[yoyoreg]

Hey everyone, new here to the forum and thought I'd ask the question that I am sure many have asked in the past... I am currently looking for a 4x4 capable of long trips and off road ability and am wondering which zook people would think would reflect what I am asking for? Sierra, vitara, jimny, gv etc. The one thing I am keen on lwb versions though as would like the little extra room for long trips etc. Thank's in advance everyone.

[AckerDackerly]

An American perspective here...

I terms of long trips, the LWB Vitara has a superior ride and more storage room. The Sierra, while very capable off-road, is pure Heck on the street mostly due to the solid front axle and short wheelbase. Been there. Done that. Got the tee-shirt. Many, many times!!

The LWB Vitara suffers from poor ground clearance and requires a great deal of modification to fix that problem.

I have owned three LWBs, I have never seriously off-roaded them other than briefly driving a stock '92 Chevy Tracker ZR2 2.5 V-6 on sand. Thus, my opinion in this is not backed by much actual driving experience.

Bottom line - unless you are prepared to engineer some serious modifications, I am pretty sure that there are other vehicles that could do the job better for less money.

[shep]

I would look for a 2.5 v6 gv1. cheap and quite capable.

[henno]

What shep said. I don't any zook is really ideal for a dedicated tourer (mainly because they can't carry that much gear) but the GV1 is as close as you can get I reckon.

[yoyoreg]

Cheers guy's. All I need to do it strap my swag down on top and load up a small amount of things in back. I just need to be sure of long distance trips and also a bit of 4x4'in also as I don't want a 4x4 not capable of doing anything off road lol.

[MrRocky]

I dont consider the gv capable in anything other than sand
Ive done a few 1000km+ trips im the 1.6 sierra, everything fits and rides well loaded up

[watermouse]

I can only compare a Jimny and a first generation GV for touring. The GV was better for touring hands down. Over long distances comfort is a much bigger factor which the GV had over the Jimny. The GV was heaps quieter at highway rpm.
Capability wise, both my cars had modest lift and tyres, the GV was 95% as capable as the Jimny but a lot less squirilley on the highway requiring less concentration to drive safely.

What is a GV at least capable of?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmkT7qUS_t0 (skip to 1minute)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8dBAYUPzV8


My Jimny tour
http://www.auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=51455

My GV tour
http://www.auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=51122

[MrRocky]

Gvs seem least capable at keeping there axles and cvs in one piece.
Dont get me wrong with a mild lift and one size up in tyres there quite reasonable for mild touring but once terrain gets challenging or if you add a 245/75r16 and larger lift to aid capability and you reduce reliability hugely.

[watermouse]

I think that is true for people who try to set up their GV for ultimate offroad capability and this is the weakness of them. Touring is always the compromise of having a car that is comfortable enough for long distance travel and capable enough to tackle any challenges you might encounter.
Generally modifications like big tyres and huge lift, aside from increasing the likelihood of a failure, worsen fuel consumption, road handling and comfort which, IMO, are qualities that are not suited for touring.

Each to their own though. You do see some impressive capable tourers, but $$.
My GV was far from being the most capable I could have made it but it was reliable and fun to poke a round some fairly remote challenging tracks without too much worry.

[zooks4life]

To the ops question and wanting somthing to do long trips in with a bit of 4x4ing (his words) i think a gv is the go. As he doesnt say he wants somthing cheap i would say top of the range prestige or diesel. I have done these things in mine, long distance touring - crossed the simpson, fraser island, around ayers rock area in the 2.4. Photos in the epic travel thread. It meets your criteria. I have broke stuff, as much as anyone else. Im biased. Haha





Those photos i would consider it limits in my opinion.



This is during our simo trip where it was faultless.

I have munched a cv. Replaced seals. Etc

[laurie]

Early GV hands down for touring but i did not feel comfortable with it in the bush.
Sierra was great in the bush and toured fine . though no where like the GV
i have taken both for multi thousand klm trips ( sierra was more fun )
I would recommend LWB sierra with mild mods

[MrRocky]

I think gvs are great tourers just anything over 5/10 difficulty they become compramised for reliability. I suppose it depends on the kind of terrain you want to tour through and the amount of $$$ you want to spend on the car/mods.
I think most will agree the jimny and swb sierra/vitara are less than ideal for touring due to storage restrictions especially if its for 2 people

[davico]

I rate the XL-7 as a great tourer, with the 3rd row removed there's *heaps* of room. Almost the same area as a prado in fact.

