Car advice for grey nomads - 4wd, Territory, Kluger, Prado etc info

My dad has finally decided to retire, and his and mums plan is to spend 6 months of the year here in Aus and 6 in UK - with the Aus months being spring summer here and being grey nomads and doing the whole country over a couple of years.

Dad wants my input on car selection (he is coming in June for 5 weeks and looking to buy car then and hire a trailer tent to get a few ideas), as we will have use of the car plus trailer tent when they are not here (autumn/winter) - I know nothing about cars, we have a Corolla and use public transport most of the time, which will continue unless we need to move more people around or go away for weekend etc - when we got ours I got it because had a Corolla at home, we went out one morning 4 years ago and bought it, I didn't try anything else - so really am clueless. I have owned a Ford Fiesta in the UK and a Corolla there and wouldn't buy Ford in UK again on that experience but not sure if that is relevant here.

He will buy pre-owned but is looking for only a year or so old, and look to sell it on at somepoint (maybe to me so we can do our year round Oz if I can wangle it).

Any suggestions, advice? He has a Prius at home (so fuel economy and environmental friendliness are quite important to him but for the amount of KM's and the towing will have to compromise on this a bit). He likes the idea of seven seats so we can all get in it, but also most of the time would be just him and mum.

I expect they will want to go off road a bit but suspect would only say be about 10% of time.

I want to help him as he is in UK so no real local knowledge and will be great for me too - but it makes my headspin :-)

Are they planning on needing to tow anything bigger than camper trailer? A caravan will require a lot more grunt.

My dad has just retired and he bought a Hilux. They've gone part way around Australia in it towing a small 4x4 caravan. He loves it.

We have a Hilux. It only seats 5 not 7 and the back seats aren't overly comfy.
It's a proper 4x4 so it goes on the beach etc.

What about a Landcruiser? Plenty of grunt, 4x4, comfy. It's the best selling 4x4 in Australia and has been for ages so it keeps its resale value and you can find parts for it anywhere.

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Are they planning on needing to tow anything bigger than camper trailer? A caravan will require a lot more grunt.

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No plans for a caravan.


Will mention the HiLux to him Tinks - you don't really get Ute's in UK so he may not have even looked at that. Do you know if your dad used any online forums/sites etc to research what to get including the caravan part? Or had he already got plenty of camping experience? I think Dad needs to just hang out at some campsites :-) because from what I remember of backpacking round Australia people were always very friendly and happy to tell you all about why they chose what they did etc.

My dad has just handed in his retirement notice too and they plan on doing a lot of caravaning. They've just bought their 7th caravan (in 30 years) :o and it's yet another Jayco. They had a new camper trailer but sold it after the first trip, the van is more their style. They love Jayco pop tops. We did have a Coromal for a while when I was a kid but both my parents believe the Jayco's are better value for money.

They bought a Pajero secondhand 4.5 years ago and it's a great car. Super easy to drive (it always surprises me when I'm driving it) and comfy. They've driven it over from Vic to WA and up and down the west coast a dozen or more times in the past 4 years. They take it off road quite a bit too of course :D

My sister and BIL also own a Pajero and do LOADS of 4WDing and traveling in theirs. It too has been across the country and up and down the west coast and frequently off the beaten track. They've just bought a cheapo Jayco Swan for them and their two boys (7 and 4 yrs). They had a cheap camper trailer prior to that for about 3 years.

Carsales and Caravancamping sales are good sites for used cars and vans. The Gumtree is also good for caravans and camper trailers.

Kia Sorrento could also be a possibility. they are a fabulous car!!

I would suggest something like the 100 series landcruiser, seven seater, and if setup right can be super economical towing even the biggest vans. The Man did one to tow a big van around Australia, and I am sure he said its fuel usage was 11 litres per hundred kilometres. Seriously. On the highway.

What else, oh yes. I would recommend them joining up with an online forum or two (if they are tech savvy), such as overlander dot com dot au, or Australian 4wd. The overlander one is all about big trips and vehicles, and could be very useful for them, not just in terms of choosing a vehicle, but finding out some special places to go to (and more importantly, how to get there!)

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I would suggest something like the 100 series landcruiser, seven seater, and if setup right can be super economical towing even the biggest vans. The Man did one to tow a big van around Australia, and I am sure he said its fuel usage was 11 litres per hundred kilometres. Seriously. On the highway.

