Help a brother out

[Matt Clancy]

Hi guys my name is Matt and I'm new to the group, I'm looking at purchasing my first 4x4 and I have noticed that the navara is very good on price but I essentially know nothing about them. The car will be used as a daily commuter and a weekend warrior. I am currently torn between a 2013 st d40 with 65k on the clock and a 2014 st-r d22 s5 with 25k on the clock both are duel cab, manual and around the $27k mark. the d22 has all the mods and looks pretty flash and ready to chuck some mud where as the d40 is stock as a rock. My concerns with the d22 is that they sound like they are a little under powered and and little on the smaller side (I'm 6"4 and leg room is a priority)and don't have the greatest ride quality, but from all the research I have done they seem to be a pretty reliable rig for on and off road use. As for the d40 I honestly haven't heard much positive news on them apart from they are a great looking truck, every chat thread or forum I've seen so far have all had stories of how they have been trough 3 clutches in 50000k or had the timing chain snap and they where up for a $5k repair bill and warrenty won't cover it blah blah blah the list goes on and on. Now I know people complain a hell of a lot more than complement, so can anyone here who owns or has owned either of the above mentioned models, can u please give me your honest opinion on what u thought of them if u had any dramas with them etc. also is there any thing I should be looking for in perticular as a warning sign that they are a dud when I go to test drive them.

Cheers, look forward to seeing your replies

 

[happy john]

Your 6ft 4 frame would have trouble fitting in a D22 mate, your best bet would be the D40 and allow some extra coin for decent suspention. As for the chains well you will hear about the ones that have problems on any forum, there is many with high kms and no problems at all. I would want to start the car in the dealers yard stone cold in the morning and have a good listen for any unusual noises to start with. Good luck with your choice.

 

[Matt Clancy]

Ok cool thanks for the tip mate.

 

[Old.Tony]

I don't recall reading about any timing chain issues with the 2013 D40. That model has either a 140kW engine (Spanish build, the VIN starts with VSK) or a 126kW engine (Thai build, VIN starts with MNT).

For space, either will do you. I'm a little shorter than you (not by much, I'm 186cm) and found the D22 was fine in the front. Rear seat room in the D40 would be squeezy for you, and in the D22 you'd have to amputate, sorry mate you just can't fit those trunks in there too.

The outfitted D22 would mean you'd have less to do yourself. To be honest a stock (factory) D40 rides like sh!t after a few thousand km as the springs collapse and the shockies become shockers. If the D22 has had its rear leaf springs replaced it'll ride better (not quite as good as the D40, but it won't kill you).

One of the big differences between the two is the seating - the D22 seat is almost carved from mahogany by a Buddhist monk. The D40 seat is much better.

D40 has a more powerful engine but more turbo lag, the D22 feels like it's pulling more strongly from low RPM (yes, I've driven both). The stock D40 sits a couple of mm higher than the D22 but has a slightly longer (about 100mm) wheelbase so its rampover suffers a little. The D40 has a wider stance than the D22 which you could fix with different offsets and wider flared guards but there's something absolutely sh!t-hot about a D40 with arctic flares...

I own a D40, but have to admit that the D22 does very well off-road and the kitted-out unit you're looking at is going to save you other $$ ... and you can spend a few of those on seats and perhaps suspension upgrades (consider tossing Dobinson/Tough Dog/OME shockies and looking at ShockWerx by Seldom Seen Engineering).

 

[Matt Clancy]

Thanks heaps mate thats really informative stuff and honestly im am leaning more toward the d22 more now i guess it will all depend on how comfortable i fit in it(i won't be sitting in the back so dont reallycare about that). The d22 already has an ome 2" lift so im assuming that its had all the suspension changed over so i guess that 1 less thing to worry about

 

[user 10312]

There is not much wrong with the D22 it's an honest truck and in some ways does have it's advantages but in the future if you plan on doing any long trips go the D40. The ride is so much better. You'll be in much better shape at the end of it. As for the timing chains and clutches the later ones do not seem have these issues. Mine is manual and I regret not ticking the Auto box. Having driven an Auto D40 the the torque multiplication effect of the transmission really reduces the lag.

 

[Old.Tony]

^ Can't argue with the point about long trips. We've done some rippers with ours (one memorable trip was slightly over 7,000km in 8 days including one section of 1,600km in a single day). You really appreciate good seats and suspension.

We have OME suspension in ours now. The coils up front are constant rate HD to cope with the bullbar and winch. The leaf springs at the rear are dual-rate "Dakar" springs that engage extra leaves when additional weight is on the rear - perfect for when we hook up the van.

I can't fault the springs and the shocks have stood up really well to some considerable punishment (eg towing our previous caravan on a fair condition dirt road at 100km/h).

 

[VillageSTX550]

I'm 6"3 and on long drives, the D22 does lack in leg room, and having to have the front seat all the way back means that only a small underfed child would fit behind me! Our D40 fits me a lot better, especially with the electric seats which are comfy as!
If possible I would try to do an extended test drive with a demo d22 if a local dealer has one, just to see for comfort.

 

[scottybobcat]

I got the Recaro seat bases and bought a second hand set of Recaro orthopeads with seat rails for $2000.00.
Very comfy seat and everything adjusts to suit you. The rails slide right back to the back seat. The only things these seats don't do is give you head. lol

 

[jonney]

i am 6' 4" and own a 2014 D-22, very happy with this rig for both its comfort being a 4 x 4 ute and no leg room issues atall. power is down abit on take off but the easy fix is to fit a better 2.75 " exhaust system which my son has on his 2013 D-22 [ leaves mine for dead ]. you should be able to get a better deal than $27k for this one your looking at as i paid $25k for a brand new D-22 [ abn holder deal ] . so flip the coin.

 

[Matt Clancy]

Awesome thanks heaps for your info guys I really appreciate it, hopefully next week I can get out and have a drive of them and see which I like best. Thanks again fellas