Educate me: 100 vs 200 series to replace my jeeps

[CYK]

When the 80 came out, people didn't like it. Ugly. Too big. Stupid flares.

When the 100 came out, too Camry looking, too big, soccer-mom luxo ute.

When the 200 came out, too big, Highlanderish, I love my 80/100 way more because it's truer to the LC heritage.

Best advice I can give: Buy the newest, lowest miles, best kept example you can afford. Everything else is misplaced nostalgia, not enough dough frustration, never really driven it hearsay.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

When the 80 came out, people didn't like it. Ugly. Too big. Stupid flares.

When the 100 came out, too Camry looking, too big, soccer-mom luxo ute.

When the 200 came out, too big, Highlanderish, I love my 80/100 way more because it's truer to the LC heritage.

Best advice I can give: Buy the newest, lowest miles, best kept example you can afford. Everything else is misplaced nostalgia, not enough dough frustration, never really driven it hearsay.

Well said.

 

[texascrane]

My point is that the price difference between an 06-07 and an 08 200 is pretty small.

I've seen this posted here and over on mud many times. What are you guys paying for 200's? I looked at both 100s and 200s this past summer in Texas and ended up with an 06 LX470. There were a number of them for $26-28k with ~100k miles. You could find them with 50-60k miles for $31-32k.

I literally found one 200 for less than $40k. It had 130k miles and after driving it I was pretty certain that it had some serious mechanical issues waiting to jump up and bite the next owner.

Don't get me wrong, I think the 200 is a great vehicle. But they seem to just now be cracking the $40k price range used which means they still have a long way to go to be considered a "pretty small" price difference compared to a late year 100.

 

[CYK]

Well said.

Yo klaus read your 100 to jeep thread. Good thoughts and thanks for sharing. I'm a recent SoCal transplant myself. Enjoy that jeep!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CYK]

I've seen this posted here and over on mud many times. What are you guys paying for 200's? I looked at both 100s and 200s this past summer in Texas and ended up with an 06 LX470. There were a number of them for $26-28k with ~100k miles. You could find them with 50-60k miles for $31-32k.

I literally found one 200 for less than $40k. It had 130k miles and after driving it I was pretty certain that it had some serious mechanical issues waiting to jump up and bite the next owner.

Don't get me wrong, I think the 200 is a great vehicle. But they seem to just now be cracking the $40k price range used which means they still have a long way to go to be considered a "pretty small" price difference compared to a late year 100.

If you have a 100 you're happy with I'd personally wait until the 13+ 200s are more in line with budget. Having come from two 2uzfe Toyota trucks prior I'd say I'm fully appreciating the extra doodads on my 14 lc. I know it's not the cool thing to admit on a forum full of testoerony humans. All good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[REDrum]

I think he is looking for more substance beyond referencing unspecified ROW aficionados and their preference for the HZJ78. I know i would be interested in knowing what criteria separate a soccer-mom station wagon from a real off-road truck.

Thats is not a question, thats an initiation for an e-argument; you know the difference you just want to debate it. If I spent $70K on an SUV and some said “oh is nice, but for 4 wheeling is kinda meh” I'm not sure I'd want to read it either. What I have posted is my opinion of the UZJ200, but in no way do expect others to agree. This is the interwebz, its all opinion...

Now for more opinion….

The 200 is not a bad truck, it sure does have some nice features. (Much nicer than many USA SUV platforms.) With 300+ HP you can sure tow a lot. And those cool seats are….wicked cool. But, by design (its target market), its a luxury SUV targeted to the wealthily, not an off road platform. Sure one can put a bull-bar bumper and winch on one, and set of Duratracs, and try to make it look like an off road truck. However it will take a lot more than that to get it to perform well on unimproved roads and trails.

FWIW, I know of a few people who bought 200s and after two years traded them in for HDJ78s (and another who is about to trade in for a Y61 Patrol). The UZJ200 chassis' are just not durable enough for constant duty on Costa Rica's unmaintained roads; bushings, bearings, brake pads are wearing out exceptionally fast. To me that says a lot, but thats just me — and my opinion.

The UZJ100 was Toyotas contestant to gain US luxury SUV market share, and that it did; at least 1990s models came with lockers. I think the UZJ100 is a great value right now and highly reliable; front diff is its Achilles' Heel.

I look at it this way: UZJ200 is to the HDJ78 what the Land Rover LR4 is to Defender 110. The former being nice luxurious rides and the later being designed for off-road use--from marques who exemplify durable vehicle design.

The OPs goals for one truck is tough. His JK Rubicon is a great off road platform. The towing/off-road equilibrium point is tough one to achieve.

