What 4x4 for Iceland?
Discussion
I'm planning my summer roadtrip and this time it's going to be a bit different as we've decided on Iceland (nobody said roadtrips require tarmac). It will be a three week trip via Denmark and the ferry with two weeks to tour round Iceland itself and travelling at either end.
As I don't currently own a 4x4 this necessitates buying one so I've been looking at the options available. The budget is max £6k but ideally less, £4k would be ideal. The vehicle will most likely be sold again after the trip so it's important to buy something that won't lose too much value when doing so. I need something that is reliable, easily capable of handling the terrain, has a decent fuel range and preferably acceptable comfort levels. So far my shortlist consists of:
As I don't currently own a 4x4 this necessitates buying one so I've been looking at the options available. The budget is max £6k but ideally less, £4k would be ideal. The vehicle will most likely be sold again after the trip so it's important to buy something that won't lose too much value when doing so. I need something that is reliable, easily capable of handling the terrain, has a decent fuel range and preferably acceptable comfort levels. So far my shortlist consists of:
- Landcruiser Amazon HDJ100 GX manual - Huge, long fuel range, capable and reliable. Examples within budget have been to the moon and back many times though.
- Landcruiser HDJ80 manual - Just awesome 4x4s, rare and hard to find good ones within budget though. A bit of a tractor for the trip to and from Denmark.
- Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0CRD Auto - Fast, comfy, capable and easy to drive for female co-traveller. Less DIY fixable and value more likely to be affected by cosmetic damage.
- Suzuki Jimny - Cheap, capable and reliable. Realistically I think these are too small, I'm not convinced about crossing rivers in them and after 1000 miles off road I think my spine would be shattered.
We use an Isuzu Trooper when over there and it copes just fine. Japanese are the most popular over there, so if you want spare parts availability you can't go wrong with a Land Cruiser or similar. I'd avoid the Jimny, as the only reason you'll need a 4x4 is for river crossings and a heavier car would be better.
You are presumably aware that off-roading in Iceland is illegal. The locals get rather upset by tourists (mainly Germans) coming over and tearing up their land. They'll not think twice about calling the police if you're spotted and there are quite large fines. The reality is that in the summer you can get round the island in a Corsa, it'll just be more fun and comfortable in a 4x4. Also watch your speed, I've seen speed traps in some very unusual locations and the police are very strict - most locals have laser detectors in their cars.
Camping over there is great with loads of sites all over the island. We spent a week camping in the north western fjords which was fantastic, you can't fail to enjoy it.
Out of interest where does the ferry depart Denmark and how long does it take?
You are presumably aware that off-roading in Iceland is illegal. The locals get rather upset by tourists (mainly Germans) coming over and tearing up their land. They'll not think twice about calling the police if you're spotted and there are quite large fines. The reality is that in the summer you can get round the island in a Corsa, it'll just be more fun and comfortable in a 4x4. Also watch your speed, I've seen speed traps in some very unusual locations and the police are very strict - most locals have laser detectors in their cars.
Camping over there is great with loads of sites all over the island. We spent a week camping in the north western fjords which was fantastic, you can't fail to enjoy it.
Out of interest where does the ferry depart Denmark and how long does it take?
JQ said:
We use an Isuzu Trooper when over there and it copes just fine. Japanese are the most popular over there, so if you want spare parts availability you can't go wrong with a Land Cruiser or similar. I'd avoid the Jimny, as the only reason you'll need a 4x4 is for river crossings and a heavier car would be better.
My thoughts exactly.JQ said:
You are presumably aware that off-roading in Iceland is illegal. The locals get rather upset by tourists (mainly Germans) coming over and tearing up their land. They'll not think twice about calling the police if you're spotted and there are quite large fines. The reality is that in the summer you can get round the island in a Corsa, it'll just be more fun and comfortable in a 4x4. Also watch your speed, I've seen speed traps in some very unusual locations and the police are very strict - most locals have laser detectors in their cars.
Yes I'm aware of all this. I'm planning on travelling around the highlands on the unpaved roads and apart from the river crossings I'm sure it could all be done in a Peugeot 205 but better to have the capability and not need it than get stuck/break it/keep blowing tyres etc.JQ said:
Camping over there is great with loads of sites all over the island. We spent a week camping in the north western fjords which was fantastic, you can't fail to enjoy it.
Out of interest where does the ferry depart Denmark and how long does it take?
The ferry goes from Hirtshals (the very northern tip of Denmark) and takes just under 2 days.Out of interest where does the ferry depart Denmark and how long does it take?
Foliage said:
How many of you are going?
