The seven best cars to go overlanding
Given that most of us have been confined to our own four walls – or for the lucky ones a garden – for most of the past year, does the thought of downsizing even further to live in a car seem like a cunning escape plan or a further nightmarish twist?
If you do fancy joining the #vanlife brigade and sharing your adventures in improbable locations with some artful product placement to pay for your fuel then here are a few new and used choices we think will get you out there.
Toyota Landcruiser
We could probably end this list here and be done with it. There is a saying in rural Australia, “If you want to go see the Outback, take a Land Rover. If you want to come back, take a Landcruiser.” Celebrating its 70th birthday this year, virtually any era of Landcruiser will take you wherever you want to go and bring you back again, but we’d recommend the J80 series onwards for the sake of more modern features and drivetrain even if it does lack the previous J60 series cars’ rugged good looks and very cool rear barn doors.
A Landcruiser will be repairable anywhere in the world with good parts availability and they have been designed from the offset to be easily serviceable by owners and therefore last a very, very long time. Big, comfortable and unkillable, throw a mattress in the back and start exploring.
Land Rover Defender
We should be clear here that we think driving around the world in an original Defender would be a very bad idea; the pretzelled seating position, jarring ride and glacial pace will have you returning home for a cuppa and a lie down before you’ve reached Dover. The new Land Rover Defender however is an entirely different beast and one we like a great deal for its huge all terrain ability alongside on-road comfort and performance.
You probably can’t yet get a pop-top roof for one but carrying a rooftop tent wouldn’t phase one and add on the Adventure pack from the factory and you’ll get an on-board air compressor, integrated backpack and even a shower system. We recommend optioning it with the steel wheels for ability to bash them back into shape while in the bush.
Ford Transit Trail
We recently drove the Ranger Raptor and thought it was a truly astonishing all-terrain machine, but for overlanding we'd prefer a Transit Trail for the added practicality of that vast and fully enclosed load space which could be outfitted with any number of creature comforts including cooking and washing facilities.
The Transit Trail borrows some of its styling cues from the Raptor line-up, including the gigantic Ford letters on the front grille and protective cladding but more importantly can be specified with all-wheel drive. This comes with the ability to lock the centre diff for a 50:50 torque split front and rear, and while it doesn't have a low range gearbox, it does offer an ultra-low first gear for some crawling ability. It even comes in a double-cab if you want to take the kids with you.
Land Rover Discovery
The first and second generation Discovery models are becoming increasingly rare and the Range Rover Classics too valuable to subject to round-the-world mileages while a new Discovery would look a bit too sleek among the hardcore overlanding crowd. We think the sweet spot are the third and fourth generation cars with air suspension and torquey diesel to eat up the road miles in comfort.
For leaving the tarmac these generations of Discovery have more capability than most of us have ability, especially if you can find one with the optional active rear differential and on decent tyres as it will be nigh on unstoppable. There is a lot of tech under the skin however so it is likely to be beyond the skills of most shade tree mechanics.
Mercedes G-Wagen
We are not, of course recommending the blinged-up, AMG fettled G-Wagens for the purposes of round-the-world travel; apart from the ruinous fuel consumption, the gigantic alloys would bend at the first sign of a boulder and the badging would make the occupants the biggest kidnapping target since Mark Thatcher.
Made from the early ‘90s for nearly 30 years, this generation of G came with reliable and relatively frugal but by no means powerful diesel engines and most importantly solid axles with coil springs all round, a ladder chassis and three locking differentials. It really will go anywhere. It was in fact the previous generation of G Wagen that became one of the most famous overlanders ever after Gunther and Christine Holthorf drove their car, nicknamed ‘Otto’, 560,000 miles, visiting 215 countries in the course of 26 years.
Isuzu D-Max AT35
We felt that at least one pick-up truck was needed here even if a load bed cap is necessary for anyone wanting to keep their stuff dry while traversing continents. The appendix to the Isuzu D-Max’s name indicates that it was specially prepared by Arctic Trucks and wears 35-inch tyres which means it has some serious off-road chops. Those tyres along with a 50mm lift and some serious Bilstein dampers raise the standard truck’s ride height by 125mm, matching a new Defender at full stretch.
All the suspension mods provide a surprisingly comfortable ride and although the grumbly old-school turbodiesel has trouble getting out of its own way on the road, all the torque does make it unstoppable off it. The name ‘Arctic Trucks’ kind of says it all really.
Bowler Bulldog
This will undoubtedly be a contentious choice since the asking price of even a second hand Bowler would pay for a lot of luxury travel. Plus there is its integral roll cage which combines with an all-aluminium chassis to make it effectively a spaceframe-equipped Rally Raid class competitor but, for the purposes of overlanding takes up almost all the room not reserved for people.
However, the Bowler will take you absolutely everywhere, do it very quickly and with all-round independent suspension, quite comfortably too. Bowler has even managed to sort out the Defender’s woeful driving position, although fixed bucket seats and six-point harnesses are probably not ideal for long distance travel. Still, a 221-litre fuel tank means the ability to get a long, long way from any Instagrammers and isn’t that what adventure is all about these days?
Toyota
Landcruiser
Land Rover
Defender
Discovery
Mercedes
G-Class
Isuzu
D-Max
Ford
Transit
Bowler
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