From Patrol 4x4 site.
Landcruiser v Y62 - Comparison
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Y62 Patrol vs 200 series Landcruiser diesel
Those on the Aussie Patrol Facebook page will have seen the report below, but for those not in the Facebook group, I thought I would repeat it here.
After 10 days of driving a 200 series Landcruiser back to back with a Y62, the results are in, and they are not what many might have expected.
We took two vehicles, a Y62 ST-L and a 200 series Sahara diesel, on an approximately 3300km trip to far South West Queensland. Starting in Brisbane, the journey took us to Toowoomba, Dalby, St George, Cunamulla, Eulo, Thargomindah, Noccundra, Euromanga, Quilpe, Yohah, the Culoga Floodplain NP, Moree, Inverell, Glen Innes, the Gibraltar Range NP and finally Hastings Point in Northern NSW (just below Tweed Heads) before returning the Brisbane.
The ST-L was stock, except for a Rhino Platform Rack. The Sahara has been set-up for towing a caravan, and has 200 kg rated springs, adjustable shock absorbers, bull bar, three batteries and an ARB roof rack. Although it hasn't been lifted (according to the owner, my uncle) it felt higher than stock ? I'd say about two inches.
Both vehicles had four passengers and their gear, with both roof racks being utilised for tents and swags etc. The Sahara carried the fridge, the ST-L the icebox, while passengers and drivers where changed on an at least daily basis. All up, there were four drivers, who each drove both vehicles, although my father spent most time in the Patrol, and I spent most time in the Landcruiser.
Unseasonal wet weather in the channel country frustrated our plans to really get off the beaten track, so most driving was on bitumen, although there was at least 400km or so of dirt roads and some proper off-roading while we looked for campsites off the road. Both cars travelled at the same speed, on the same roads, at the same time and went to the same places.
The Landcruiser used 475.17 l of diesel and travelled 3227km, an average fuel use of 14.72 litres per 100km. The total cost of the Landcruiser's fuel was $554.87 or $17.19 per 100kms.
The Patrol travelled 3281 km and used 470.74 l of a mix of 91 (with some octane booster), 95 and 98, an average fuel use of 14.34 l per 100 km. The total cost of the Patrol's fuel was $611.06 or $18.62 per 100 kms.
These figures were recorded on the Fuel Map app filling up at the same stations (except for the last fill of each vehicle) to three clicks and recording kms from the odometer.
I don't know how to share a screen shot of the app, but for those that care, here is the breakdown:
Patrol Landcruiser
10 May 491km @13.5 526km @ 14.6
10 May 298km @ 15.6 300km @ 16.3
11 May 212km @ 14.2 210km @ 16.4
13 May 367km @ 15.1 367km @ 12.5
14 May 214km @ 17.7 213km @ 18.6
16 May 398km @ 13.8 406km @ 13.2
17 May 554km @ 13.6 555km @ 13.2
20 May 747km @ 14.1 650km @ 15.7
All up, pretty bloody close, but a small win to the Patrol on litres used without taking into account handicaps. Maybe with a lift and a bullbar, it would have been the Landcruiser by a nose, we can only speculate, but I'm also confident that the Patrol's figures would have been better had I discovered sooner that my father had been driving it in 4wd high (rather than auto) on the blacktop for some 500kms! I'm also of the view that the Landcruiser's figures on 13 May and 14 May reflect that it wasn't filled to three clicks on the 13th, but was on the 14th, giving a low reading one the first day and a high reading on the second. This doesn't affect the final figures at all.
Other impressions? Well, the universal opinion was that the Patrol was the nicer vehicle to travel in. Everyone agreed that it was roomer, had nicer seats (many preffered the ST-L's cloth to the Sahara's leather), looked nicer, was more refined and offered a more compliant ride with less body roll. These impressions were no doubt in part due to the Landcruiser's beefed up caravan ready suspension, but the ride wasn't the only factor. Even my eight year old son ultimately wasn't persuaded by the offer of DVD's on the road in the Landcruiser.
And behind the wheel? Well, I own the ST-L but spent more time driving the Land Cruiser. The Land Cruiser imparts a feeling of go-anywhere ability and I certainly felt more comfortable with a bullbar up front (a must have mod in my opinion now). But where the Patrol seemed to shrink around you ? especially on the twisty roads of the Gibraltar Range ? the Land Cruiser always felt its size. Its engine, while clearly offering huge amounts of torque from low in the rev range, never felt as powerful as the Patrol's V8, and certainly had none of the buttery smoothness of the Y62. Whereas the Y62 could induce a grin, or terror, depending on how hard you pressed the pedal and Landcruiser's engine never excited. My wife, shortly after her first stint behind the wheel of the Patrol, had a go of the Land Cruiser. After a couple of kilometres she pulled over, as she felt the engine lacked power.
We didn't do any serious off-roading on this trip, but where the Land Cruiser went, so to went the Patrol without difficulty. Indeed, on both sand and on some muddy tracks, the Patrol on occasion seemed more sure footed, and a little less inclined to slide about, than the Land Cruiser but this is not a definitive conclusion on their respective capabilities, which we didn't go anywhere near to testing.
From an ergonomic perspective, I preferred the more modern, car-like, interior of the Patrol and was frustrated by the touch-screen of the Saraha's sat-nav come everything. Presumably, with experience, one can quickly navigate the Land Cruiser's controls but, as an example, while the aircon temperature is controlled by a button, you have to go to the screen to adjust fan speed, which means taking your eyes off the road. That said, the Land Cruiser's seats offered more adjustment that the ST-L's and I think the Toyota's cruise control is better calibrated ? the Patrol surges when adjusting speed using the steering wheel button whereas the Land Cruiser adjusts its speed much more smoothly. TIL owners might have a great range of adjustment, I don't know.
Was there anything in the fully specced Sahara that I wished I had in the less-than-half-the-cost STL? In short ? not really, at least not on this trip. It annoy's me that the ST-L doesn't have an audio input; its lack of sat-nav in town is annoying; and off road I'd like the compass and other information (yaw angle, departure angle etc) that the Land Cruiser (and no doubt TIL) offer, but I didn't need any of these things this time. Nor was the chilled glove box of the Land Cruiser a must have feature ? we turned it off so we could fill it with the usual things that clutter a cabin on a long trip.
In relation to the boots of both vehicles, the ST-L's is superior (if both vehicles' third row seats are retained), as the side mounted seats of the Land Cruiser rob it of huge amounts of room. I took out the third rows in both vehicles and while the Patrol probably has fractionally more volume the Land Cruiser was fractionally wider, and offered a flat floor while the Patrol had a large well (where the feet of third row passengers go). This we used to our advantage stacking stretcher beds, but if you need a flat floor you will have to either buy a TIL or take out the third row seats and build a false floor.
So, which one would I drive home in if given the choice? Personally, I'd take the Patrol, as I don't need a lug for a caravan. Were I towing a caravan, I don't know, as I haven't compared the two back to back in this role and can't comment. Without a van though, the Patrol offers a roomier, better looking and more comfortable cabin, is a much nicer vehicle to drive across patchy blacktop and freeways alike and, for those who love driving, has in my opinion a much nicer drivetrain without much, if any, of a fuel economy penalty. It's four wheel drive system, with a standard lockable centre and rear differentials is also, in my opinion, a more complete and easier to use system than that of a stock Land Cruiser, although this is in no way a comparison of their respective abilities off road. All that said, the choice I had to make was between a near-new second hand Patrol with two years and more than 80,000km of warranty to a 5 or 6 year old GXL 200 series with 80,000 kms plus on the clock and no warranty. At the end of the day, I'm happy with the choice I made.
