Hey guys thought I'd post up
My trusty 5 YO Rexton had come to the end of the line .. still working ok, but had a big stone chip on the windscreen ... centre exhaust section about to fall off .. leaking front diff seal .. various scrapes and body work dings from a good few years in the plant game ... the auto box had become snatchy .. and I kinda feared something was about to give ..... still quite a pretty barge for a part time spanner thrower like me but, it could only tow 2.8 so I looked about for a replacement.
Ive introduced a Rib net code to simplify some investigative work
Looked at a Ford Ranger ....... dealer
price
availabilty
VW Amarok ...spec
dealer
Disco commercial dealer price
somewhere on plant land rover
I did check out a few others ....but it was always the same story, price was garbage for what you got or the spec was not right in the areas that mattered.
So the Dmax .. I ended up with was a Utah Auto which is the upper end one with leather seats and climate control and had the vision pack fitted, which gives you a reversing camera and park sensors electric seat (driver only) and supposed surround sound
.
All have the 2.5 twin turbo motor. I like an auto, as it one less thought to process when the phone is going off etc
but ofcourse some manufacturers have the shift patterns worked out, but others dont. Have to say I'm quite impressed here, it shifts down often and shifts up when slowing down hill to use increased engine braking, something I first saw in a BMW X5 10 years ago, but its rubbish when the engine isnt hot, it labours massively when you prod it, its probably as lethargic as John Kennett after a few beers
It will leave you lurching onto a busy round about with no power what so ever, and lots of drivers will be approaching you with a WTF? look on their face
In this guise the quoted 30 MPG is utter fantasy .. I'm getting around 19-22 much the same as the old 2.7 Rexton
Its a good tow pick up though, the solid rear axle makes for a more reassuring haul, and I have to say, is very soft on the ride. The seats however take away all the fun, they are like benches for a tall person like me, and don't have anywhere near enough rake back to give me thigh support.
Its nice though to have all my tools in a separate section behind the cabin though, I no longer have to listen to them rattling all through my journey every where I go, and the extra seats mean my daughter doesn't have to sit on a tool box anymore with no seat belt if I needed to pick her up from school (i sound like a right Pikey )
5 year warranty too or every 12000 miles for service .. but the buggers have skimped here and there,.. rear wheels are drum braked and the door facias are plastic city, so if you do like your beats, expect a throb of plastic rattle with every one !
The fuel guage is another gripe .. it will say 80 miles left in the tank when you get home, but park it on a slope and it will flash emergency fuel reserve next time you start it .. a bit rubbish really, restart on a level slope and everything is fine.
Steering lock isnt great either so you'll need a few cuts to do your usual park ups, but some of that has to do with the wheel base length as its quite a big bus actually.
If you dont like using your mirrors for reversing ,forget this if you fit it with a hard canopy on the rear you'll have next to no vision, no problem for me as an HGV driver, but not for the faint hearted if a trailer is attached. With the vision pack you'd expect the camera to assist,(without a trailer) but in reality its picture on the dash is poor with any muck on the camera obscuring the picture badly, and its rubbish in low light .. so not impressed with that option too much and gets mucky very quickly.
On the whole I'm satisfied, but not really 'impressed'
thought you guys would like to know .. a soozie was a brand to be rekoned with .. but the rexton wasnt a half bad tool either
Edit .. forgot to say .. had it offroad last week in a really muddy field and nothing special there either, but I havent checked out tyres and stuff yet which is pretty vital for this sort of thing
Imogen
What are you gonna do when it gets cold, fit a woodburner?! 
