Help - about to buy NS SWB

[snoop75]

Gday all,

I'm getting very close to buying a NS X SWB. Test drove both diesel & petrol today and tested the waters pricing wise.

Found the diesel a little noisy and the petrol engine a little thirsty. I currently drive a V8 LS1 ute so I was hoping to get into something a little less noisy and slightly more fuel efficient.

Need a bit of help to make up my mind which engine to go for.

1. For the folk who have opted for the petrol engine - what is typical fuel consumption around town, not towing anything? Is the 13.5l figure realistic?

2. For the folk who have opted for the diesel engine - has anybody tried to sound proof the firewall and, if so, what were the results?

Pricing wise I was able to get 46K drive away with a tow bar and couple of small extras - does this sound right?

Thanks and cheers for any input.

[john_char]

The 13.5 figure is accurate if your not a leadfoot, I do get that economy, but I do a little highway work on the and home from work.

John

[Schniff]

I thought about putting soundproofing in the firewall.... for about 5 seconds.
Basically it would be a bitch of a job to get the dash out, and you're guranteed that it will rattle when you put it back in. In my LWB diesel I average 10.6 around town, under 10 on the highway and around 11.5-12 when working really hard. Average since I have owned the vehicle overall is 10.4. All figures verified at the pump.

Two things:
1) The diesel is much louder and not as smooth when cold. It takes a while to get to operating temperature but it is quieter and smoother when it does.
2) Mine has 8900 km and is loosening up nicely. Quite a big difference between now and when it was new. The clatter is gone.

I drove a mates Diesel D22 Navara the other day. When I got back inside the Pajero I was amazed at how much nicer it was!

Are you going to be touring? If so I would say that the diesel is a no brainer. The lack of range in the petrol would be a pain. Also, the diesel will use far less fuel when under heavy load, even more so than the ADR figures would suggest.

[grantw]

re

I have a NS Swb X petrol that has just clocked 10,000kms. I do a fair amount of hwy kms and average high 10's per 100kms (driving at 105km/h) high 12's per 100kms (driving at 125km/h). Around town is generally 14-15L/100kms. I see consistant 500kms between refuelling. I only use 98 ron fuel. Sometimes I wish I had opted for the diesel but I am very happy with the economy the paj returns with the benefit of power to boot when needed.
I paid 48K back in February with towbar, tint, paint protection and rear diff lock.

[nj swb]

Hi Grant

What do you think of the offroad abilities? Have you had much of a play yet?

Any thoughts on improving fuel capacity? Where is the fuel tank? It looks like there's only exhaust behind the rear axle - do you think it would be possible to mod the exhaust and squeeze a second tank in there?

Might stop these silly ideas I have about dropping a DiD into mine...

[grantw]

Hi Scott,

The fuel tank runs down the drivers side underfloor (from rear diff to drivers seat). Behind the rear diff is only the worlds largest muffler! But there is another muffler just before the diff as well. I am sure this could be modified and another 70L added out there. I would assume that there is ample room for an LPG tank if you were seeking another avenue.
Havent done much offroad (done usual softroad stuff) and so far its quite good. Side steps are gone, and traction control is fairly good. I still prefer using the rear locker and driving it.... Will throw some suspension and ARB bar on once I decide if it will stay for some time.
Hurry up and buy one, you know you want to. Dont be so tight..... NJ's are so yesterday.

[snoop75]

Thanks for all the info. Won't be doing much touring so range shouldn't be a problem. Will update you how it all pans out.


Cheers !!!

[macguru]

I am totally happy with my NS SWB petrol. I agree with the other posts, if you want a country tourer get a Diesel, probably a LWB. I wanted a quick, manoeuverable car for city & mainly short or weekend trips offroad, that would hold its own at the lights against most cars & also go offroad where they could not go, and i was prepared to pay a fuel premium for the 184kw petrol motor when i do a long trip (once every 6 months).
Yes, a 65L tank fits where the 'worlds largest muffler' goes and i will be getting this fairly soon, so i am not caught short on fuel. The car's handling & responsiveness are excellent, and its quiet as well

[Wilmo]

In my LWB diesel I average 10.6 around town, under 10 on the highway and around 11.5-12 when working really hard. Average since I have owned the vehicle overall is 10.4. All figures verified at the pump.

