1997 Ford Courier LX review from Australia and New Zealand

Actually nothing has ever gone wrong with the car mechanically wise.

The chair bolts tend to come loose a fair bit if driven offroad.

The aerial snapped off due to corrosion.

A lot of the roof needed to be resprayed because of rust, due to being on the beach a lot.

Needed a new battery after 6 years.

The speaker broke on the radio.

These are great cars. They can take a beating and never break down. The engines are a great motor with good torque, but they suffer at high speed. eg at 100kph you are pulling 3000 rpm, hence the shocking fuel economy. Even when driven easy, it still will never get over 375km to 50 litres of petrol.

1st gear - 35km

2nd gear- 70 km

3rd gear- 125km

4th gear- 150km

5th gear - 170 km.

Yes, they will only hit 170 max, and you need a very long straight road to hit this speed, and it's pretty much topping out with the rev limiter.

One thing about this car - they will do a great burnout easily because of the good torque.

The brakes are pretty dodgy, though they never run low for years. You just tap them and they will lock up big time.

The gear box isn't very smooth. It's hard to change gears, but the clutch is great.

Great work horse, and yes it can take a tonne. I've put 1400kg of tiles in it. 100km used 50 litre of petrol.

In conclusion, a great car. Will last a lifetime. Just needs a more economical engine eg V6 and a 6 speed manual or lower ratio box.