Just saw your thread and I had some (late) input about the Forester (especially the 2.0 turbo as it's my daily driver). The ground clearance may not have been confortable for Mongolia, but I saw some locals crossing rivers in toyota prius with more ease than me with my bike so...And as said previously, the 2.0 is not torquey as a Xterra might be, especially if you don't get the turbo. Regardless, it's pretty easy to fix and fiddle with, the boxer design is easy to understand and you've got clearance around the engine to work on it.
Anyway, I think for travel, you might be better off with the extra space available in an Xterra : I can only squeeze a 90cm wide matress in the back when I fold the backseats...
Have fun in the 'Stans !
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