Just two confirmed currently, could potentially be more if I can get people interested who are free at the time.No need, I bought something much better on Saturday, a 1992 Landcruiser HDJ80 4.2td manual 
. The seller was an absolute gentleman and the price was very reasonable, now I have a couple of little things to sort out and am thinking of fitting a snorkel and steel wheels with BFGoodrich mud-terrains to make it perfect for the trip. I'll add some pictures when I've had a chance to take some.
. The seller was an absolute gentleman and the price was very reasonable, now I have a couple of little things to sort out and am thinking of fitting a snorkel and steel wheels with BFGoodrich mud-terrains to make it perfect for the trip. I'll add some pictures when I've had a chance to take some.TurboHatchback said:
No need, I bought something much better on Saturday, a 1992 Landcruiser HDJ80 4.2td manual . The seller was an absolute gentleman and the price was very reasonable, now I have a couple of little things to sort out and am thinking of fitting a snorkel and steel wheels with BFGoodrich mud-terrains to make it perfect for the trip. I'll add some pictures when I've had a chance to take some.
Great choice. Got to be a better bet than that L/R cack!. The seller was an absolute gentleman and the price was very reasonable, now I have a couple of little things to sort out and am thinking of fitting a snorkel and steel wheels with BFGoodrich mud-terrains to make it perfect for the trip. I'll add some pictures when I've had a chance to take some.Foliage said:
Sarge 4x4 said:
Toyota Land cruiser every day of the week.
Are the land cruiser and hi-lux different vehicles or do they share common running gear/engines/chassis? I know they did a hi-lux surf.There are several generations of Hilux Surf, the 1st and 2nd Gen share most of their mechanical components with the contemporary Hilux pickups, the 3rd Gen was a whole new model and the 90 series Landcruiser colorado/prado was based largely on this platform.
TurboHatchback said:
I'm planning my summer roadtrip and this time it's going to be a bit different as we've decided on Iceland (nobody said roadtrips require tarmac). It will be a three week trip via Denmark and the ferry with two weeks to tour round Iceland itself and travelling at either end.
As I don't currently own a 4x4 this necessitates buying one so I've been looking at the options available. The budget is max £6k but ideally less, £4k would be ideal. The vehicle will most likely be sold again after the trip so it's important to buy something that won't lose too much value when doing so. I need something that is reliable, easily capable of handling the terrain, has a decent fuel range and preferably acceptable comfort levels. So far my shortlist consists of:
Good shout, you'll love Iceland. Have you been before?As I don't currently own a 4x4 this necessitates buying one so I've been looking at the options available. The budget is max £6k but ideally less, £4k would be ideal. The vehicle will most likely be sold again after the trip so it's important to buy something that won't lose too much value when doing so. I need something that is reliable, easily capable of handling the terrain, has a decent fuel range and preferably acceptable comfort levels. So far my shortlist consists of:
- Landcruiser Amazon HDJ100 GX manual - Huge, long fuel range, capable and reliable. Examples within budget have been to the moon and back many times though.
- Landcruiser HDJ80 manual - Just awesome 4x4s, rare and hard to find good ones within budget though. A bit of a tractor for the trip to and from Denmark.
- Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0CRD Auto - Fast, comfy, capable and easy to drive for female co-traveller. Less DIY fixable and value more likely to be affected by cosmetic damage.
- Suzuki Jimny - Cheap, capable and reliable. Realistically I think these are too small, I'm not convinced about crossing rivers in them and after 1000 miles off road I think my spine would be shattered.
We did this trip in 2009 with three Land Rovers (110, 130 and a Discovery2). PM me if you want any advice/tips etc for your plan!
TurboHatchback said:
No need, I bought something much better on Saturday, a 1992 Landcruiser HDJ80 4.2td manual . The seller was an absolute gentleman and the price was very reasonable, now I have a couple of little things to sort out and am thinking of fitting a snorkel and steel wheels with BFGoodrich mud-terrains to make it perfect for the trip. I'll add some pictures when I've had a chance to take some.
I get very tired of my Jeep on mud tyres after an hour on a motorway, are you taking an extra set of steels chucked in with the muds on or from the start?. The seller was an absolute gentleman and the price was very reasonable, now I have a couple of little things to sort out and am thinking of fitting a snorkel and steel wheels with BFGoodrich mud-terrains to make it perfect for the trip. I'll add some pictures when I've had a chance to take some.From the off roading described I'd suspect the Landcruiser with more road based (or even ATs) tyres would be very unlikely to have difficulty and wouldn't have driven you mad on the long road sections to get there.
Sounds like a fantastic trip though!
Zelda Pinwheel said:
Good shout, you'll love Iceland. Have you been before?
