Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi All,

Currently have a 2005 Ford Escape (Territory's little brother) and am looking at updating. Was about to get a territory turbo but then wondered what nice 4wds are available to be imported.

Any help out there or recommendations, has to be newer than 2005 though, dont really want an older car at this stage. 4wd turbo would be nice ;-)

Any importers on here have a list of good 4wd that have compliance and can be imported?

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/368614-importable-4wd/
Share on other sites

not much. honestly if you want nice 4wd that's robust it's hard to go past a landcruiser. the V8 models are now up near 300kw and haul arse. plus they come with all the usual gear, leather everything, heated everything TVs up the ying yang etc.

or euro like a VW toureg or audi Q5 or Q7. I mean the V12 Q7 has about the same power as an R35 GTR! maybe a tad more these days. nearly 400kw. the touregs have V10 diesels too with just under 300kw from memory and W12 petrols near on 500hp if that floats your boat. these days they nearly all come with 6speed manual or 6 speed auto too.

4WDs is probably the one segment where we get pretty much all the kick arse choices. mainly due to our stupid LCT rules which exempt them from LCT and for that reason they have always been popular with soccer mums aus wide.

a 4wd is probably the one type of car I wouldn't bother importing. I'd steer clear of the ford stuff though. so many great jap and euro options out there now.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/368614-importable-4wd/#findComment-5877898
Share on other sites

Cheers Beer Baron for the words of advice. Love the Toureg, just dont like the price tag on the V10 or the audi Q7.

I saw abou a year ago a nissan crossover style vehicle, the interior was immaculate and had not seen it in Oz. I went to the US for my honeymoon and saw a few nice ones in New York so was wondering about ones like that.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/368614-importable-4wd/#findComment-5878068
Share on other sites

YOU DONT WANT 2005++!!!!

YOU WANT LUXURY

YOU WANT 4WD

YOU WANT TO ROLL LIKE A KING

YOU WANT A WHIPPLE SUPERCHARGER ATTACHED TO A 2UZ BIG BLOCK QUAD CAM V8

YOU WANT IT BLACK WITH LEATHER AND ALL THE FEATURES.

YOU WANT THIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

CLIIIIICCCCKKKKK

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/368614-importable-4wd/#findComment-5878173
Share on other sites

and i would say you're referring to the skyline crossover

they cool too but you did say 4wd!!!!!

if you're into skyline cross over then what about the lexus RX???

sorry to say it but lexus are rad. haha i want lexus in and around my life.. i mean COME ON..

VOICE ACTIVATED GPS!!!!

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/368614-importable-4wd/#findComment-5878176
Share on other sites

if you don't mind more of a cross-over/SUV type thing then take a look at the subaru tribeca. they are like a 4WD version of a liberty. so very nice leather interior, super solid build quality (everything feels very nice), great interior, good handling. not super powerful like the big cruisers and the audi/vw models, though the do have about 200kw so not slow either. they're great value and a nice looking car.

eps is in dream land. the lexus are exactly a rebadged cruiser. nothing wrong with that though. they do have some small differences and some may prefer one over the other.

you can get a pretty nice 05 model toureg within your budget. if you look hard even a V10 can be had for $35K or less.

but for your budget you could get a near new tribeca and they are a good thing.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/368614-importable-4wd/#findComment-5879002
Share on other sites

if you don't mind more of a cross-over/SUV type thing then take a look at the subaru tribeca. they are like a 4WD version of a liberty. so very nice leather interior, super solid build quality (everything feels very nice), great interior, good handling. not super powerful like the big cruisers and the audi/vw models, though the do have about 200kw so not slow either. they're great value and a nice looking car.

eps is in dream land. the lexus are exactly a rebadged cruiser. nothing wrong with that though. they do have some small differences and some may prefer one over the other.

you can get a pretty nice 05 model toureg within your budget. if you look hard even a V10 can be had for $35K or less.

but for your budget you could get a near new tribeca and they are a good thing.

But the Tribeca isn't an import...you can buy one new at the Subaru showroom down the road or on carsales.com.au

Just saying, like

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/368614-importable-4wd/#findComment-5879028
Share on other sites

thanks I know. well actually it is still an import. it's made in japan after all and imported to aus by subaru... :)

read my posts. all of the cars I suggested are sold here. as I said, the 4WD market is one segment we are well covered in. we get nearly all the good 4WD options from japan and europe. can even buy yank tanks these days if they float your boat. importing a 4WD is a waste of time and besides which I can't think of anything post 2005 that is on the SEVS list...

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/368614-importable-4wd/#findComment-5879270
Share on other sites

Dad bought a prado recently, I think it was a 2009.

Having driven it, its quite a nice car, and being a 4.0 L petrol is goes hard enough for a big four wheel drive, probably not as hard as some of the stuff Beer Baron mentioned though.

I couldn't really fault it and think it would be a nice car to do long trips in.

Dual fuel tanks, nice trim etc etc etc.

Don't bother importing.

PS EPS likes dick.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/368614-importable-4wd/#findComment-5879340
Share on other sites

hey wait.

firstly ... Nee-San I'll fight you. dont think i wont. I'm planning on bringing Rising Sunday to QLD for a show in 2012. and when i do. there will be a battle royale.

anyway - 25TT a friend of mine is coming home from japan in a few weeks' time. and as far as i know he's bringing his STI forrester across.

im assuming he's selling it since he'll be going back to japan... maybe get in touch with him?

that's the only GOOD 4wd worth importing :)

as Richard said though - 4wd / SUV / crossover market is the ONE market australia has got it going awwwnnnn

and I'm NOT in dream land :( wah.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/368614-importable-4wd/#findComment-5879397
Share on other sites

STI Foz great choice - hopefully another in Oz at the end of next year too, mine, cos I will be buying soon (couple of months time) and personally importing it.

