Buying a 4x4 - Advice

[gtidreamer]

I'd also consider a Nissan terrano with a 2.7 diesel engine. I my experience: cheap, reliable, tough, mostly mechanical so quite simple, cheap, long wheelbase comfortable ride, short wheelbase is a bit 'choppy', unfashionable and did I mention cheap.

[ATG]

FWIW, I bought a hilux surf for 3.5k about 8yrs ago. It's got 260k km on the clock and just keeps plugging along. Can cruise comfortably on a motorway, a/c still works, and has proper off road ability. Cheap, reliable, and extremely capable. Worth having a chat with Tony at 4x4 Toys. Very friendly helpful bloke and knows these cars backwards.

[diddles]

For a 3.5K budget this discovery td5 would be my choice as the base vehicle

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/landrover-discovery-td5-...

I would however be spending some additional funds on underbody protection, winches, sand tracks etc etc etc

[loskie]

So far I've bee
n looking at Isuzu troopers, but as we know little about cars we would love to get some outside advice.

First thing would be to start knowing more about cars.
Basic maintenance, common repairs, some more language skills, what spares to take.

Oddball choice
Older Subaru Foresters are quite basic and cheap, durable not for extreme off road but will handle a lot.
Sold widely through the world too. Spares should be available. Many interchangeable through the whole Subaru range.
25 to 30mpg on a non turbo petrol.


or something like this:
http://www.gumtree.com/p/vans/ford-transit-county-...

Edited by loskie on Wednesday 6th May 07:04

[GAjon]

loskie said:

So far I've bee
n looking at Isuzu troopers, but as we know little about cars we would love to get some outside advice.

First thing would be to start knowing more about cars.
Basic maintenance, common repairs, some more language skills, what spares to take.

Oddball choice
Older Subaru Foresters are quite basic and cheap, durable not for extreme off road but will handle a lot.
Sold widely through the world too. Spares should be available. Many interchangeable through the whole Subaru range.
25 to 30mpg on a non turbo petrol.


or something like this:
http://www.gumtree.com/p/vans/ford-transit-county-...

Edited by loskie on Wednesday 6th May 07:04

If you look at my post on page 1, I looked at that very van.

[JimmyConwayNW]

loskie said:

So far I've bee
n looking at Isuzu troopers, but as we know little about cars we would love to get some outside advice.

First thing would be to start knowing more about cars.
Basic maintenance, common repairs, some more language skills, what spares to take.

Oddball choice
Older Subaru Foresters are quite basic and cheap, durable not for extreme off road but will handle a lot.
Sold widely through the world too. Spares should be available. Many interchangeable through the whole Subaru range.
25 to 30mpg on a non turbo petrol.


or something like this:
http://www.gumtree.com/p/vans/ford-transit-county-...

Edited by loskie on Wednesday 6th May 07:04

Are you going aswell?

[DonkeyApple]

How about something like an old Subaru Forester? You trade a bit of ground clearance but they are very tough, cheap and good mpg.

[TravelTheWorldJB]

Lots of really great information, thanks so much guys!

Another topic I'd like to broach would be Diesel Vs. Petrol for this kind of trip, being a newbie with cars I'm trying to hoard as much information as possible in the next months!

Are there any major perks to one or the other? Especially for a big car for example the Hilux surf over such long distances etc.


Many thanks in advance.

[McFarnsworth]

One that I haven't seen mentioned yet is a Hyundai Terracan. They're pretty cheap for what they are, which is basically a Shogun underneath, but newer.

[TurboHatchback]

One factor to consider in the petrol vs diesel and big vs small arguments is range. A manual 80 series 4.2td will do a good 500 miles on a tank on tarmac roads and has loads of space for jerrycans etc. A smaller or petrol vehicle probably wouldn't be able to match that sort of range which could be a handicap when out in the wilds.

[Turbodiesel1976]

Jesus its a long way to go, I'd be inclined to get a sponsor, increase the budget and do it in something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Range-Rover-T...

[Ayahuasca]

Turbodiesel1976 said:

Jesus its a long way to go, I'd be inclined to get a sponsor, increase the budget and do it in something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Range-Rover-T...

Nooooooooo, need light, basic, easy to fix, inexpensive to fix - a RR is none of these.

An older Defender, maybe.

I own a Defender and a Land Cruiser and for a long relaxing road trip I would take the Toyota. It is more comfortable, better handling and a smoother ride. If I wanted more of an adventure, more hardcore, more offroad I would take the Defender and a roofrack of spares.

[austinsmirk]

A mate of mine drove to Afghanistan in a vw T25 syncro.

