Courier 4x4 - Turbo Diesel

Wasn't there an add on the telly a couple of years back about a courier being used as the recovery vehicle from Birdsville servo snatching all comers out of the Simpson desert with a bloody great chain? Fully equipped for the desert with cheese cutter tyres and stuff all else?
Can Ruth confirm wether that add had any basis in fact?

Jeez ya gotta laugh....
Must be a great truck..... :--P

We had a Courier TD work car(think it was a 2.6ish litre 2002 car) I found it had a Turbo...What this thing has a Turbo? I had to look under the bonnet to satisfy my curiosity. Not very impressed.

I think they are are rebadged Mazda, aren't they?

Wizard
Prado TD

Hi Hillbillli
We had a 2000 TD Courier Dual Cab, and it went every where the Land Cruisers (not that they are real good) and the Patrols went when we all went 4wd'ing with our Club. We did some pretty rough country in ours. Had a dual batterey system in it, electric brakes, cargo drawers..........the list goes on. It was only a 2.4 lt, but it had some zip in it. I wouldnt like to drag you of in the Patrol. The Patrol see's a hill coming and nearly goes into reverse to get away from the hill. It's a 4.2 Turbo, and fair dinkum, the Courier would leave it standing. It is so frustrating. We only sold the Courier cause our son out grew the back seat, and now we have got a 2002 Patrol. I admit the Patrol does do the rocks and the hard stuff alot more comfortable than the courier with independant suspension, but we are talking triple the $ value as well. But anyway, like all vehicles, it's each to their own.
Karen

hi hillbilli, i have a 2001 2.5 td courier and think it is a great vehicle. ive had 4wd hilux's a gq patrol and 2wd hilux's and this is the best combo ive had so far. the torque the thing produces is amazing, hills aren't even there even when loaded up and with the boat on. i easily get 10l/100 around town and 8.5 on trips even loaded up. i will have no hesitation replaceing it with another one when the time comes. i recently got 60mm of lift by just adjusting the torsion bars and getting the rear springs reset at a grand total of $325 including re bushing spring eyes/ shackles and getting a wheel alignment! if you have any further questions, dropme a line.db

We had one with us in the cape last year and it went well.
Only problem was the long range tank fell out.

All the best
Eric

The rig is a re-badged Mazda I believe..Mazda would'nt know how to make a "lemon"..Great quality!..Re motor,I seem to remember a road test..Ford put their own diesel into it..Got a ton of power to weight ratio..Power is not as important as "power to weight"..That's where performance starts..Do the sums..That way you get the "get up 'n go" and also can be a good little greenie..Read economy.Hope this helps.

Hillbilli.

I have a 2002 which I am absolutely wrapped with. Bigger tray than most of the competition in the dual cab variety and more backseat leg room.

The fact that they are longer makes them look like they sit a little lower but when you park next to a standard Hilux (not someones 4" lifted one - apples with apples please..) in the car park you realise that they are about the same height. Hiluxes arches are cut higher into the guards so they give the illusion of maximum height.

The length means a slightly worse rampover angle and the longer tray impacts a little on the departure angle.

I bought mine at 50,000 km and 12 months old (ex one driver DSE vehicle used by the guy monitoring the bee keepers in northern vic) and it already had a winch bar and winch on it. (Thank you very much). But they hadn't adjusted the torsion bars to counter the added weight. Once done it looked much better.

You can see what it is and what I've done to it here.

So far I've done 4 or 5 trips into the Vic High Country and another next week. Dad has been using it for the past two months on a willow eradication project up there too. Done the Border Track and Sunset Country and got it a bit wet in Toolangi.

The only limitation I've found is the IFS meaning that you are limited as to how far you could lift it if you had that in mind. Mine's at max available height on the torsion bars at the front and I added a leaf to the back spring pack to counter the extra permanent weight in the back (_Affordable_Storage_Drawers.aspx, bars, etc.)

It leaves a normally aspirated 3litre Lux for dead on Hearns or Collingwood Spur and I rarely have to use low first in the steeper stuff either up or down it.

The LRA 120litre tank is a good move though as the range drops when you travel on the bottom set of cogs.

600 km or so in low range on 110 litres I would guess now.

Any other questions PM me or post here. I'd buy another one if that's any gauge of what I think.

The Navara is an option too though....

Oh and as for the number out and about, have another look, they're everywhere up here. If you get 4wd monthly and look at the top 10 sales figures for utes, don't forget to add the figures for Bravo and Courier together before you make comparisons to the others.

ARB is in development for airlockers too. RD123 is the part no. Available soon. Mine are already on backorder.

Dave

I have a 2000 Bravo 2.5 TD extra cab tray top. It is used both as a farm vehicle and for camping with a vinyl side canopy and storage when neded.
Just come back from Vic high country and the only thing I found limiting was the clearance on some of the extreme humps that Parks love to put all along their tracks. eg. King Billy Track! Almost in the middle are the mountings for the rear of the torsion bars and it is easy to scrape them.
I have never had better than 10.5 litres/100km on a run, but it is 2000kg empty with the steel tray.

Phil I

Hi Hillbilli,

I recently purchased "cough cough ...last week" a 2004 Ford Courier CrewCab 4x4 XLT "Hurricane". I made the purchase after test driving a few used 2001 plus couriers, Hiluxs and Nivara's, and reading reviews in magazines and websites. I found the ford courier best suited my needs.

As for the 2004 Courier: I believe it is smoothest and quietest of this class of 4x4. It has plenty of room in the back seats and in the tray. The 2.5litre Turbo Diesal is suprising really powerful and I find it pulling away faster and faster once the Turbo really kicks in over 2000RPM on each gear change. I am yet to get it Really Dirty :). so i cannot yet comment on its offroad performance but I am planning on some 4WD training in my new beast in the coming weeks.

Looking around the *streets*, I have noticed a hell of a lot of Nissan Nivara's but only a few Couriers..... So I am guessing that all the Pretty Nivaras stay on the street and all the tough couriers have gone bush. :)

Cheers

H.

Good bit of kit. The 2.5 is a Gem. Know of one work vehicle approaching 2 years old now and still going without fault. This includes circle work and whip arounds in the wet. Some employees don't deserve to drive company vehicles but the point is this buses have a Bullet proof reputation. I don't have one just been around em. Seem to hold up as tough as the Hilux's... and thats saying something.

Hi Hillbilli,
Plenty of positive comment about the Mazda build quality that I'd go along with but I've never driven one to comment on the power. Some forestry contractors where we are at the moment have one and I noticed the other day when they were cleaning mud and grass seeds, etc. out of the radiator and a/c condenser that the intercooler is just about stuffed. All the external finning was crushed and battered. It's pretty vulnerable, sitting out in front and very low.

On a new vehicle, I'd definitely look onto a mesh screen and maybe some sort or underside guard to protect it, as I'm sure they're not cheap and that nice engine performance won't last if the intercooler becomes ineffective. And it'll lead to higher EGTs too, which is not good for engine longevity.

Hi Hillbilli,

i've got a 2000 td with 270 000kms and it goes great. Never been to mechanic apart from timing belt. Engine still pulls after 1600 rpms all the way to 4500rpms.
It can easily climb hills in 5th, even with 31's on.