iRage

First part of the model code for a HiAce... KD means it has a KD series diesel engine...H200 <usually there is a number> identifies it is a H200 series Hiace (i.e. 5th generation Hiace). In some markets diesel HiAces also have the codes GDH, LH, KZH (because they had GD, L and KZ type engines) and petrol TRH HiAces.

The Swift is a much nicer car to drive and you get a lot more features/accessories for the price (for the same price you will get the bare necessities in a Vitz). When new both cars I would say were equal in terms of design related flaws/issues/etc...but as the others have mentioned, after X many years, it all depends on how the previous owners have taken care of the car. Stayaway from the 1L Vitz. That is horrid. The engine is simply gutless and you might be tempted to just jump out of the car and run instead. The 1L Vitz was sold as city running cars for businesses and teenages just getting their license and running a car with their part-time job salaries or as 2nd run around vehicles for families (so yes it was sold to compete with the likes of the Alto and other Kei cars). The normal versions were the 1300 and 1500 versions. They are no frills A to B cars. Quite unadventurous in stock form but if you want you can do some very modest tweaks to the suspension, wheels, air intake etc and the car livens up a little. Space wise...well..they are both hatches...go..check them out and see which works for you. The concept of space is somewhat personal as well. If you are a small person then it might feel spacious but if you are a life-sized teddybear then either car will make you feel cramped. Driving wise..again..Swift is way ahead of the Vitz. The closest a Vitz would come to in driving pleasure is a Vitz RS/G's/GR Sport. Those can hardly be found in SL. Also, ride wise...this is where it gets tricky. The Swift has slightly stiffer suspension whilst the Vitz has primitive softer suspension (which usually makes the ride softer). However, because of the type of suspension and things like the seat design the Swift actually does feel a lot better on long drives than the Vitz. Maintenance requirements and reliability...again...depends on how the car has been taken care of in the past. As @RusT mentioned the Vitz being a common car you can find spare-parts at any parts shop. Plus you get a whole choice on quality of parts as well as there are plenty of chinese, taiwanese, japanese 3rd party parts and fake originals and originals (because it is there it doesn't mean you should buy the cheap or fake ones). If your budget is 5mil...then plan to spend up to about 4.5mil on the car. The rest leave it for a rainy day. You will have to attend to some must-dos as soon as you get the car and after a few months of use you might discover issues that need to be fixed. In a way this is good because now your only option is the Swift People will tell you to go for the Vitz because it is a Toyota and there are tons of them around and their owners brag about how their car get a million miles to the gallon and all those BS about resale, etc... Just ignore all that. Decent cars, like Swifts, Lancers, Mazdas, all sell quite easily as long as the car has been taken care of. AND...they are priced reasonably. So you buy at a low price and sell at a reasonable low price. Common Toyotas are significantly overpriced. You buy at a high price and then you hold on to it trying it sell it at a high price until some broker comes along, tells you some BS and buys it from you at dirt cheap anyway.

Yes...the IMA was an assistive system whilst the HSD was a direct drive approach. Again....it was due to how the system worked (and the battery tech too). Toyota's old HSD did put a heavy strain on the battery. Add to the fact that people did not drive them properly created a situation where the battery did not go through a proper charge-discharge cycle. I am saying this because although I too was pessimistic in the beginning, I have seen many 2nd gen Priuses that have done 500,000km on their original battery and HSD components. The 2nd and 3rd gen Priuses were popular taxis (EDIT : In Japan, before Hybrid Sientas came about..also my father-in-law's Aqua is now 9 years old and has about 120,000km, still with original battery. Context/environment also plays a lot here I suppose). I forgot about the tour operators. Also, I am pretty sure the GPx Fit had a 2nd gen system than the FD3. ALso I do think the 2nd gen Fit was one of Honda's better products during the period. Had a lot more improvements than the 1st gen and then things slid down a bit with the 3rd gen.

