Originally Posted by
sabang
I drove a mates Navarra a number of times, my drive at the time was a Hilux. It seemed fine to me- the Hilux (still going strong- unbeatable for reliability, but you do pay a premium) drove a bit more like a 'truck', the Navarra had more of a car feel to it's handling. The owner said it had given him few problems too. I think the Navarra gets a bit of a bad rap in Thailand really- it's fine, and there doesn't seem to be any bad rap attached to it here in Oz. I assume you'll be doing mainly highway driving, not offroad?
As far as cheap or not goes, I reckon it is still cheaper in the long run to get a vehicle that has been well maintained, than get a cheapo somchai special. Which usually means, buy off an expat.