Yes, old school diesels can take much more abuse. But new ones will serve you well if you take good care of it. I've heard of Hilux owners who have clocked very, very high mileages already. Most noteable is Topgear's Botchi (or was it Dinzo? I forgot. ) who was very, very satisfied with his Hilux 3.0D4D. I believe the Strada GLX-V will be able to take it naman, it is still the tried and tested 4D56 after all. And have you seen the popular video in Youtube of a Montero Sport fording floods?

I suggest also that you check out 2nd hand vehicles as well. No need to be the very old ones, yung mga ilang months to two years old lang or so na binebenta na. You may be able to find a very fine ride at a lower cost.