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2.5 shoggie? Had one, had another, still dont compare to the real thing with a green oval on the front :)

Think appaling fuel economy (mid-high 20s on mine for road only use, disco gives 35)

Think gutless (unless you get the intercooled version it can barely pull the skin off a rice pudding)

Thing potentially serious engine issues (woodruff key for crank pulley)

Think horrendous spares costs (simple one off the top of my head, brakepads, twice the cost of disco, major mechanicals even more so)

Think overpriced (some people still think jap motors are more reliable at that age so charge a premium)

Think weak rear chassis rails (especially important if you are going to load it right up and tow

Think appaling ride (torsion bars & leaf springs, think of it crashing & bouncing over every speedbump and pothole unless kept loaded)

Think Disco!

Hell, even think Isuzu/Vauxhall, anything but a 2.5 mitsi

Thanks for that dirtydisco, i always bought into the ' jap cars are more reliable and economical ', but you've certainly made me think twice. I was concerned that a Discovery would have been expensive to buy just to use as a towcar but looking on Autotrader i was surprised at the prices. Should i be aware of any particular model, any things to look out for?. Hope you don't mind me asking but now i'm interested in the benifits of a disco over the japanese models. If anyone else could give any info that would be great.

Thanks for your time dirtydisco.

Cheers Granty.

there are four main benefits of a disco although i suspect 1 is of no interest to you

running costs (when you get sorted give me a shout and ill point you at some suppliers)

longevity (argued elsewhere)

4x4, all the time, all conditions, no need to push buttons or wiggle levers, no need to disengage it as soon as conditions change

far superior off road performance

Main points to look for

condition of interior trim in the rear (it tends to seperate if damp)

boot floor (this is a carpet up excercise)

inner wings at front

rear arches by seatbelt mounting points

rear crossmember/body bodymounts

sills.

manual gearbox whine or bad clunks (gearbox replacement is common from 120k upwards, budget about £700 for a fully reconditioned box fitted and a new gear ring for the transfer case. (this is less of a problem on 300 models with larger headlights and curvier wing mirrors after aboul M plate)

if there is NO side to side action on the small ratio gearstick the vehicle may have a viscous difflock. drive round in small tight circles feeling for the vhecile trying to fight and listen for tyres scrubbing

As long as there is a history of regular cambelt changes  and routine servicing there is no reason to be scared of moon and back mileages. There should still be some older "school bus" ones out there that have never towed, never off roaded. A gas converted V8 may be cheaper than an equivalent diesel, a petrol V8 wil likely have low mileages and be well cared for

Thanks again dirtydisco, it may be a few months yet before i really put my heart and soul into looking (doing the house up between weekends away), but i'll be sure to contact you for more advice at the time, & to take up your offer of part suppliers.

Cheers mate,

Granty.

 Sorry Disco i disagree. I own a 92 2.5lwb pajero jap import, ok fuel consuption not great and as with many other vehicles i have had no problems with it( providing it serviced and looked after) mine has coil  spring on the rear and and handles better than a lot of 4x4 i have driven, parts even from main dealer are not to bad(rear brake pads £33.00)

Cost wise i paid £1500 for mine with 860000 miles

Colin

Each to their own of course, but dare I say I can get pads & discs or pads all round for that sort of money? :) There are of course many other variables, tyre prices, insurance, and with older vehicles "major" spares such as radiators, alternators, etc, all of which my disco has worked out way cheaper than the shoggie

Fuel consumption is something I dont often worry too much about (with a V8 rangerover I cant worry too much), but my mitsi diesel was as close to my 3.9 petrol range rover as it was to my tdi disco. The big point for me though, is there are a lot more early 90s discos still running than comparable japs, that says to me that the japs reach a point of un-economical repairs much sooner :)

I spent a year in the motor trade, and there was one thing that became obvious quite quickly. Because some brands are considered more reliable (nissan, honda, vw, to name 3) many owners skimp on the servicing because of the belief in bulletproof reliability, a very big problem when buying an older vehicle. An old rover is much more likely to have been serviced regularly than the honda it is identical to

I agree each to his or her own,i think the shogun is best why drive round with permant 4 wheel drive if you dont need it? I've got a 3ltr petrol lwb shogun and as long as i dont drive like a boyracer (like in my youth) i dont think mpg to bad for the size of the motor,farther-in-law has a 2.5 petrol freelander and that uses more fuel than mine.Am going to be changing mine soon and have looked around at other makes but am still drawn to the mitsi,but will admit might go for diesel next time but only for more torque to pull a large caravan that OH has been lookin at

I loved my 1995 2.5 diesel SWB Shogun for towing the caravan but it was heavy on fuel (about 27mpg solo, 24 when towing) so I tended to avoid using it for much else. Oh, apart from when we had heavy snow last winter. But the main things I didn't like were - no air con, no ABS - and I'm used to having them on my cars.

I've recently sold it and am replacing it with a Citroen Xsara (Towcar of the year 2002) which is supposed to do 50 to the gallon and has climate control and ABS. But it isn't big enough to tow your caravan (mine's a lot lighter) so I'm afraid you'll have to carry on looking at 4 x 4s.

Hi, We used a Shogun for towing for three years and would highly recommend them. Changed it for Toyota Landcruiser VX last year. If you are still searching for a Pajero or Shogun, I would look for a low miler and maybe the 2.8 version as your caravan is fairly heavy. Manual gearbox is a winner too for towing.