MoonRiverOasis

I can 100% guarantee that there's never been a CVT transmission in the Thai market Tiida since it's intial launch in June 2006 all the way to it's current production run

How's that for confident?

The Thai market Tiida has always been a 4-speed AT or a 5-speed MT, but never a CVT..

If it's an auto, it's a 4-speed

So, all-in-all, the MU-7 is the lowest priced SUV with the best features of all the rivals in its class.....hands down!

Well, that depends on how you rate different criteria for importance..

When it comes the these types of SUV's (known as PPV's in TH because they are derived from pickups) the contenders are Toyota Fortuner, Mitsu Pajero Sport, Ford Everest, Thairung Adventure and Allroader, and the Isuzu MU-7 - all of which have their pros and cons.

Of these, they're all very closely priced except for the Fortuner which comes with a 20-30% price premium and for which you're really only getting VSC (vehicle stability control) as a standout extra. It definitely has better resale value, and is far and away the crowd favorite, but in terms of TCO (total cost of ownership) it's still the most expensive.

Each should absolutely be test-driven, poked and prodded before making any final decisions, because there are some very noticable differences in NVH (noise vibration harshness), power, comfort, handling, trim quality, equipment and certainly styling (inside and out) - be warned that looking at the paper specs does not tell the whole story!

This segment is known to create severe buyer's remorse for some

Whatever you choose, enjoy it!

MRO, any idea how much the conversion cost for the Colorado..... Pretty impressive, the owner of the vehicle must have a big smile on his face at traffic lights......

Thai's *never* talk prices online - it's taboo - you could give their Chiangmai shop a call, or just stop by..

http://www.mapjack.com/?WvXyUN5aac7E

Thank you Moon.

I find that guys behaviour a little odd.. [snip]

Fair enough

Here's another lead - these guys are arguably the most prominent in the various Thai language forums - I've had some dicussions with them (which were all very positive I might add) but I'm not sure if they can speak English (Thai's give up trying when the realize you can speak Thai)..

http://www.ecu-shop.com/

If you want some more I can dig them up, but be warned that it'll start getting even more Thai-language only..

Edit: One of their dealers have recently modded a Colorado for a 10.9s 1/4 mile @ 216km/hr - Diesel powar! wow!

This isn't actually really a pick up. It's more like a El Camino. Suspensions are similar as a sport car. Australian still make El Camino Style Pick Up Trucks, which are very, nice by the way, similar as Chevy done in the 70ties.

Correct, in Australia these are called "utes", but then again pickups are also called that over there

Here in LOS you can't buy that kind of toy, but you can build one. Can buy a Vigo and put in a 1 UZ V8 with supercharger. Should get also about 400 hp. I done a RR once with a Lexus V8, was perfect toy! Sadly i sold it, otherwise it would be my "Fortuner Killer today".

For a brief period of time I considered doing an engine swap to an LS1/2/3, but then I saw how much such an engine would cost here (even 2nd hand > 300K) so it died, right there. By the time you added a gearbox, changed all the fuel system etc you'd be looking at ~500K for a used (and probably abused) motor.

Your Toyota swap probably makes much better sense. Pity the VIGO is such a girly looking truck

*prepares fire proof suit*

So lets get back to the OP's question.

I have 20" rims and tyres, 40psi is good for me.

Lots of experts hanging round, what do they recommend considering the OEM placard listing 16" tyres is no longer valid ????

My answer (which is based on pure facts and tire ratings) wasn't good enough?

The styling is a matter of personal taste of course, but the MU-7 generally represents pretty good value for money.

The biggest downsides I see with it are:

It's long - one foot longer than Fortuner and Pajero Sport (more difficult to handle around town)

It has a big turning circle - it's wheelbase is 1 foot longer as well (also more difficult to handle around town)

The Isuzu engine is noisy - it's very capable but also uninspiring.

The interior looks very dated, and not far enough removed from it's pickup origins (Fortuner also suffers from this)

Resale value (as a %) is lower than Fortuner, but so is initial cost (So same as the Pajero Sport here)

However, it also has it's upsides:

It's bigger

It's cheaper!

If there's a Thai girl (or family) that'll be riding in it, you should also seek their opinion on it as well - some will not respond very well to it, others will love it - that largely depends on what's popular in the home town

> Are there any issues with a farang owning a car?

Nothing particular, no, so long as you're not talking about finance of course. As you're not listed on a Tabien Ban you'll need a certification of your (Thai) address from your embassy or immigration. The latter will require you to be on the visa extension scheme, the former will cost you a little more.

> I see a lot of new looking in cars in Bangkok but apparently the average wage is low for Thais - how do they afford them - is there double pricing afoot or are local brands a lot cheaper?

