I should have added - we think the sale price on the prado will be approximately $25k.
We currently do about 20,000 km per year and diesel is about $1.80 (AU) per litre here.
We don't want to spend any more than we could sell the Prado for.
Need enough space for a baby seat, a booster seat, a pram and a load of shopping with two adults.
John
I'd imagine you'd get something decent for a LOT less than $25K. Prados are very expensive!
Would a normal Corolla-sized car work for you? How about Falcon/Commodore/Camry sized? Perhaps a Subaru Forester?
It sounds like you're in a fairly remote area with diesel at $1.80 (it's in the $1.50s here in suburban Melbourne). Would a normal car be fine on your local roads, or is a four wheel drive necessary? Would it be easy to get parts for particular cars in your area? Is normal unleaded widely available, or is only diesel available at many servos?
I feel like I read that cars are more expensive in Australia, but $25K is a big budget. A used Mazda 5 or equivalent efficient wagon would be your best bet. Hatchbacks give you a lot of the same versatility with storage that an SUV does, but 4-cylinder non-AWD vehicles are generally double the fuel efficiency of your vehicle.
Bonus: at least around here, you can get a nice, reliable used vehicle around a $10k budget.
Yes, but four wheel drives (especially Toyota four wheel drives) can command a pretty decent premium. Normal cars are a lot cheaper. For example, $25,000 would buy you a brand new Toyota Corolla, probably with change.
The main issue in the OP's case is his location. It seems like he's a long way from the cities, so he may live in an area, for example, where the roads aren't sealed, or getting parts for less-common vehicles might mean waiting for them to be shipped from a capital city.
Redbook says a 2008 Prado diesel uses around 9.2-9.3L/100km depending on transmission. For a big brute of a vehicle that isn't terrible. Replacing it with a Commodore wagon or similar probably wouldn't save an awful lot on fuel, but of course you'd free up a hell of a lot of capital tied up in the car itself.