I am sorry but you are being extremely biased here and not being objective with the advice. The Honda Civic is not the trouble-free car that your post might be misinterpreted to be. Yes...Toyotas of a certain era had AC compressor issues, brake component issues, etc...but then so did the FD series Civic. Japanese service bulletins themselves show replacement/upgrade requirements for engine mounts, check and replace requirements for transmission seals, AC clutch issues, etc... (on top of the FD3 early battery issues). People go with the norm rather than the exception. Even with Toyota hybrids there are those that have run a lot more than 5 years (even 10) without issues. But that does not mean it is the norm. Don't you think objectively that would apply to the Civic FD3 as well? You by your own admission stated that people had to resort to replacing battery cells/packs from other models, etc...for starters it is because Honda never fully resolved the issue in the first place for those who got the early models. Now...if this is the majority of what is seen then people do perceive it to be the case (just as you did with the Toyota Hybrids). Again....in reality a lot of it has to do with the kind of people buying each type of vehicle. A Honda owner is more likely to go the extent and find the proper parts, enjoy driving, etc..whilst an average Prius/Aqua owner would not. They would go for the cheapest alternative you can ever find to get the car running (if costs too much sell it off with a band-aid fix) and then drive like a dead tortoise hypermiling all over the road inadvertently killing the HSD and the car (there are people who still do not realize that the battery needs to go through proper charge-discarge cycles. Sri Lankans are going to freak out with the new Hybrid systems as they would rarely charge up to a 100%). I am not saying the FD3 is a bad car...it is one of the nicer all-round Hybrid cars to drive from the era (assuming it is fully functional). But...it DOES have its flaws where when purchasing (or considering to purchase) one has to be mindful and be open to accept it all (not every FD3 is @Dee Jay's FD3 that has been loved and taken care of ). Frankly...given the choice....I would go with a FD4 over a FD3 as one might have a better chance of finding a cleaner car with a proper service history (since FD3s are relatively rarer). I think @fiat fanmentioned it was not that powerful but considering the other options it is not bad at all (the 1.6 has about 123? hp compared to about 108hp in something like a 1.5L Axio...granted the Civic might be about an average human-baby heavier though). Also, I thought the agents brought down a few FD2s but I might be mistaken. Now....when @fiat fan said the battery was weak....well...he had a point because the issue was that the battery didn't hold charge. Thus, for most it is perceived as battery being weak and not software issues. Also...I don't think most of the AL forum members' rides actually is representative of the general case of any of the vehicle models we own (heck one might think 80s Alfas were built out of stainless steel if we go buy our members' cars..or that Toyota paint was eternal). We do tend to take care of our cars above what can be considered average.

Actually he does have a point there....this was one of the reasons the car didn't do that well in Japan (second was that it was the first car in the segment to become a 3 number car. At the time that meant higher taxes). The Hybrid system was known to have issues with the earlier models early on. It had something to do with the battery getting drained off abnormally and that resulting in potential excessive/premature battery wear. The issue was in Hondas when the IMA does stop working the performance drop is quite noticeable (in a Toyota you don't feel it as much sue to the setup). Speculative. I would be willing to bet that this has more to do with the type of people who bought the Toyotas vs. those who bought the Honda. Not to sound snobbish but I don't expect the average Aqua, Prius, Axio hybrid owner to have been the type to buy a Honda. When they did...well...as the FK Civic showed...things don't go too well. Well...you can't expect the whole truth and nothing but the truth from the manufacturer's own marketing material can you ? Can't see any manufacturer saying our EHEV Civic is less fuel efficient than Toyota's 5th gen HSD or..ePower is not as efficient as eHEV, etc... FYI....JC08 was highly criticized by the Japanese government due to consumer complaints. Japanese regulations dictated that cars can be at most 70% less efficient in the real-world than the JC08 figures. This meant the manufacturers did everything possible to just be 70% efficient of what there tested JC08 figure was (the tests themselves were carried out under ideal circumstances). So...if a car's published JC08 figure was 25kmpl...then in reality under best circumstances it would have averaged 17kmpl. Because of all this now the main standard is WLTC although they still do publish estimated JC08 figures as well.

I think the first and foremost question to ask is...Why do you want a FD series Civic ? That determines a lot as to which model you should try to get.

What kind of wheels does it have ? Diamond cut ? Chrome finished ? Powder coated ? etc...etc...etc...