Yes the average wage is low, but then again the average Thai doesn't own a car. There's a large upper-class in BKK and a growing middle class around the country though, which is what you're seeing. No double pricing - the salesperson will try to have a go at you just the same as they would a Thai person - OK maybe a little more if they pick you as being dumber than average

> Is it easy to sell a car on?

Same as anywhere. Choose the right model and it'll be easier. Take a hit on price and it'll be easier. Trying to sell it yourself as a private sale is going to limit your options if you're not Thai literate of course.

> Are there any tax exemptions for certain size or types of car?

Taxes are all over the place, but the short answer is yes. Energy effecient cars (hybrids and eco cars) get tax breaks, as do 7-seat+ PPV's and 2-door pickups.

> Do I have to get a pick up? wink.gif

Of course you do

I read about the Navara has a highly stressed out engine and

is one of the hardest to mod.

I am thinking about modding a diesel to 500-550nm

still in the stage of calculating the cost of the project.

If you want some ideas on possibilities and prices, here's a start (forum sponsor BTW):

http://www.monster-p-industries.com/about.html

Beware my Vigo.

MRO - that's a dangerous statement to make on this board

I was talking in the context of stock pickups - i.e. none of them come close to the Navara. I guess I should have been a little clearer

Still, I do like the way you guys are thinking TV track day maybe?

Was just gonna check that site! That should be a fairly quick vehicle!

For sure. As noted elsewhere, my PJS which currently has > 200HP and 450Nm (est.) only just pulls away from a stock Navara. Nothing else even comes close here in LOS.

I should also say that if I were buying a pickup to have some fun with (mine's just a workhorse) I'd be getting myself the Navara Calibre 6-speed MT and modding it - that one's 174 HP/403Nm stock, and I reckon it wouldn't be too hard to coax 250HP/500Nm out of it with a chip and some exhaust work..

But the 174 hp version is already a 'tuned up" version of the standard 2.5? How much more could be coaxed out of it? Is it just the 4.4 with the 174 hp motor? It's an interesting alternative though:)

The chip kit from the same vendor I'm using gets it to 226HP/488Nm alone:

http://www.racechip.de/racechip-chiptuning...dCi-3018-r.html

quite agree, the 4 pot diesels cant compare

would love to have a V8 here, if only!! Dream on eh?

The Aussies have a couple of nice pick ups

Don't they just. I'd almost give my left nut for a Maloo at a reasonable price. 425HP and 550Nm, and then you supercharge it

Edit: for those who don't know what we're talking about...

Ok, so maybe there's no smart way to use all that horsepower

I should also say that if I were buying a pickup to have some fun with (mine's just a workhorse) I'd be getting myself the Navara Calibre 6-speed MT and modding it - that one's 174 HP/403Nm stock, and I reckon it wouldn't be too hard to coax 250HP/500Nm out of it with a chip and some exhaust work..

Thanks for all that info. I wonder how the ford ranger and isuzu compare?

MRO, I was looking at the mitsu triton megacab vs the double cab on their website. It seems that for the 2.5 diesel. There are two engines rated at different HP. Is this correct? I would have thought a megacab with 140hp + manual + some mods should be fairly wuick.

Correct, the Triton 2.5L comes in two variants: 116HP and 140HP. Both are the 4D56 family engine (commonrail intercooled turbo) - I haven't looked into what the specific differences are though I'm afraid.

The 140HP variant is what's in my PJS, so with 400-odd kilos less weight and no slushbox to slow it down, the megacab should make mince meat of it

To get an idea of what the Ranger can do, just look at the Everest numbers above. Not super flash.. As for the Isuzu, I have a 2.5L one of these and I can tell you that it's just not in the same ballpark. Not by a long shot. Great on fuel though, cheap as chips, and excellent for pulling tree stumps

And to round it out, let's throw in some fuel economy specs

These numbers were derived from a 94km long highway route, sitting on a constant 110km/hr.

Fortuner 2.7V 4AT 4x4: 9.02 km/l

Fortuner 3.0V 4AT 4x4: 10.63 km/l

Fortuner 3.0v 4AT 4x2: 12.37 km/l

G-Wagon 2.8 4AT 4x4: [no data]

Pajero Sport 3.2 4AT 4x4: 11.61 km/l

Pajero Sport 2.5 4AT 4x2: 12.68 km/l

Everest 2.5 5AT 4x2: 11.61 km/l

And jumping the gun, here's some top speed specs:

Fortuner 2.7V 4AT 4x4: 160 @ 4,300 rpm

Fortuner 3.0V 4AT 4x4: 185 @ 3,500 rpm

Fortuner 3.0v 4AT 4x2: 185 @ 3,500 rpm

G-Wagon 2.8 4AT 4x4: 162 @ 3,750 rpm

Pajero Sport 3.2 4AT 4x4: 182 @ 3,600 rpm

Pajero Sport 2.5 4AT 4x2: 172 @ 3,400 rpm

Everest 2.5 5AT 4x2: 155 @ 3,100 rpm

As you can see, an 80-160 time would actually be impractical for some of the field

As one would expect, those times are pretty slow compared to many sedans. I'd like to see some times for modified pickups, as well as what is more relevant: 80-120 km/h times (or possibly up to 160 km/h). At those speeds they can compete and out run many cars..