Mr. EPS...does that guy work in Japan and drive a blue STI Fozzer? Had heaps of hassle trying to get it through DOTARS, but won in court? He was on this site several years ago?

Edited by CT9W
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/368614-importable-4wd/#findComment-5880364
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Update 3: Hi all It's been a while. Quite a lot of things happened in the meantime, among other things the car is (almost) back together and ready to be started again. Things that I fixed or changed: Full turbo removal, fitting back the OEM turbo oil hardlines. Had to do quite a bit of research and parts shopping to get every last piece that I need and make it work with the GT2860 turbos, but it does work and is not hard to do. Proves that the previous owner(s) just did not want to. While I was there I set the preload for the wastegates to 0,9bar to hopefully make it easier for the tuner to hit the 370hp I need for the legal inspections that will follow later on. Boost can always go up if necessary. Fitted a AN10 line from the catch can to the intake hose to make the catchcan and hopefully the cam covers a slight vacuum to have less restrictive oil returns from the head and not have mud build up as harshly in the lines and catch can. Removed the entire front interior just shy of the dashboard itself to clean up some of the absolutely horrendous wiring, (hopefully) fix the bumpy tacho and put in LED bulbs while I was there. Also put in bulbs where there was none before, like the airbag one. I also used that chance to remove the LED rpm gauge on the steering column, which was also wired in absolute horror show fashion. Moved the 4in1 Prosport gauge from sitting in front of the OEM oil pressure gauge to the center console vents, I used a 3D printed vent piece to hold that gauge there. The HKB steering wheel boss was likely on incorrectly as I sometimes noticed the indicator reset being uneven for left vs. right. In the meantime also installed an airbag delete resistor, as one should. Installed Cube Speed premium short shifter. Feels pretty nice, hope it'll work great too when I actually get to drive. Also put on a fancy Dragon Ball shift knob, cause why not. My buddy was kind enough to weld the rust hole in the back, it was basically rusted through in the lowermost corner of the passenger side trunk area where the wheel arch, trunk panel and rear quarter all meet. Obviously there is still a lot of crustiness in various areas but as long as it's not rusted out I'll just treat and isolate the corrosion and pretend it's not there. Also had to put down a new ground wire for the rear subframe as the original one was BARELY there. Probably a bit controversial depending on who you ask about this... but I ended up just covering the crack in the side of the engine block, the one above the oil feed, with JB Weld. I used a generous amount and roughed up the whole area with a Dremel before, so I hope this will hold the coolant where it should be for the foreseeable future. Did a cam cover gasket job as the half moons were a bit leaky, and there too one could see the people who worked on this car before me were absolute tools. The same half moons were probably used like 3 times without even cleaning the old RTV off. Dremeled out the inside of the flange where the turbine housing mates onto the exhaust manifolds so the diameter matches, as the OEM exhaust manifolds are even narrower than the turbine housings as we all know. Even if this doesn't do much, I had them out anyways, so can't harm. Ideally one would port-match both the turbo and the manifold to the gasket size but I really didn't feel up to disassembling the turbine housings. Wrapped turbo outlet dumps in heat wrap band. Will do the frontpipe again as well as now the oil leak which promted me to tear apart half the engine in the first place is hopefully fixed. Fitted an ATI super damper to get rid of the worn old harmonic balancer. Surely one of the easiest and most worth to do mods. But torquing that ARP bolt to spec was a bitch without being able to lock the flywheel. Did some minor adjustments in the ECU tables to change some things I didn't like, like the launch control that was ALWAYS active. Treated rusty spots and surface corrosion on places I could get to and on many spots under the car, not pretty or ideal but good enough for now. Removed the N1 rear spats and the carbon surrounding for the tailpipe to put them back on with new adhesive as the old one was lifting in many spots, not pretty. Took out the passenger rear lamp housing... what do you know. Amateur work screwed me again here as they were glued in hard and removing it took a lot of force, so I broke one of the housing bolts off. And when removing the adhesive from the chassis the paint came right off too. Thankfully all the damaged area won't be visible later, but whoever did the very limited bodywork on this car needs to have their limbs chopped off piece by piece.   Quite a list if I do say so myself, but a lot of time was spent just discovering new shit that is wrong with the car and finding a solution or parts to fix it. My last problem that I now have the headache of dealing with is that the exhaust studs on the turbo outlets are M10x1.25 threaded, but the previous owner already put on regular M10 nuts so the threads are... weird. I only found this out the hard way. So now I will just try if I can in any way fit the front pipe regardless, if not I'll have to redo the studs with the turbos installed. Lesson learned for the future: Redo ALL studs you put your hands on, especially if they are old and the previous owners were inept maniacs. Thanks for reading if you did, will update when the engine runs again. Hope nothing breaks or leaks and I can do a test drive.
    • No those pads are DBA too  but they have colors too. I look at the and imo the green "street" are the best.
    • I’m not sure what happened I told them about sonic tunes free OTS tune and the next the I know .. I was booted..   To funny 
    • Yea - I mean I've seen my fuel pump which is decades old and uh, while I'm not saying this with real knowledge... but I sure get the ick at using anything in the fuel system that produced the state of that pump. Many years ago I went through multiple pumps (and strainers) before I dropped the tank to clean it out with extreme violence. I'm talking the car would do maybe 50km before coming to a halt, which resulted in me cleaning out the filter with some brake cleaner and going on my way. None of my stuff ever looked like what came out of your fuel tank. I don't think I'd be happy with it unless every single component was replaced (or at least checked/cleaned/confirmed to be clean here).
    • I'm not going to recommend an EBC pad. I don't like them. Just about anything else would suit me better. I've been using Intima pads for a while now.
×
×
  • Create New...