Surf 2.7 or 3.0

I agree and I think your 10l/100km for a Diesel one is actually very generous. I have looked into this very scenario with Surf's before and with needing to do an oil change every 7500km even with high km's you don't get any tangible advantage in the real world.

However, you can't just take that as a one size fits all scenario. Once you start looking into Common Rail euro diesels with 45'000km oil changes and 7l/100km consumption even in commercial vehicles the game changes completely!

But for Surf's you are right on the money!

The cambelt should have been entirely avoidable though, cracked heads etc are not.

I hear you, and wouldn't seriously be advising an Audi car for for that (Toureg etc I would).
However, not sure if I posted the video but one I was watching where a guy charged up a sand dune in his Audi you can hear in the background him commenting that his Prado took a couple of attempts where the Audi went straight up!

There is another great video with various makes driving up a ski field until they get stuck. The Toyota 4x4 does O.K compared to the others until the last car. Audi Quattro. it just passes all the other cars markers, gets to the top and carry's on home.

this has been done to death,sometimes if you like a vehicle.make your own mind up and buy it,i have owned plenty of diesel and petrol 4x4`s,and they all have there pro`s and cons.most diesels are noisy and surprisingly thirsty when towing,i tow my boat with 2000 v6 pajero from stratford to new plymouth quite often and its fast and easy,and doesnt use as much petrol as alot of people on here would have you beleive.the extra cost of a diesel 4x4 has to be taken into account,especially if you are borrowing the extra money and paying interest on it,when you work out how much cheaper diesel is supposed to be.the cost of servicing and ruc and rego take the shine off a bit too in my opinion.

LOL, funny thing is the likes of the VW has a much better 4WD system than the Hilux and with the exception of the likes of very deep mud will actually have more traction than the Hilux. (Don't confuse the serious Quattro 4WD system with cheesy "softroaders" they may be lower to the ground but they have serious traction).

Given the Hilux is going to cost you at least half as much again in fuel for starters the extra height and ability that is only an advantage in some situations is pointless when the bulk of the use is on the highway.

mike, I would be with you 100% though if they really needed the ride height etc. Like you summed up. it depends what you are doing with it and in this case the likes of the Volvo/VW is designed for pretty much the exact purpose where as the Hilux is your wifes cutlery trying to be a screwdriver.