We did this trip in 2009 with three Land Rovers (110, 130 and a Discovery2). PM me if you want any advice/tips etc for your plan!
I haven't been before, I may well PM you when the plan is a little further along. Some experiences of those who have been before could be very useful.We did this trip in 2009 with three Land Rovers (110, 130 and a Discovery2). PM me if you want any advice/tips etc for your plan!
Steve_F said:
I get very tired of my Jeep on mud tyres after an hour on a motorway, are you taking an extra set of steels chucked in with the muds on or from the start?
From the off roading described I'd suspect the Landcruiser with more road based (or even ATs) tyres would be very unlikely to have difficulty and wouldn't have driven you mad on the long road sections to get there.
Sounds like a fantastic trip though!
I did think about this, the Landcruiser makes your ears bleed at any more than 60mph as it is so I doubt mud terrains would really make much difference in that regard. It has alloys with road biased tyres already though I'd only bring one or two of these as spares. No tyres have been ordered yet, I'm still deliberating on which to go for. All terrains would almost certainly be adequate but if I'm going to have two sets of wheels then maybe a more aggressive tyre is the way forward. Decisions, decisions...From the off roading described I'd suspect the Landcruiser with more road based (or even ATs) tyres would be very unlikely to have difficulty and wouldn't have driven you mad on the long road sections to get there.
Sounds like a fantastic trip though!
Edited by TurboHatchback on Wednesday 11th March 15:41
Iceland is bonkers.
I went for New Year once, it was insane, the locals are largely unhinged in a good way.
We took a 4X4 safari with a chap who claimed to have the only big-wheel modified LR Defender in Iceland (at the time)- he argued this was because "I was F**king drunk when I agreed to buy" mainly this was because the car and parts are subject to 60% import costs.
We drove around all day it was great then he took us to a frozen volcanic lake where to got out to take pictures, some idiot asked can you drive on the Volcanic lake? No, he says, that would be silly...
So we get back in and he promptly drives onto the lake! Almost immediately and 30mtrs from the shore a black crack races away from the bonnet and we all turn white, the driver then chirps up- "Oh, thats why its illegal to drive on here!" He swerves towards the shore and guns it, we make it 20mtrs before the ice splinters and we fall through.
Luckily the sheet of ice we're on stays in one large tennis court sized piece but I (in front passenger seat) have lake water half way up my window and the footwell is filling quicker than is funny.
The driver climbs out of his winder which is high and dry as we're at 45degrees to one side and out onto the bonnet.
He's back moments later- "hurry please, in the boot their is an axe, give it to me now please" We hurried ferry the 4ft long axe forwards and out the window (water is now lapping my seat base)
He stands on the bumper and smashes the sh*t out of the ice for 30seconds the flings the axe to shore!!! and jumps back in, guns the engine and floors it.
At first nothing happens then we creep forwards as the sheet we're on begins to split from his axe work, we make is 2 feet then slide back and smash all the rear lights against the still floating ice but now the sheet we're on is broken and beginning the sink the angle to climb has decreased considerably so he floors it again and the 44" studded tyres fling us out onto the shore where he does an unnecessary handbrake stop and we all jump out to drain the water out and survey the damage.
Then he explains the last people to drive on the lake where American soldiers in a 12tonne truck in WWII who are "still in the lake" he smiles- bonkers.
Oh and the booze is eye wateringly expensive- take your own :-)
I went for New Year once, it was insane, the locals are largely unhinged in a good way.
We took a 4X4 safari with a chap who claimed to have the only big-wheel modified LR Defender in Iceland (at the time)- he argued this was because "I was F**king drunk when I agreed to buy" mainly this was because the car and parts are subject to 60% import costs.
We drove around all day it was great then he took us to a frozen volcanic lake where to got out to take pictures, some idiot asked can you drive on the Volcanic lake? No, he says, that would be silly...
So we get back in and he promptly drives onto the lake! Almost immediately and 30mtrs from the shore a black crack races away from the bonnet and we all turn white, the driver then chirps up- "Oh, thats why its illegal to drive on here!" He swerves towards the shore and guns it, we make it 20mtrs before the ice splinters and we fall through.
Luckily the sheet of ice we're on stays in one large tennis court sized piece but I (in front passenger seat) have lake water half way up my window and the footwell is filling quicker than is funny.
The driver climbs out of his winder which is high and dry as we're at 45degrees to one side and out onto the bonnet.
He's back moments later- "hurry please, in the boot their is an axe, give it to me now please" We hurried ferry the 4ft long axe forwards and out the window (water is now lapping my seat base)
He stands on the bumper and smashes the sh*t out of the ice for 30seconds the flings the axe to shore!!! and jumps back in, guns the engine and floors it.