No problemo, can do

80-120km/hr, average of 4 runs:

Fortuner 2.7V 4AT 4x4: 11.35

Fortuner 3.0V 4AT 4x4: 10.3

Fortuner 3.0v 4AT 4x2: 10.14

G-Wagon 2.8 4AT 4x4: 14.79

Pajero Sport 3.2 4AT 4x4: 10.86

Pajero Sport 2.5 4AT 4x2: 12.35

Everest 2.5 5AT 4x2: 11.99

My modded Pajero sport 2.5 does this in 8s +/- 0.2s, depending on ambient temp, heat soak from sitting in traffic etc.

These are all PPV's though, not pickups - the latter would of course manage better times.

Anyway, my point wasnt to digress the thread completely but surely almost anyone can realise that too much HP out of any of these beasts is utterly pointless

It's never pointless, just a challenge. -2 points

A good example of a very well advanced motor company actually doing this to one of their very own vehicles was what Merceedes Benze did with their SL65 AMG - Black Series. They took a car with really awesome specs and transformed it into a Monster (670kw/1000nm) & at the end of the day 99.9% of people who drove it on a race track could actually lap quicker with the standard spec SL65. I believe the guys at TOP GEAR had a run in this monster and drew conclusions similar to this.

Dissing on a credentialled supercar -2 points. Understanding the limits of mere mortals: +1 point.

I've always had some form of pick-up in my personal vehicle line up but have seen no shortage of the buggas upside down as well. (fortunately not with me at the controls).

Irrelevant (talking about 3rd parties) - no points awarded

Overall, a score of even which I have to admit is better than what I initially thought you'd get

I like you, you're actually OK

Of course then theres my real point I was trying to make, nothing else on the vehicle matches the HP, the brakes, suspension, vehicles dynamics etc, they are aweful vehicles to drive at speed and awefully unstable @ times.

That's half the challenge neverdie. -1 point.

Of course if your talking HP for pulling out stumps, thats another story

ROFL! +3 points.

Anyway, here in Thailand I appreciate some of that, if not all of it won't sit so well as I know how things roll here .

Understanding one's environment. +1 point

You're point about the overtaking is misguided nonesense

I was just pissing in your pocket neverdie (and anyone else that wanted to become town crier) - if you don't understand yet, you never will, never die or nor not -1 point.

I've heard all those types of arguements for years & of course all experienced punters here realise that in most places, including LOS, its an offence to exceed the speed limit

Oh shock horror. 100-200 baht at the window. Must be a horrifc offence. -1 point

Clearly if you need that much HP to get past, you probably shouldnt be going past.

See here, you're becoming somewhat cool - I like a sense of humour +2 points.

Does anybody happen to have the official top speeds and torque numbers for production pickups in Thailand?

Sorry, I missed this - here's the top speeds (which was your actual Q) but for PPV's - no data on pickups though.

Fortuner 2.7V 4AT 4x4: 160 @ 4300/4th

Fortuner 3.0V 4AT 4x4: 185 @ 3500/4th

Fortuner 3.0V 4AT 4x2: 185 @ 3500/4th

G-Wagon 2.8 4AT 4x4: 162 @ 3750/4th

Pajero Sport 3.2 4AT 4x4: 182 @ 3600/4th

Pajero Sport 2.5 4AT 4x2: 172 @ 3400/4th

Everest 2.5 5AT 4x2: 155 @ 3100/5th

Torque is not just a number, it's a bandwidth..

My business partner has one (the SL65 AMG), so I know all about it, thanks for the heads up though

He enjoyed (OK, he said that, but did he really mean it?) driving the PJS between Surin and Pattaya last month too

BTW, If ThaiHog managed to hit 180km/hr on the Doisaket - Chong Mok Kaew leg of his Chiangmai - Mae Sai journey, he deserves a gold star In fact if he managed a time of 1 hour or less, he can have a trophy

Before you all jump on your high horse, I jest!

It's Sunday afternoon (which is traditionally motor racing time is it not) so I'm allowed to have my fun