What 4x4 for Iceland?

[TurboHatchback]

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:

• 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.

I've discounted Landrovers as I think they are inordinately expensive for what they are and not reliable enough for such a trip however good they are off road. What are the opinions of PHers, have I missed any good options and has anyone done such a trip before?

[TurboHatchback]

Not really, I've been doing the sums and renting is rather expensive (£1k-£2k depending on vehicle for 2 weeks) and carries a substantial risk as regards damage excesses. Also I like ferries, I hate flying and taking two weeks camping supplies on a plane isn't really viable.

[TurboHatchback]

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.

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.

[TurboHatchback]

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.

[TurboHatchback]

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 two different 'lines' of Landcruisers, the full size heavy duty models (70, 80, 100 and 200 Series) and the lighter duty models (90, 120, 150 series). Prior to the 90 series Landcruiser Prado/Colorado the Hilux Surf was the lighter duty Toyota 4x4.

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]

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.

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...

Edited by TurboHatchback on Wednesday 11th March 15:41

[TurboHatchback]

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.

[TurboHatchback]

Spiked said:

Snap. We're doing the same.

Toyota 78 for us - link

Trying to plan routes at the moment, found this link interesting,
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/iceland/

Thanks for that, the more information the better for planning my trip. When are you going? If you're there in August then you never know, we might see you somewhere in the wilderness!

The Landcruiser has had various bits sorted, it now has its new wheels and tyres and is pretty much ready to go. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get round to taking some.

[TurboHatchback]

First and only picture I have currently of the beast in question:



I've sorted a few niggles, changed the big end bearings, got the steelies and Cooper ST Maxx tyres (which are great) so it's pretty much ready to go. All three locking diffs work perfectly and it's in superb condition for it's age and mileage so I'm as confident as I'd be about anything that it'll handle whatever Iceland might throw at it and get me where I want to go!

[TurboHatchback]

It'll owe me about £4.5k by the time everything is taken into account, I got it for an exceptional price from a very interesting gentleman who seemed more worried that it went to a good home than how much money he got for it! I'll probably sell it again after the trip as I don't really need it otherwise and I shouldn't make a loss, maybe even a small profit.

[TurboHatchback]

Well so far it seems I made the correct choice, it's doing magnificently .