I think in early 80's when it was a cool place to go to and women still had freedom and went to school.

not head to toe in sheets and the men blowing everything up.

alternatively why not cycle: thats far more impressive- again a friend cycled from yorkshire to Nepal about too years ago- well nearly- Khazakstan was far too dangerous and he had to bail out at that point and come home. airport and customs people robbed him blind before they let him on the plane.

what route are you going to follow- far east europe is not exactly the easiest of places to drive to these days.

Merecedes G wagon is the obvious vehicle- but not in yr budget.

[Ru78]

Sounds like a great trip, how about a mitusbishi shogun sport? We use one for the sheep, and it's stood up very well off road, could do with a 6th gear for motorways, but otherwise cheap for what you get... and basically a L200 with a full body on it, which would be better for security than a fiberglass back.
Good luck,
Ru

[TurboHatchback]

Turbodiesel1976 said:

Jesus its a long way to go, I'd be inclined to get a sponsor, increase the budget and do it in something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Range-Rover-T...

That is a genuinely terrible idea, a modern(ish) Rangerover is the last vehicle I would take on such a trip.

[Turbodiesel1976]

^^ the OP is driving to Australia! I know I'd rather do it in the comfort of a Range Rover as opposed to a clapped out defender, anyway what happened to the notion that the Range Rover is the best 4x4 money can buy? Or is that only for nipping down the shops or the school run?

[TurboHatchback]

Turbodiesel1976 said:

^^ the OP is driving to Australia! I know I'd rather do it in the comfort of a Range Rover as opposed to a clapped out defender, anyway what happened to the notion that the Range Rover is the best 4x4 money can buy? Or is that only for nipping down the shops or the school run?

Exactly, he is driving to Australia, there is a very good reason you won't find any Range Rovers in the outback, it will be almost exclusively Toyota Landcruisers and Nissan Patrols. Nobody in their right mind with a finite budget would pick a Range Rover with its complex multi-link independent air suspension, huge alloys with low profile road tyres, famously unreliable engines and gearboxes, dodgy electrics etc for such a trip.

The Range Rover is designed and built to drive better on the roads of Cheshire than any other 4x4 whilst being able to tackle any occasional off road situation that might be encountered taking the kids to school and pony club meetings. They certainly aren't built so that the Nth owner can reliably cross the globe in them 10 years down the line, far from the dealers and trusty AA men.

[DonkeyApple]

Anyone else thinking that this is a threD where a post from 300BHP probably wouldn't be completely insane?

[TravelTheWorldJB]

Woah woah guys, keep it cool! Haha

No need to argue in here, just looking for some car advice! Please don't flood my thread!

@Ru78 - Thank you, I will take the Shogun into consideration, I remember seeing quite a few of them out on the road and they always looked great, I've never driven one myself.

@Turbodiesel1976 - Comfort is not the plan here bud, the whole idea of driving to Sydney is the adventure! It'll be tough, exhausting and a hell of a laugh. The last thing I want to look back and remember is 'comfortable'! I need reliable, something that'll get the job done with a little love, a hammer and some ingenuity.


@TurboHatchback - Thank you for that, I was looking at diesel as the better option simply due to it having better MPG usually (is that wrong to assume?)


Thanks again or all the replies guys, and does anyone have any information on why they'd choose diesel over petrol and visa versa?

[TurboHatchback]

As far as I know petrol and Diesel are equally available pretty much everywhere so the arguments for/against each of them come down to:

• Cost
• Range
• Reliability

Now clearly diesel will be cheaper but you'd have to find out fuel prices in all the places you'll be going and do the maths yourself to see if the difference is noticeable. Range will almost invariably be better on a diesel and better still on a manual diesel. As for reliability there are good and bad diesel and petrol engines, I would look at each engine individually and research their weak points (if any).

I know a little bit about older Toyota 4x4 engines: A Hilux pickup for <£3500 will probably have the 2.4td engine which is renowned for having head gasket issues, something to watch out for. A hilux surf or 4runner will either have the 2.4 or the later 3.0td which also has head gasket issues but less badly (it's a great little diesel otherwise). There are a few Petrol V6 auto surfs around which are supposed to be pretty reliable but rather thirsty given their size. A Landcruiser 80 comes with either the 4.2td which is bombproof as long as the big end bearings have been changed or the 4.5l I6 petrol which is also indestructible but only comes in auto and has something of a drinking problem (probably 1/2 the mpg of a manual diesel).

I personally rate the 4.2 1HD-T and 1HD-FT as found in the 80 series as the ultimate engine for such an expedition, simple, powerful, reliable, economical and good for intergalactic mileages. My second choice would be the 3.0td Hilux surf though I would check it very carefully for signs of head gasket issues. I think the petrol Toyota 4x4s are great but only if fuel is not an issue.