At first nothing happens then we creep forwards as the sheet we're on begins to split from his axe work, we make is 2 feet then slide back and smash all the rear lights against the still floating ice but now the sheet we're on is broken and beginning the sink the angle to climb has decreased considerably so he floors it again and the 44" studded tyres fling us out onto the shore where he does an unnecessary handbrake stop and we all jump out to drain the water out and survey the damage.
Then he explains the last people to drive on the lake where American soldiers in a 12tonne truck in WWII who are "still in the lake" he smiles- bonkers.
Oh and the booze is eye wateringly expensive- take your own :-)
TurboHatchback said:
Zelda Pinwheel said:
Good shout, you'll love Iceland. Have you been before?
We did this trip in 2009 with three Land Rovers (110, 130 and a Discovery2). PM me if you want any advice/tips etc for your plan!
I haven't been before, I may well PM you when the plan is a little further along. Some experiences of those who have been before could be very useful.We did this trip in 2009 with three Land Rovers (110, 130 and a Discovery2). PM me if you want any advice/tips etc for your plan!
Steve_F said:
I get very tired of my Jeep on mud tyres after an hour on a motorway, are you taking an extra set of steels chucked in with the muds on or from the start?
From the off roading described I'd suspect the Landcruiser with more road based (or even ATs) tyres would be very unlikely to have difficulty and wouldn't have driven you mad on the long road sections to get there.
Sounds like a fantastic trip though!
I did think about this, the Landcruiser makes your ears bleed at any more than 60mph as it is so I doubt mud terrains would really make much difference in that regard. It has alloys with road biased tyres already though I'd only bring one or two of these as spares. No tyres have been ordered yet, I'm still deliberating on which to go for. All terrains would almost certainly be adequate but if I'm going to have two sets of wheels then maybe a more aggressive tyre is the way forward. Decisions, decisions...From the off roading described I'd suspect the Landcruiser with more road based (or even ATs) tyres would be very unlikely to have difficulty and wouldn't have driven you mad on the long road sections to get there.
Sounds like a fantastic trip though!
Edited by TurboHatchback on Wednesday 11th March 15:41
Self-indulgent link to our Flickr stream here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/katynicolson/collect...
Zelda Pinwheel said:
One of our party knackered 2 alloy wheels at the same time - fortunately we were able to get them repaired pretty cheaply in Reykjavik. Offroad in Iceland is 50% corrugation and you'll find out quickly enough the preferred speed for the Land Cruiser. In the 130, it was about 48mph, but it's a behemoth and weighed in at about 3.5 tons... The other 50% seemed to be solid rock, lava or sand at 15mph. We used General Grabber AT2's and they were more than capable, with no issues whatsoever in terms of stability, grip, handling and punctures.
Self-indulgent link to our Flickr stream here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/katynicolson/collect...
Thanks for the pictures, they were interesting. How did they manage to knacker 2 alloys? I'm rather hoping not to do that though I will probably be taking at least two spare wheels. I'm leaning towards the Cooper ST Maxx now rather than a full mud terrain tyre, the reviews are very good and and it seems to offer an excellent compromise between good road manners and serious off-road capability.Self-indulgent link to our Flickr stream here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/katynicolson/collect...
TurboHatchback said:
Zelda Pinwheel said:
One of our party knackered 2 alloy wheels at the same time - fortunately we were able to get them repaired pretty cheaply in Reykjavik. Offroad in Iceland is 50% corrugation and you'll find out quickly enough the preferred speed for the Land Cruiser. In the 130, it was about 48mph, but it's a behemoth and weighed in at about 3.5 tons... The other 50% seemed to be solid rock, lava or sand at 15mph. We used General Grabber AT2's and they were more than capable, with no issues whatsoever in terms of stability, grip, handling and punctures.
Self-indulgent link to our Flickr stream here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/katynicolson/collect...
Thanks for the pictures, they were interesting. How did they manage to knacker 2 alloys? I'm rather hoping not to do that though I will probably be taking at least two spare wheels. I'm leaning towards the Cooper ST Maxx now rather than a full mud terrain tyre, the reviews are very good and and it seems to offer an excellent compromise between good road manners and serious off-road capability.Self-indulgent link to our Flickr stream here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/katynicolson/collect...
can't comment on ST Maxx I'm afraid. but we've got Cooper ST/T's on the 130 and my 90 now - and they too have been brilliant, did 9,000 round Europe a couple of years ago and probably 3k in Morocco including the Draa Valley - absolutely no complaints.
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