Excursion or Land Cruiser

So I'm rig shopping... The truck will be driven quite a bit by wife but will also be my toy when I'm not driving the 2 seat toy


I'm Looking for something with good space, reliable, not so common, decent off-road, good height and makes me feel like I'm actually in a truck rather than a crossover.

Always liked the 80 series Land Cruiser (1991-1997) including the LX450. They are a bit hard to find but the look great, run forever and are unstoppable off-road. HOWEVER... I just drove my neighbors 03 Excursion diesel (Not sure which one) and wondering if I should be considering them. Surely not as capable off-road but its got me thinking...

Lets see:

1. Its somewhat rare (albeit not as rare as 80)

2. Live axles front and rear so easy to lift

3. Turbo Diesel sounds cool. And I was quite impressed by its power. I was totally expecting a dog that can't get out of its own way since its so heavy

4. The actually see 23-26mpg on highway and 15 in city

5. They look good with nice beefy wheel/tire combo

6. Tons of space. This could also be a con in terms of length

The Landcruiser forums say diesel maintenance can break the bank... Is this true? I always thought diesels are MORE reliable...

Also, how capable are these off-road? Do they have locking Diff?

Finally, I'm new to turbodiesels but when I hear turbo I think exhaust, intake and even bigger turbo = big power. Do any of you do these?