basic service on them. Seen a few lately around the 180k to 200k mark for $16 grand, At that price it's good buying. .........

...................GRFE V6 in one of our work Hilux's (2008 model) is about to have it 800,000k service, engine wise untouched- never had a rocker cover lifted and still running original radiator hoses - regular servicing and they just keep going, I firmly believe Toyota engines especially love fresh oil. Oh by the way this still uses no oil between services.

Xmas time drove my GX 120 V6 to Sydney and filled up down there for the return trip - it took 108 litres for 895 km so 12.1 l per 100k. @$1.06 per litre (With discount) and the return trip came back at 11.9 l per 100k ........

       Patrol, Prado, Pajero so get in them all and drive them.

I am biased as I own a Diesel D4D Prado.   But I was looking at GU patrols at the time. I was looking for a long distance tourer and like you do 80/20 on road/off road. These things did it for me in my price range:

You will get most places you want to off road in all of those in stock form.
The GU has a 4 speed Auto, the Prados I was looking at were all 5 speed.
The 90 and 120 series Prado have 180 litre fuel tanks - The diesel guys can get close to 1500km on a tank when not towing.
The Patrols are tough as nails, but driving the Patrol is like driving a truck. The live axles are great for off road, but driving long distance in a Patrol vs a Prado is chalk and cheese. Prado's win for comfort in my eyes.
We've got 3 kids and the rear middle seat in the Patrol felt uncomfortable.
Pajero was discounted early to me because we wanted an 8 seater (And I've never known a Mitsi that didn't leak oil. Irrational I know but it was enough) BUT they are underrated off road vehicles. Ground clearance can be a bit low though and I wouldn't be mounting a second battery in the engine bay, but they're not bad trucks.

So that leaves Petrol vs Diesel Prado - The V6 Prado is a hoot to drive and the engine is pretty near indestructible but fuel consumption if you tow and do a lot of low range is up around the mid 20's. But if you own a diesel factor in changing the injectors when they wear out, higher servicing costs, and higher purchase price and you probably come out evens.
Pre-D4D diesel is a great unit, some feel it is underpowered but plenty use it to tow.  The early D4D diesel's had a problem with their injector seals/seats causing blow by - can make the engine go boom! This should now be fixed as there is a recall out to get them done but if you hear a knocking from the engine when inspecting, walk away (I've heard the same noise from Diesel Pajero's too btw). 2008 onwards should be ok as they changed the design but might be out your price range.  You'll need to swap out injectors on any diesel truck eventually as they're a consumable but the Injector swap on a D4D Toyota is around $1500-$2000. Much less for a non D4D (1KZ-TE).

The early GU 1-3 diesels also had an issue - google Nissan Grenade. Most people I spoke to recommend buying an '06 GU IV and above to avoid it.

Downside of driving a Prado - paying the Toyota Tax for parts and servicing.      

http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=44873.msg755780#msg755780

           I have a D4D and I can say with all honesty that it gets between 9.3 and 10.1 around town and 9.5 on a long drive (if you keep it below 110km/h) once you go over 110km/h it creeps up to around 12..... IT loves sitting on 115km/h though and is only ticking over at 2200rpm and is nearly silent in the car, IMO it is worth the extra 2L/100k to see the world zipping past that little bit quicker on some of our l-o-n-g country roads
X The country figure is quoted towing a quad trailer loaded up with a couple of quads (bout 700kg all up), as we like to get away quite often... the figures ARE reliable !!

          Hi there.  We drive a Holden Rodeo 3ltr turbo diesel manual.  Towing our 17ft pop top Jaco Freedom I average  14.5 ltrs per 100 ks.  This works out to 7ks per ltr.  Just the vehicle alone runs 9.5 to 10litres per 100 ks.  Total weight of the van loaded is about 1600kg (I dont carry full water tanks unless going well bush).   A good head wind will make a mockery of the above calculations however.

Ian

    jandas fun said
    07:50 PM Dec 28, 2009

Hi lance and Vi. welcome to the forum. We have a 1999 Prado 3400 petrol auto towing a 16ft coromal pop top. gvm 1350. Average over the last couple of years is 16litres per 100k at average speed of 90klms. and 18litres per 100k at 100klms an hour. Usually flick out of o/drive when approaching decent hills, go by feel. Johnw

           I have a 99 Prado petrol and do 15-16L per 100k at average 8okph 16-18L per 100k at average 90kph 18-20L per 100k at average 95/100kph towing a 16ft coromal pop top lowline. about 1350k g.v.m if it costs me a few dollars more to drive a bit faster, then i can camp up an extra day to recoup. at the end of the day i feel its a matter of being happy and comfortable with what you have. Johnw

                       We tow a 3t van - goes good - 15 l/100 km

    The Bear said
    09:00 AM Sep 16, 2015

I have a 2 wheel drive D max tray back towing 2 ton van loaded 12l per 100kms my only problem it likes to go faster than I think it should !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bear

    Delta18 said
    09:25 AM Sep 16, 2015

Our MY15 D-Max tows out 3t van well. �I would never be so stupid to say "I never know it's there" as some I have heard but it does do the job admirably considering the lower torque & power output compared to some other dual cab utes.

I think this is because it's power is available over a wider rev range. �I know it gets away from a standstill better than our previous, higher specc'd Triton. �It is also more economical and I expect the motor to outlast any of the 'neck wrung' competitors.

Cheers Neil

    Izabarack said
    12:38 PM Sep 16, 2015

Love mine. I tow up to 2.2. 11.9 to 13.9 (into a headwind). Has all the power I will ever need.

Iza