Well...height increases with tire size has lesser negative complications/issues than lifting the car with the suspension (e.g. lowering springs, height increasing bumper stops, etc...). With the wheels getting larger the entire car with the suspension components get raised as opposed to with a suspension height change the body and suspension components change height/position whilst the wheels remain at the same point. This messes up the telemetry... Wheel size tire increases are mostly with things like change in speedometer, turning radius differences, clearence issues (i.e. wheel rubbing fender liners, suspension struts, etc...). Also, depending on how drastic the wheel size change is you wheel feel a slight difference in how the car pulls as it can change how much torque is required to rotate the wheel. A larger rim size requires more torque to turn thus works quite well when the car is running in its top end (higher revs for high torque). But it will feel like the car is slow to move when the engine is working at the low end (there is a reason why race cars actually have large rim sizes...well...maybe not rally cars...rally cars have small rim sizes but chubby tires). A small wheel size would be the opposite. This is also the reason why you might see a drop in fuel efficiency (most of our baases claim it is because the wheel is heavy when in fact a good set of large allow wheels will weight less than the stock alloy rims) Being an AWD what is important in your case is making sure all four wheels are the same, i.e. same size, same type of tire.

In addition to the SX4 - Demio (1st and 2nd gens should fit your budget) Also....don't be afraid of something like a Familia sedan from the 2000s especially if it is in really good shape.

Can someone else please take my turn ?

Uhumm....more than one picture please

Kei cars are for city use..so anything like hill climbs, highway drives, fully loads, the car is going ot be sluggish especially as it reaches anything about 40 kmph (kei cars have a lot of torque at low revs but as the speed picks up it is very lethargic). So..if you are going to buy a kei car..try to go for the turbo variant. They are much nicer to drive and a little bit more oomphy than the non-turbo variants. When buying a kei car..check the engine very very well. Kei car engines get rev'd the hell out of it so most of them are pretty worn out. So check the engine, turbo unit, etc...and the gearbox. Now..out of the cars you have listed the N Wgn is the nicer car. The interior feels a lot more refined than the other two cars. Especially if you get a high-grade one. The second nicer car would be the Ek Wagon and the Wagon R being the lowest on the refinement scale (it feels very plasticy and basic and cheap). Performance wise...they are all more or less the same although the Wagon Rs hybrid system can make it a tad more economical. Not by much though. Since Wagon Rs are more common you would probably find parts for it much easily. Which car would be more reliable depends on the condition of the car you are looking at so no one can give a definitive answer.

The involuntary speed reduction is due to the car going in to limp mode. There is something wrong with the ASC system. Which also leads to the check engine light (the check engine light is not just for engine issues...it comes up for system issues). Get a scan done and see what the error codes are ASAP. If the car is going into limp mode it could be something that can mess up the car with or its safety. Since this is the stability control system it could compromise safety (since the ABS light doesn't come on I am going to assume the ABS is still functioning..again this is just an assumption) The whole going away and coming back after sometime is because when you turn it off the compromised system gets reset and then after sometime the issue, whatever it is, pops up. SO GET IT SCANNED ! Avoid using the car on extensive drives or driving at all if possible.

That rear light is from a facelift Mazda Premacy. On the thoughts of being European...if this actually is a Premacy....you would be on the right line. There was a Ford variant called the Ixium (Ixiom ?) for the European market (mainly for the UK).

Well...seen this happen even in new Premios and Axios as well. The issue is more od a dumb@@@ user. Apparently they use cheap coolant and dilute it too much. So the internals start developing surface rust because of the higher water content and cheap coolant (which by itself is higly diluted...apparenlty).

Over to you ! As for the Familia....the main issue was they were very revvy engines. It felt rather weak and lethargic on the lower end of the rev range and you had to really rev it up for it to move along. In typical Sri Lankan mentality this translated to "thel karan naha". Believe it or not....at the time the Corolla (E80) and the Familia were the more advanced two cars in its segment (from Japan).

Not the most loved due to its body style...its siblings were quite a familiar sight on SL roads...

Yes..it is a dinosaur. The fourth generation V80/V90 series (i.e. the current/last gen) is based on the 3rd gen V60/70 series. It just has very minor updates to the brakes and suspension and that is it. So even though you will be buying a 2013 Pajero...it is actually a 1999 car in new clothing. One can argue that even the Land Cruiser models are ions old, but at least when Toyota changes the models (even after 17 years, there is a significant upgrade...with the exception of the 70 series of course, but then one buys the 70 series because one wants the old fashioned tech). So yes..Pug is light years ahead than a 2013 Pajero.

Tempted to say B110 サニー or サニートラック (サニートラ). But the body line on the fender seems to be off or if it is there it cannot be seen.

