I think manufacturers go too far in expecting brand loyalty even when their vehicle offerings are subpar. The Vigo is no where near the best pickup that Toyota can produce, and if you''ve ever driven a Tundra you'll know I'm right. It's just a model they think is "good enough for Thais".

And cheap enough for the Thais too. The Vigo spec for the UK is superior but then so is the price..........wouldn't this also apply to the Tundra, how expensive are they in comparison ??

Actually my only complaint about the Vigo is the rather bland interior......... and the prohibitively expensive extras available from the local Toyota dealer....... I quite fancied having the wooden plastic decor thingy for the front console til I seen it was over 9000 bht........<deleted>.

Dont suppose anyone could recommend a good website for ordering such bits and pieces at realistic prices

Cheers

JAF

Yes, it's more expensive because of the specs. Bigger, more powerful. I'm not talking about specs though. I'm talking about quality. It's engineering and quality control during maufacture is just at a whole 'nother level. The consumers who would buy it, demand that it be.

Wrong ! all vigos in the uk come from thailand in fact all hilux badged vigo are from thailand, the spec is only better as the exporters load them up with extras before shipping,.

BTW, Toyota hasn't had non-turbo diesels since forever, Gary. You got some facts wrong about your "lemon".

You better do some checking. I DO know what I owned. It was NOT a D4D. It WAS a 3.0 liter 4 door 4X4 NON turbo diesel.

What year was it? Toyota Hilux Tiger SR5 had 1KZ turbo diesel engine since at least 2000, that's a long long time ago, comparing to models we get now. Maybe, possibly, the first Tigers (1998) had non-turbo engines (5L or 5L-E), for a couple of years at most. In 2003 Toyota introduced commonrail techonoly with D4D badges.

It was delivered in late 2001 and was supposed to be a 2002 model. I think the badge on the front door says Hilux 3.0 EF. I certainly don't claim to be a Toyota expert but I CAN tell you it had no turbo.

Added picture

Can you identify which one was it:

http://www.khonrod.com/BrwDir/MktPrc.aspx?mk=37&yr=1

Scroll down Hilux Tiger, there is at least a hundred of different models, including EFi Turbo ones. There's one suspected non-turbo model, auto and manual. Vast majority of that age Tigers are SR5 and even D4Ds.

Can you identify which one was it:

http://www.khonrod.com/BrwDir/MktPrc.aspx?mk=37&yr=1

Scroll down Hilux Tiger, there is at least a hundred of different models, including EFi Turbo ones. There's one suspected non-turbo model, auto and manual. Vast majority of that age Tigers are SR5 and even D4Ds.

I have no idea. It did have electric windows that usually worked if you played with the switch long enough. It had a driver's side air bag that the warning light wouldn't go out. It had ABS that chattered like a jackhammer when using the brakes on a dirt road and it was a four door 4X4. The oil pressure light would sometimes flicker, the radiator blew up, it had oil leaks and and right before I traded the dog, it sometimes wouldn't start without trying it a number of times. Only clicked. It was serviced by Toyota and other than the radiator and oil leaks, it was always electrical problems so nothing serious except that I couldn't trust it. I was VERY happy to get 320,000 baht for a trade in. I was lucky that when the dealer test drove it, nothing went wrong. The dealer told me that if it were a D4D it would be worth more money.

ADDED - it was a five speed manual.

Thai maintenance,

It was delivered in late 2001 and was supposed to be a 2002 model. I think the badge on the front door says Hilux 3.0 EF. I certainly don't claim to be a Toyota expert but I CAN tell you it had no turbo.

The first Tiger 3.0L 4x4 I bought was also non-turbo. Great truck as I abused it continuously and it never let me down once ... apart from a cracked cylinder head and that was at around the 200,000km mark.

Had 2 Mighty Xs and a non-turbo 2x4 Tiger at the same time. Those three vehicles were used daily for deliveries and had no problems at all. Actually sold the 2x4 Tiger for more than I paid for it. I've also had a 4x4 D4D and driven my brother in law's old Australian built Hilux 4x4 2.8L. Present vehicle now is 4x4 Vigo and the next one will probably be a Toyota too.

The non-turbo sounds interesting. Turbos today are all the rage, but it's just another item to go bad. Of course, if you get a really good deal on a turbo, go for it. I would be wary about buying second hand since may folks don't let their turbos "spin down" after high speed driving. The poor thing just sits there and cooks.

I've heard that Vigo is also sold with a gasoline engine. Does anybody know how much those go for?

The non-turbo sounds interesting. Turbos today are all the rage, but it's just another item to go bad. Of course, if you get a really good deal on a turbo, go for it. I would be wary about buying second hand since may folks don't let their turbos "spin down" after high speed driving. The poor thing just sits there and cooks.

I've heard that Vigo is also sold with a gasoline engine. Does anybody know how much those go for?

When I was looking for a new truck in late 2003, I looked at all of them including Toyota. All the 2004 Toyota diesels had turbos. A friend of mine had just fried the turbo in his out of warranty Toyota and it cost him 50,000 baht to repair it. That's one major reason I bought the Nissan. I think turbo diesels have come a long ways in just the past couple of years. They rarely have turbo problems now.

The petrol vigo is just a little cheaper than the diesel...

Petrol Vigo has been discontinued, I read.

Maybe with LPG conversion being so cheap they brought them back on.

Are there any non-turbo diesels left now? Even in Europe?

the Vigo wins no prizes for good looks, but I fail to see why anyone would want to buy any of it's competitors with the possible exception of the new Nissan. The Toyota has better ride build quality, and price model for model especially at the top end of the range. Sadly I don't have one for my personal use.

the Vigo wins no prizes for good looks, but I fail to see why anyone would want to buy any of it's competitors with the possible exception of the new Nissan. The Toyota has better ride build quality, and price model for model especially at the top end of the range. Sadly I don't have one for my personal use.

Uh? When the Vigo first came out, I thought it was absolutely gorgeous and my 6 month old car went so I could get a new one. The Triton came out soon after and it looked as nice, if not nicer so I went for a very short test drive. The Vigo seemed to be put together a lot better and I went for the Vigo even though the Triton had more gadgets. Don't get me wrong here, the Triton, especially the 4x4s look nice but I still think the Toyatas are way better, hence that is the model I went for, plus I had had a few Toyatas previously. I'm still very happy with my choice.

The Navara is nice, but Nissans, Fords, Mazda, Mitsus etc here in Thailand depreciate in price a lot faster than Toyotas and Isuzus, one of the reasons for my loyalty to Toyota.

An aquaintance of mine bought a top of the range Triton a while ago and around 6 months later he had to sell it for pretty much half price - one reason why I will stay with Toyotas.

hey well personally i have and would go for only the mitsubishi triton 4x4 3.2gls. i have had it for about 7months, its got 20,000km on the clock...never anyproblem! never had an issue with it.