What else, oh yes. I would recommend them joining up with an online forum or two (if they are tech savvy), such as overlander dot com dot au, or Australian 4wd. The overlander one is all about big trips and vehicles, and could be very useful for them, not just in terms of choosing a vehicle, but finding out some special places to go to (and more importantly, how to get there!)

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Cheers, yes Dad is very tech savvy - and he adores researching so I will put him onto those two sites.

I think the Kia Sorrento was on his list to look at - Landcruiser too - the family have always had good luck with Toyota's so is good they are so prevalent over here.

With the territory he should look at the diesel model as it has a lot of towing power.

Whatever car he looks at her should look for Diesel as it has better bang for your Buck and you get a lot more kms per tank.

Love, love, love our diesel Territory TS. We bought it a few months ago and I'm besotted with it. Tons of room inside. On the open road you can get 1000kms out of the tank, although doing short runs and such we are easily doing 800km which you can't complain about. DH got a towball connected and we have used the trailer to take furniture up to my parents place in the Blue Mountains and we didn't notice drag on the car at all or much difference in economy. My only regret is that we didn't get the AWD,which would probably suit your parents better if they are going to travel (don't know where they plan on going). Oh, and I wish we could have afforded the Titanium....maybe next time!

ps: DS2 loves his "truck" also.

AWD is not the same as 4WD. If your parents want to go off road they probably need a 4x4. Unless by off-road you mean off bitumen roads onto dirt/gravel roads.

I prefer petrol to diesel. Our diesel cars have given us more engine grief than the petrol and from an environmental perspective petrol is a cleaner fuel. Also diesel waxes at low temperatures so it can be kind of sucky on really cold days - if you take the car skiing and the weather sets in it can be a bit sluggish.

Dad wouldnt go for a diesel from environmental perspective I dont think. All advice appreciated though.

My Inlaws have a 2 door prado. It tows their huge caravan no problems. Car goes off road no worries as well. I would recommend that for reliability and fuel

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Dad wouldnt go for a diesel from environmental perspective I dont think. All advice appreciated though.

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If not interested in diesel then the 100 or 290 series cruisers are thirsty. We have a 100 series. Love it but its very thirsty (in process of buying a second car). We are buying a Santa Fe. Little cheaper then the sorento but all reviews are similar. Both reliable cars from what I have read.

Oh I am so jealous of them lol. One day it will be me travelling Australia

Seems dad may be interested in diesel - he has been researching and apparently due to new filters and for the type of driving e.g. distances and towing - a diesel is an ok option from an environmental perspective. Cars are never going to be great after all so just finding the "least worst".

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Oh I am so jealous of them lol. One day it will be me travelling Australia

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Me too - it will be me one day - I have been determined to do it before we moved here, when were back packing round Australia and hanging out at various campsites with grey nomads. I remember so clearly the moment I decided, we were staying at Innot Hot Springs in QLD - sat in a thermal pool listening to all these grey nomads talking about how many times had been round and round. (I should have paid more attention to their cars and vans then - we had a Hyundai Getz and a very cheap two man tent - we stood out like a sore thumb - people would meet us and go "oh you are the ones in the toy car")

My dh and I are determined we will travel more when the kids move out of home. For now we do small trips away. We have done two 6 week trips to the territory and loved it. The last 2 weekends we have been camping and with all this rain we've been having it was nice not to have a trip cancelled. We don't mind camping in the rain but its painful with the kids. We have bought ourselves a pop up camper trailer. It's basically like the jayco ones. But ours is a golf. Love it. Sleeps up to 8. Shame 2 of the kids have no decided to sleep in tents :/. Lol

Sorry for hijacking your thread op

We have a Nissan pathfinder. They have good towing capacity (better than Prado) they area smaller 4wd compared to a landcruiser. I have been really happy with ours. It is 7 seats, rear seats fold into floor and is really comfortable to drive.

Diesel is def the way to go. Not only more kms to a tank, but in the western states diesel is cheaper than petrol. The longer range & cheaper prices do come in handy over here. My parents have a 94 Landcruiser Troop Carrier & use around the same in $$ as I do in a 05 V6 station wagon. We did WA - NSW together, both towing caravan's & fuel costs were very similar.

Patrol & Cruiser are top of the line for off road. Pajero, Hilux, Navara etc come in after them. They're the tougher cars made for hard driving. Not sure how good a Kluger/Territory etc would be & not sure they're available in diesel either.

Joining forums is a good idea. And with 4x4's, you do get what you pay for. That's why the Patrol's & Cruisers hold their value so well.