vehicle choice
 

this has possibly been brought up many times before, but i'm having difficulty in choosing a vehicle to replace my landrover 110 CSW.
what i'm looking for is somethinig that can/does;

carry 4 adults comfortably
camping gear and food for 2 weeks (for the 4 above)
able to do an easy 70 on the motorways
comfortable to drive at these speeds
over 20mpg
range over 300 miles
cope with mild off road work ie; iceland
relaible


all of the above plus manage the dog when taking hoildays at home

as you can see, my landrover ticks some of the boxes, but not all of them, namely comfort and speed. overland, yes it's great, having to do thousands of miles on the motorways to get to such places NOT SO!

i've been looking at landcruisers and patrol's but think the boots are too small. though i stand to be corrected not actually knowing the dimensions.
oh, and i don't have a kings ransom to pay either! it's my second vehicle so about £8000 please.

any thoughts?

thanks.

might be a controvercial suggestion but have you considered a Merc G Wagen
cheers
chris

nothing is controversal. yes i'd thought of a G-Wagon, and like them but they're like rocking horse poo in the uk.

I've had one for about 5 years now and have no complaints. have a look at this link
GWOA

What about a Toyota 80 series Landcruiser? I got 28mpg from mine once on the way back from Val d'Isere loaded with people and stuff. I was doing 50mph though.
On another occasion I was towing a heavy trailer with a broken down fully kitted out 110 on, and I was late for the ferry. Doing 80mph with heavy trailer it uses about 1 gallon every 12 mins!!! But that's another story... (I got to the ferry!)
They still did the 80 series up to about R reg.

Or a Discovery TD5. Don't be put off by all that electronic talk. They're good.
Fitted with a bigger intercooler and chip they'll be as powerful as a Landcruiser and use less fuel. Very nice driving position as well. And more leg room for the passengers in the back. The Landcruisers and not too good for that.

Oh, what about the Landcruiser 3.0 Colorado? I don't know much about them really, but there are plenty about.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Matt

Too small!?
 

You might be struggling to find something that is bigger - unless you go up to small trucks.

What engine does/did your 110 have?

if it's fairly new, why not get it chipped & intercooled (if it's a Td5) or intercooled and injection pump tweeked (if its a Tdi), and then fit a discovery transfer box?

that'll give you better cruising ability (not necesseraly speed, but certainly less noise at a given speed) and with the higher gearing, you should get better milage.

on a 110 there is room under the rear wheel arches, or if it's non Td5, under the RH drivers seat, to fit an extra tank or 2, so that would give you ample range.

i have a V8 with lpg

i think that the only 110 that would give me just about everything would be a td5. however, these are still quite expensive secondhand. the tdi's have all accumulated high mileages by now and to replace the transfer box with that from a disco (and the usual intercooler/fuel pump tweak) would add more to the initial cost.

this is why i'm considering another vehicle.

like i originally wrote, it doesn't have to be up for a winch challenge, able to cross iceland (so i can go back and do the rest of it) would be good.

i also want to visit the pyrenees but it involves a 1300mile motorway trip just in the uk to get to the ferry. i just don't fancy that in a 110.

also a trip to north cape from bergen, 1300 miles each way. i just don't..... well you get the idea.

how about a people carrier on a 4wd chasis? (don't laugh)

look at this: YouTube - Mitsubishi Delica Drivetime TV Reviews

I was just going to suggest a delica. a mate of mine here in swindon has one, thinks it's great!

I agree with Matt.

For the money you cant beat an 80. I have had one for 2 years, done 50,000 miles of work and pleasure. it cost £6k with 140k on the clock. I have added / improved over the time- putting drawers in the boot has massively improved it. its a family car, work truck-towing 2.5ton sawmill, expedition truck(used as support for bike rally in Morroco). It does it all. I have spent about another £4k over the 2 years on mods but each one improves it and it spreads the cost as now it really is spot on. There are lots of people out there running them so it says a lot.
I know a few people with the Delicias and they seem to like them but an 80 ticks every box so to speak..
For work we got a new L200 extra cab and ended up selling prefering to use the 80 at over 10years old..

Hope it helps..

i've never seen an 80 series for sale. or am i loking at the wrong thing? can you seat 4 in an 80 series? don't they have just 3 doors?

I agree with Stan who agrees with this 'Matt' chappy. For 8k you will get the best 80 going. 80s are also known as 'VXs' in the UK but this relates to the spec level (top, and the only one you get in the UK). You must have seen some 80s in Iceland with tractor tyres.
Maybe you're thinking of the (unobtainable in UK, a few in Europe) TLC 75s and 78 (or even new 76) Troopies. You dont want one of them. Get an 80 off a nice middle class family with FSH - its the best 4WD deal in the UK.

Flick through my Sahara book next time you're in a bookshop - p.71-81 covers TLCs. Matt and all the rest will point out the higher-mileage pitfalls.