 

[Cabinetman]

Thats is not a question, thats an initiation for an e-argument; you know the difference you just want to debate it. If I spent $70K on an SUV and some said “oh is nice, but for 4 wheeling is kinda meh” I'm not sure I'd want to read it either. What I have posted is my opinion of the UZJ200, but in no way do expect others to agree. This is the interwebz, its all opinion...

I believe you misunderstood my intentions. I truly just wanted you to flesh out your opinion because I was curious what specific short coming your had seen or heard of regarding the 200.

I understand that every vehicle is a compromise of some sort. The 200 definitely gives up some ultimate off-road prowess in exchange for on-road manners, passenger volume and towing ability. However, I had expected the 200 to be a good starting point to build a more off-road focused rig, but it sounds like in your experience the chassis may not be up to the job.

I will continue to do my research before sinking any serious money into building my '14 200. I've got time as it will be another couple of year until I have it paid off if everything goes according to plan.

 

[REDrum]

I believe you misunderstood my intentions. I truly just wanted you to flesh out your opinion because I was curious what specific short coming your had seen or heard of regarding the 200.

Fair enough, I did. Thats a rare position of inquiry on the interwebz, my reaction was do to the norm. The OPs user requirements are tough. For light (stock plus) wheeling in a 200 I'd add a set of Duratracs, and maybe 2" of lift, and go have fun. For intermediate and/or advance wheeling, and requisite modifications (lockers, armor, winch, 4" lift), again, IMO, I think exploring a second, less costly platform would prove more economical--and less worry about damage. I've seem some guys do serious damage to UZJ200s in the Northeast trying to keep up with 40s and 80s and, rightfully so, wig on the cost to repair. No doubt I'll recalibrate my old school perspective on the UZJ200 when in 20 years when the Land Cruiser XXJ400 is based on a hovercraft platform with build-in espresso maker and sauna.

Off to go look at '82 FJ60 for sale...

 

[bjowett]

I respectively disagree. The 200 chassis is quite HD... just about all of the problem areas, if one wants to call them that, on the 100 were addressed with larger and/or HD designs, some significantly so. The 200 is FAR closer to a 70 Series in build and design than a LR4 is to a 110. Some items, like the bearings, are not serviceable on the 200, but are on the 70. Brakes are easy to deal w/, as are bushings. IFS will almost always require more servicing than a traditional solid axle, as there is a lot more going on. Stock class 200 series compete successfully in Dakar and Baja races... it is an off road chassis, and very well built. I have years of time invested in studying and building the 200 and its Tundra derivative, they make other vehicles look silly.

 

[Omar Brannstrom]

Hi

Maybe posted here before but LC 200 only got 2.0 out of 5.0 in trailscore

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/americas-best-expidition-value-1623325163

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Hi

Maybe posted here before but LC 200 only got 2.0 out of 5.0 in trailscore

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/americas-best-expidition-value-1623325163

Interesting article. Thanks for posting. I wonder if the independent suspension rigs like the Grand Cherokee and LR4 will prove us all wrong and turn into great platforms. If modifications were taken into consideration the list would look a little different. But in stock form, this list seems right.

 

[Cabinetman]

Hi

Maybe posted here before but LC 200 only got 2.0 out of 5.0 in trailscore

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/americas-best-expidition-value-1623325163

It appears those ratings are based on theory and not actual testing. The LX570 got a better trail score of 3 even though it is basically a Land Cruiser with more street oriented 20" wheels and AHC instead of KDSS.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

It appears those ratings are based on theory and not actual testing. The LX570 got a better trail score of 3 even though it is basically a Land Cruiser with more street oriented 20" wheels and AHC instead of KDSS.

And they way over emphasize range. All of those can go 300 milies per tank. That and value. Knocking the g550 out and putting 2 grand Cherokees on the list.... Boo.

 

[BigSwede]

Heh, for "value" anything over $50K would be off of my list. Period.

Not that I would buy anything new for an overlanding rig.

 

[CYK]

bmw of beverly hills leases out 90% of all new vehicles sold on their lot.

jalopy should stick with reviewing manufactured obsolescence vehicles so popular in this day and age of THE LEASE. i stopped reading when they started running out of good ideas with the weak opener for the lx570 using the subjective as a crutch to meet word count minimums set by their editor. "uglier"? "sillier"? yea, your mom and wife as well.

when i last joined a group to hit the trails, the last thing i was thinking about amongst a sea of a variety of makes/models wanting to enjoy a nice day wheeling was how much more capable/incapable my rig was compared to others. we're not here to win awards. we're here on Earth with our trucks to enjoy life. make the best decision that fits within your framework and you're winning. everything else is splitting hairs. you can't go wrong with any of the vehicular options brought up in this thread. some may be better than others, but the palpable gains are difficult, extremely challenging to quantify in the beautiful messiness of reality.

that's why that article is a fail and a waste of time.