Pickup for overlanding ?

[ar1814]

Hello there !

I'm looking for a pickup for an upcoming overland trip from CH to at least Mauritania (via Morocco), maybe further south to Senegal and back.

We are a swiss couple without children, that means that we only need two seats and don't have so much things to carry. I'd still want a double cab pickup because of the improved security (key lock in the cabin) for some of our stuff.

Does taking a pickup over a traditionnal 4x4 make sense ? My opinion is, as long as I have a big enough cabin, the big loading space of a pickup really makes sense for overlanding.

I've already started to look for some of the available models and found these three :

Two japanese "classics" : Nissan Navarra (2.5) and Toyota Hilux (2.5 or 3.0)
The european newcomer : VW Amarok (2.0 BiTDI)

I managed to try both the 3.0 Hilux and VW Amarok (both in manual and automatic gearbox) and the VW is definitely well made and the easiest to drive (like a car, just bigger). The fuel consumption of the 2.0 VW engine is very impressive too (less than 9.5 litres/100 km).
The Hilux is simpler (which is both a pro and a con) and probably more reliable. It's other advantage is the availability of the parts if something breaks down...

The japanese are cheaper than the VW, especially used, but I have some kind of personnal affection to VW which makes me love the Amarok.

Do you have some advice or personnal experience to give ?

Thanks guys, take care !

PS: my previous offroad experience was with an old Mercedes GE-230 (automatic) which is now time to replace with something newer.