Ch

thanks. could someone furnish me with some pics? all i can find are colorado or amazon 'cruisers.

see above pictures I sent the other day! Not the Discovery, not the Colorado, but the other one.

Cheers,
Matt

As others have pointed out, go for an 80 series LC - they are basically the big mother of an LC with usually 7/8 seats - the grey one in Matts photos.

These were available from 1989-1998 in the UK in diesel or petrol. The recommended one is a 4.2 Turbo Diesel available as a 12valve auto and manual up to 1995 and then manual only in the UK from 1995-1998 when the 24valve engine was introduced (although you can get Jap import 24valves in Auto format).

Do a search on Autotrader for landcruiser with 4.2 as a keyword, that will filter out all the Colorados and petrol models.

They are often known as Amazon, although not badged as such until 1995.

£8k should get you one for around £5k with 100-150,000 miles on the clock (nothing really for an LC), leaving £3k to give it a baseline service (checking all seals, bearings in the drivetrain, replacing all oils and filters, changing brakes, etc) as well as doing a mild suspension upgrade and possibly sticking on an intercooler and/or decent exhaust to get the best performance/economy.

4 adults.

surprised no one has recommend a land rover 130, lots more space behind the seats.

Any thoughts?

:confused1:

just the vehicle for you
 

Hello,
I have a 1994 landcruiser 164,000 kms (usual one careful lady owner) which can be viewed in Edinbugh this weekend. It has been modified for overland travel, but handles highway driving well. If you would like to see then email me on johnfalk41@gmail or telephone me on 07736985229
cheers
john

thanks but i'm away in the cairngorms all weekend.

As mentiond before, changing the gearing in the transfer box makes a huge difference to cruising ability - me and my mate have both changed the gearing in our T/boxes to 1.22:1 (just a matter of changing some cogs rather than having to get a whole new box) - we can now sit happily on the motorway cruising at 75mph (thats actual as per GPS, speedo was reading 82!)
My 90 was ok straight out the box like this, though we did tweek the fueling slightly on my mates 110 to give a little extra oomph up long straight uphill runs, and we have just done a 4500 mile trip round and over the alps with no probs, including off roading.

Considering 1.22 ratio swap myself
 

Hi everyone,

Does anybody have experience of driving a Defender with the 1.22 transfer ratio with a heavy load in the back ?? How does it cope in sand with the higher ratios whildt heavily laden ??

Andrew.

Hi. You will be ok, but you really have to have more power, like a bigger intercooler (assuming you have a Tdi/TD5).
I have fitted the Discovery transfer box to two vehicles that are on this HUBB! And they both do a lot of travelling in north Africa. From the reports I get the ratio is fine in the dunes. But both these vehicles (both 200 Tdi's) have bigger intercoolers.
If you keep you engine standard you will not have the power to pull in 5th on long hills.

Don't forget, the Discovery (which is a tiny bit more powerful) has this ratio as standard, and that does fine!!

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Matt Savage

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the reply...A bigger intercooler is another mod I have long thought about but being a conservative type felt that that more power means more heat which could mean overheating through dunes in high temps (40+) with 500 kg in the back, and that LR must have a reason for keeping the power down over the disco....The std 300tdi (now with 200km on the clock) manages but you need to thrash it.

Andrew.

Yes, if you go crazy and get as much power out of the engine you can, then it will not last long! But a bigger intercooler and good tuning will give you a nice bit of extra 'free' power. So, with the extra power you no longer need to thrash it to get the power you need. Then with a Disco transfer box you're away!!

However, if you do fit a bigger intercooler you have to make sure your radiator is in tip top condition, as the intercooler goes in front of it.

Cheers,
Matt

I have a new recon 200 tdi with new injectors, new rad, big intercooler, new LR retro fitted R380 gearbox and a new recon Ashcroft standard Defender transfer box.

I am now quite scared of my vehicle when I try to drive it. It goes much fster than my old military ratio transfer box & tired old 200 tdi setup. It seems to float along, wanting to go faster rather than having something pull it back.

I can sit at 100km on the motorway and easily go past trucks in 5th up hills - anything above 115km gets a bit wobbly though. No problems with overheating on a 10,000km test drive through Spain and Portugal in the middle of summer, but I have a new rad as well.

But t's still far too noisy to be considered desirable. Get a Toyota!

Or some noise cancelling headphones - they are great!

I am now quite scared of my vehicle...

That'll be the paint job mate. It's a common reaction.

Ch

I got one of Matt's intercoolers sent out to me and I have to say it did make quite a difference (especially once combine with slight fuelling adjustment on the inj. pump). 100 km/h was fast enough for me when loaded up! Good extra power for overtaking trucks and buses though which was a big safety plus!!! Never could sort out the noise though... I always thought of maybe rigging up a home made intercooler water spray which would probably also help with really high temperatures as well as probably offering a totally unnoticeable power gain!
Gil