Depends on how bad your current engine is. If its too worn out, then getting a new CD enging and building that up might be the better way to go. Since this technically is a new engine you still have to go through the approval and vehicle inspection processes. However, since it is a diesel to diesel swap with the same engine it is easier to explain the swap and get all the other paperwork sorted out. They used to be good. Pricey too. But good. No idea how they are now (I am not in SL so I don't know what has become of them. Nor do I know of any diesel specialists or Nissan diesel specialists. Maybe one of the other embers can help with that. I don't know who your garage is. Snoop around and find out if previous builds have been successful. Always keep a 10-20% margin on what is being quoted (due to current prices and things changing in the market/economy you might need to keep a larger %). More often than not you never know what you are going to find once the engine is opened up. Then there is also the cost of parts, you are always going ot find parts at various price points. You might not need the most expensive, definitely not the cheapest, so you would want the best part you can get to maximize the longevity of the build (so whilst the garage quoted the 10K part you might decide you want the 15K one). Thirdly, when you have the engine bay empty you might want to replace some of the other parts anyway just for ease and piece of mind (e.g. engine/transmission mounts, etc...)

Even if your diesel had an ECU that would not work with the petrol engine. I do not think the B14 ever came with a CD20E. It was always the CD20 (i.e. without electronic injection). When EFI was introduced the Sunny diesel went to the YD22 engine. You have to get permission BEFORE the conversion. You have to fill out a form and then with your new engine invoice, engine number, etc...you have to file it. When you get permission you can go ahead with the swap. After completing the work you have to go get it reinspected and go through the whole paper work process of getting the book and number updated. I think you think wrong. Considering the current exchange rates, etc..I reckon just the ending alone I would cost you about 100,000LKR. then there is the gearbox (not sure what the diesel gearbox is but I doubt it will work for a petrol engine due to the differences in torque and power), plus there is the ECU and the harness. Let's assume that would be about another 100K. that is 200K right there just in parts. Plus you will have to refurbish the engine, that would be another 50K if you find a decent engine. Now you need to account for labor...you will need an electrician to get all the wiring fixed up properly, plus the mechanic for the conversion...even if the mechanic can do all of it you still need to account for his/her time. So your conversion is going to be as much as fixing up your engine. Plus you will need an exhaust system...at least from the exhaust manifold onwards. Then there is the air intake <even though the engine comes with some components you still might have to get the air filter box and piping separately> Should be. Don't know much about Nissan diesel engines. You should go talk to people like Wicked EP to see what your options are. They would know best as they build turbo and exhaust setups for a living for cars pretty much around the world. Typically if you do a turbo conversion you will have to upgrade some of the internal components (being a diesel I don't think you have to worry about replacing the crank, rods, etc..though>

Yes..the GA engine will fit with no issues. So will a SR (came in the Sunny Lucino) engine but those are going to be expensive because of the fanboy status of the engine series. A proper engine swap is going to be pricey. The new engine you purchase must be refurbished including looking in to things like the status of the alternator, etc...Then you wlll have to go through the whole permission from the RMV process and then get a new registration number. Once you get the converted number that is going to raise questions and subsequently the market value will drop. So you better do a proper cost-benefit analysis, which should also consider you just selling your SB14 and going for a petrol version.

Hmmm....20 viscocity seems a bit too low for that kind of car (its heavy and engine does have to work a bit hard..even with its large capacity engine...so the oil might have a tendency to thin out due to heat on even small runs. Oil heat is different from the engine heat you see on the dash). 30 seems reasonable if the engine is in good shape and you do not do anything other than normal use (10km-ish drives in low traffic). If you are constanty sitting in traffic or doing high-load runs and the engine is a bit tired due to age, then there is nothing wrong in using 40 weight oil. The lightest oil might have given the previous owner a very very small increase in fuel efficiency because of the lower engine component resistance. You should also look in to replacing differential oil, transmission fluid and transfer case fluid (in SL for some reason the garages always skip that). Other than that, do a proper chassis clean-up and lubrication which would also include cleaning up the 4wd system solenoids and checking for air leaks in the 4WD system (Mitsubishi's super select 4wd is notorious for it). Whist you are at it might as well check the suspension bushings as well...especially the control arms.

So an evolution from Presea to a Preshila...from a lover to loving... LovingPreshila you shall be from now on.

Damn...was that episode in 2008 ? Seems like it was just yesterday. Such a funny episode it was