Surf for all purpose vehicle ??

[tim360]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a 96-97 Surf SSR-G 3L diesel for towing my boat (16ft fibreglass) and for general round town and open road usage. We only want one car so it has to do all of these.

I know it will tow, launch and retreive the boat no problems, but am uncertain of it's comfort levels for open road travelling. We do a lot of travelling without the boat.

Am looking for some feedback from you surf owners.

PS. I'm tossing up between buying the surf and a late model Nissan Maxima, two very different vehicles I know, but same price range here in NZ, circa $20k.

[That Ruddy Squirrel]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a 96-97 Surf SSR-G 3L diesel for towing my boat (16ft fibreglass) and for general round town and open road usage. We only want one car so it has to do all of these.

I know it will tow, launch and retreive the boat no problems, but am uncertain of it's comfort levels for open road travelling. We do a lot of travelling without the boat.

Am looking for some feedback from you surf owners.

PS. I'm tossing up between buying the surf and a late model Nissan Maxima, two very different vehicles I know, but same price range here in NZ, circa $20k.

Well let's add a bit of weight here, what use will the Maxima be if you wanted to get a stretch of water where the road is not tarmaced, and possibly rutted ?

I have a 2nd Gen surf (93) and it's very comfortable, it also has a HUGE boot to swallow things up, fold down the rear seats and you have a much bigger space - it's been known for people here to sleep in the cargo section of a surf !


Trev

[Koi]

On road driving the Surf is as, no more comfortable than most saloon cars. I have done long journeys as have others in the Surf and find it handles well for a big motor and get out the other end not suffering the usual back ache etc after a long journey.
Towing the boat should not be a problem.

[_cj_]

HI Tim,

ive had my '97 ssr-x for 3 weeks now and i'm chuffed that i made the correct decision in buying it. Its very easy to drive round town - loads of power and light steering - for a big truck it feels 'nippy'. The mpg is better than i expected, i'm averaging about 22mpg but can get up to 25mpg and i have a heavy right foot and i love the air con on all the time. The surf will happily cruise at 90-95 on the motorway and it actually seems quieter than my old astra. It has the 'road use 4wd' which the 2nd gen doesnt. Above all it is great looking truck - i have a highly modified 300zx and the surf gets all most as many looks.

I hope this helps - if you have any more questions about my surf post them on here or email me at cjxxxx@ntlworld.com

Regards,

alex

[Alun]

The closest I've come to the comfort levels I'm experiencing with my surf was my Audi 100 .
My first run was to the lakes (200 miles in a single hit) and I arrived fresh as a daisy.

At motorway speeds (70-75) you can barely hear the motor and normal conversation is not a problem.

Partner regularly falls asleep in the passenger side and the little 'un loves it in the back.

[Morr]

The comfort on a long journey offered by the Surf is for me one just one of its many fine points. Having had both 2nd & 3rd Gen models I find them terrific over medium to long distances (and great on short ones too ) Whilst the comfort levels of the Surfs might not quite surpass that of the cars I had in-between Surf’s the overall experience is better, enough to tempt me back to the Surf. That said the cars in between give the Surf a run for its money even though in my opinion it does pip them at the post, what were these cars? A Jaguar XJ6 2.9 and a Jaguar Sovereign 4.0.

The Surf won for me.

[thechaddyboy]

i've had my 3rd gen AUTO SSR-X just over a week & driving is an absolute pleasure (esp' with air con at the moment) - wife & i are off camping with friends for the bank holiday and we're sleeping in the back of the surf it's THAT roomy. my only regret is i should have bought a surf a lot sooner....

[Linda]

I suffer from back aches and the surf is the first vehicle I have ever had in which I can drive for 5 or 6 hours and get out with no pain. We drove to Yorkshire last year - we were on the road for nearly 8 hours in total and although tired, the comfort of the seats, the ride and the handling of the surf meant the journey was a pleasure.

[Rob]

I can vouch for that too seeing as I drove to the same place and had no aches or pains after 7-8 hours driving. In any other car I've driven, I end up with aches after just 3 hours!

[toplad]

Long / short distance, on / off road, towing / solo..... the Surf will do the business while you do this

[Malenibo]

I have a 3.0 3rd gen and recently did some 2000 miles around France. On the travelling days we did up to 5 hours at a time towing the caravan. I got out at the end as freash as when I got in. Quite remarkably really as with the D--S--Omy last 4X4 my wife and I were arguing after a couple of hours.

[s2-wolf]

I have a Surf 3rd Gen and it is an excellent vehicle. It is comfortable, competent in all situations and very easy to drive. I often forget that I am driving a relatively big 4x4 machine and think of it just like a saloon car. It is very easy to park because it has large mirrors with a good field of view and mine has a reversing mirror that drops out of the rear spoiler and makes it very easy to reverse up to a wall etc or a boat trailer tow hitch!!
I would thoroughly recommend the auto diesel - the gearbox is excellent with almost imperceptible changes up or down the box and the diesel engine gives me on average 27mpg, whether cruising gently or pressing on.
One of the best all-round vehicles that I've ever had.
Go for it - I know you won't be disappointed.

[Simon.O.]

Another K1W1 !!

Where in this great land are you?
I am on the 'Shore. and Pete( "the tart" ) is in Whangaparoa.

[tim360]

Thanks eveyone for your thoughts and advice, it must be a great vehicle as there are so many passionate owners about !! I'll definitely be test driving some Surfs this weekend

Simon am in Auckland as well (Ponsonby), recently moved up from Wellington, great spot as we just roll down College Hill to launch the boat at Westhaven Marina

[mtber]

Go for the Surf you will not be disapointed