Abandoning ship!

[jessef]

I like the engine and extra pep of L400, but quite frankly, it simply looks too much like a mini-van to me...I'll stick to my L300 Mars Rover thank you very much :)

funny I had two guys in granville island yesterday tell me our L400 looks like the Mars Rover.

I get just as many waves, rubbernecking and questions in the L400 as I did in the L300's.

There is no 'one is better'.

It's personal preference but I recommend to really try both.

Pictures just don't do them justice.

[marsgal42]

Pictures just don't do them justice.

Agreed. In pictures they look like a generic minivan. In real life they look far cooler.

If I was in the market for a Delica now it would be a hard decision. I've driven both, and like both.

...laura

[ShaneA]

I get just as many waves, rubbernecking and questions in the L400 as I did in the L300's.

There is no 'one is better'.

It's personal preference but I recommend to really try both.

Pictures just don't do them justice.

I agree 100%. Any time I'm the front car waiting for a light downtown I see at least one pedestrian staring at my beast as they walk past.

I was totally sold on an L300 until I saw an L400 in person and drove it. I love the look and feel of the L300, but the practicality of the L400 won out for me... also I was lucky enough to find a fantastic van for sale right when I was ready to buy.

[mararmeisto]

L300... L400... It's all moot: SWB Pajero is where it's at!

One of the reasons I went with the L300 over something locally available was: 7 passenger seating, fuel economy, and price. The rest were all bonuses and I would say all those criteria are available in the L400s as well. Personal preference on the shape/look is really the only thing that's going to differentiate them at this point.

[Green1]

One of the reasons I went with the L300 over something locally available was: 7 passenger seating, fuel economy, and price. The rest were all bonuses and I would say all those criteria are available in the L400s as well. Personal preference on the shape/look is really the only thing that's going to differentiate them at this point.

It's more than just personal preference, however it is dependent on the roll you expect the vehicle to play. If you need to be able to get in and around some really tight spots, you need the shorter length of an L300, if you need the extra power, you need the larger and intercooled engine of an L400.
There are other things as well, though those 2 are probably the biggest functional differences between the 2 that could actually make 1 significantly better for a specific application than the other.

[madmazda]

I've never owned a l300 but I did a TON of research on the Delica and for the extra power and room I picked the l300. I can fit all my bicycles or motorcycles or ski/camping gear in the rear plus the power to do 120 kph on the highway with mountain passes thrown in for good measure also 4 wheel's like a champ..... I'm excited to just drive it every day it's awesome..... everything and more than I expected.....

[FalcoColumbarius]

Let me get this straight. You are driving up mountain passes laden with cargo and you are doing 120 KPH in an L-300 Delica?

[Green1]

Let me get this straight. You are driving up mountain passes laden with cargo and you are doing 120 KPH in an L-300 Delica?

Madmazda drives an L400, he must have made a typo.

[biozach]

I reluctantly sold my L300 about 2 years ago when we had our second daughter, mainly for safety reasons. I knew the L400 were coming soon with dual airbags and ABS and thought I'd wait it out. The extra safety features on the L400 are a piece of mind and, as it's will be my wife's daily driver, it's an easier sell. Probably won't be doing any major 4x4 any more but I'm looking forward to the extra power as we're always travelin with a full load.

[Green1]

I reluctantly sold my L300 about 2 years ago when we had our second daughter, mainly for safety reasons. I knew the L400 were coming soon with dual airbags and ABS and thought I'd wait it out. The extra safety features on the L400 are a piece of mind and, as it's will be my wife's daily driver, it's an easier sell. Probably won't be doing any major 4x4 any more but I'm looking forward to the extra power as we're always travelin with a full load.

Hate to tell you this, but the early L400s, only the absolute top of the line ones have a single airbag (not dual) and ABS, they were options, not standard equipment.

From a safety stand point however, you would be much safer without either of those "features"

While it's hard to judge for sure which vehicle is "safer" I have never seen any reason to quesiton the safety of the L300, it seems just as safe, if not more so, than most domestic SUVs (obviously with such a tall and heavy vehicle you can't compare it to the safety offered by a passenger car as they sit much lower, are more stable, and stop, and turn better)

[jwfchase]

.

[jwfchase]

From a safety stand point however, you would be much safer without either of those "features"

OK- I have to reply to this, as it's something I've been thinking about for awhile.

First off, I have to tell you from seeing the results first hand SRS (airbags) save lives. I'm a firefighter, and have responded to MANY vehicle crashes. I often thought about the real safety of the L300, especially in a head on- but kind of ignored the truth of it because I love the vehicle. What I'm about to say has NOTHING to do with RHD or JDM vehicles, it's simply about modern life safety equipment in vehicles compared to older technology. However, I responded to one crash just before Christmas that has stuck in my head and has changed my mind about the role of our Delica. I am not trying to turn anyone off the vehicle, just informing based on my experience: A Ford Excursion heading north on the yellowhead hwy on the way up to Sun Peaks, doing appx 90-100kmh hit black ice (actually the whole highway was black ice, the Ford was going way too fast), spun sideways and drifted into the southbound lane, still sideways, still probably doing about 90k. A compact Hyundai southbound, totally under control, collided full speed head-on with the side of the Excursion. Ugly crash. The Mom driving the Excursion was badly hurt but lived, after we cut the SUV apart to get her out, her teenage son in the back seat (on the impact side) was killed. Maybe a side-impact airbag curtain would have saved him, maybe not. I realize what I've said so far supports what Green1 is saying about SUV's so far...
Now, on to the Hyundai: The engine compartment was totally decimated, as it is designed to do- front crumple zone, it almost looked like the whole front of the car had been chopped off, it was crushed down so badly. Remember, the combined speed off the impact would have been 180-200 km/h. The Hyundai's front airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioner deployed in this direct, head-on impact. End result, the lone occupant suffered a sprained ankle... remember, he was in a compact car.
I have almost no question in my mind, if that had been me and my family southbound in our Delica that morning...my two toddlers would be growing up raised by their Grandparents right now (at best).

So, what I'm saying is: modern safety devices work, and work well. Of course things will still happen, we can't live in a total bubble, but in the name of risk management, I'm no longer thinking of our Deli as our choice for a daily driver, it's still going to be an awesome fun vehicle that we will still venture out on the roads in together- but we will also be looking for a safer vehicle for our day to day family driver, especially on the highway.

So, there's my rant, in a nutshell: Airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners (and seatbelts, of course!), crumple zones, electronic stability control, etc etc etc DO SAVE LIVES!!! (But bad drivers will always kill...)