Two things:
1) The diesel is much louder and not as smooth when cold. It takes a while to get to operating temperature but it is quieter and smoother when it does.
2) Mine has 8900 km and is loosening up nicely. Quite a big difference between now and when it was new. The clatter is gone.

That's amazing economy from the Diesel. It was my expectation that my economy would be near that but around town its certainly more, but I guess I do a lot of stop start driving as I live 5km from the city and drive to work everyday in the Paj -there's 6 sets of lights between my house and the office.

My NS Auto Diesel with Mitsi Bar and Cooper ATR tyres (standard size) returns approx 13.5 around town, both on the dash and verified at the pump. I find the dash readout quite accurate without allowing for the speedo error.

On the flat freeway (Perth) at 100km/h its 10L/100km, but throw in a few gradients and you are looking at 12L/100km highway. Towing my tinny on a 3000km round trip averaged 14L/100km fully laden with gear including roof basket and bag.

Mine is becoming more quiet as the k's increase too. 5600 on it now and its also more responsive than when new, and there's less rattle from the engine.

[matthewfnorbert]

just did 1100kms on weekend towing 1.3 tonne boat, did not pussy foot around.
13.3l/100kms according to dash computer.. get around 11 around town, 10.6 to high tens overall, 11,000kms on the clock.

schniff seems to be the fuel efficiency DiD king!


would my figures improve if i calc them manually schniff (ecu errors etc, pessimistic?) ??

[Nova Artist]

I find the on board computer to be about 3/4 of a litre per 100km out, and with a LWB semi-Auto NS Pajero, I get around 10.6-10.9 per tank around the city (having 3,000 km on the Odo so far, with the computer claiming 11.5-11.9), but most of the time is spent going to work and back and 1/2 of the journey is skirting around the city on the freeway which allows the fuel economy to improve somewhat, so I can certainly understand when some of you with more stop start driving get in the 13's for the daily commute. As long as the country driving is on flat roads, you can get in the low 9's, but once you start hitting the hilly country, pulling 2.3 tonne of car up those hills takes it out on the fuel economy big time. For example, doing exactly the same country trip last year in my old station wagon which gave me 9.5 L/100km on the work trip, would give me 7.5 L/100 km in the south west (It was only a 1.3 tonne car). So far the Pajero has averaged 10.6 L/100km for that same country trip, but I have learned now (from elsewhere on this forum) that I probably should not have used cruise control in the hills as much as I did (the old car did not have cruise control). The engine is starting to get a little quiter, but is still quite loud regardless. Here's hoping that it does quite down a bit more over the next few months, as some of you are suggesting.
Cheers.

[rafman]

Snoop, my petrol SWB has only got about 700km on it, but so far the consumption has been pretty bad, I did try the diesel but found it too noisy for my liking.

If I dont do any highway work, straight to the office and back about a 20km roundtrip through lots of traffic I'm averaging around 20+ if I include a bit of highway driving I can get that down to an average of about 18. The other day I went out pretty much on the highway only and still only managed to get 13.5. And this is has all been driving with a very light foot, I'm too scared to put my foot down...

I can only hope that she will loosen up a bit and improve with time...

[2800ITDNM]

My SWB R DID is a totally different vehicle now (5000kms) than the one I picked up new from the dealer with 7kms on it. Quieter, smoother, pulls like a train etc. Gets better each drive. I remember the night I picked it up, went for a 150km drive to give it a run before I towed my camper and contemplated sound deadening. Dont even think about the sound issue now. Get the Diesel, you will not regret it.

[macguru]

I parked next to a Porsche Cayenne Turbo and a Range Rover Sport (supercharged) the other day........

Hey, has anyone noticed how UGLY these cars are ? I would not pay FOUR TIMES the price on an NS SWB to drive such an ugly car. Also, from what i have read , i think the NS would not disgrace itself in many areas of driving, either. (probably better than the cayenne on true offroad, and on the highway, only the top (turbo/super) models mentioned above would outperfprm it (not the v6 base models)

[peterdeg]

My SWB R DID is a totally different vehicle now (5000kms) than the one I picked up new from the dealer with 7kms on it.

At 10,000k you'll be just about run-in.