See this thread for some ideas:
http://www.auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=47950

Here's a recent picture of mine loaded up for easter:


It's a decent 4wd naturally, I've crossed the Simpson (east->west french line) in mine without incident.
Of course, the XL7, like all GV's and to a lesser extent all zukes are a compromise in some respects, they will never match a full-size landcruiser for ground-clearance for instance.

Dave

[yoyoreg]

Thanks for the continuous replies.
I am looking more along the lines of a 1st gen gv or Sierra at the moment as I have read that the newer gv's aren't as capable off road??? (Correct me if I am wrong) and everyone seem to be pointing me in that direction... My main concern is while doing my big trips I may be with some patrol/hilux owners and just don't want to become unable to do same tracks etc.
Other than that, I am wanting to realistically keep it under 10k to answer one of the responses.

[fordem]

It's not that the second gens aren't as capable, it's more that the first gens are easier to make more capable - GVs are "height challenged" and second gens, more so than first gens - you can get more of a spring lift under a first gen before you start to see reliability issues, and they can also be body lifted - it's also possible to get lockers into the first gens, it does take a bit of work, but it can be done, second gens on the other hand, as far as I know, no lockers are available.

[yoyoreg]

Oh I see, that makes sense then. I am really keen on 1st gen gv's or Sierra's. The Sierra's are really growing on me... Lol.

[ZUZUKI]

Not that I've done it, but a Sierra, even a LWB would get pretty tiresome as a long distance tourer, for the average person used to any sort of creature comforts IMO.
Noisy, bouncy, hot & old I see as the biggest issues.
A 1st gen GV wagon (1998 - 2005) is a doable compromise - good comfort (rides well, decently quiet inside, reasonable seats / driving position, effective A/C), reasonable off road ability - mines been lots of places, over my 245,000km of ownership, never broken a CV or diff (V6 manual) - touch wood maybe?
Buy the best, cared for stocker you can, for about $6k, spend $2k on suspension & A/T tyres, $1-2k on a thorough service & fix of whatever it needs. There's your $10K & have fun.
Downsides are fuel range - 66litres is miserable when laden & driving hard, especially sand, cargo area is tight with a fridge on board & the car is always going to be a little lower to the ground than most other things.
We already had the GV & made it do what we wanted to do, which was do a slow lap of Aust. in 2005/06 - towing a 1100kg trailer, starting with a 3yo & the Mrs. Had it's moments, but ultimately did it fine, but wouldn't have been our 1st choice (mid 1990s Pajero diesel probably makes the most sense at this budget) - we were considering a 1999 on (coil front) Troopy, which would have meany no towing, but couldn't justify the coin.
I've looked at the 2nd gen GV, as new alternative to our GV & other than being a bit bigger, it's still low, still has a small tank for touring & doesn't have as much off road capability. Where I got to was the just superseded Mitsubishi Challenger, then we bought a Swift for the Mrs, I got to play with the GV & we are keeping it, probably for ever now.
Good luck with your decisions, but try not to let the heart rule the head - if you are single, you might have a bit of fun in a Sierra, if you have a partner, you might not have have so much fun after a while - depends, if your 'touring' is a week at a time, you all might cope. A month at a time & I'd say not. A year at a time & you might not have a partner!.
Rgs, Michael

[MrRocky]

Its all a matter of susp setup regarding lwb touring comfort.
Mine is just as happy and smooth on the hwy at 110 kmphr as it is on the dirt at 100 fully loaded. A little thought and ignoring the pursuit of hektic flex they are easy to setup plus you have the added bonus of understanding components on your car should something go wrong in the stcks

[yoyoreg]

Sorry for delayed reply, been away. Yeah, i understand about the modern/old compromises. I think though I am settled on a soft top Sierra as I ended up getting a new job and won't be able to go touring anymore for a long time anyway. So because of that, I am happy with a soft top for a bit of fun here and there and the furthest ill be driving to is Adelaide/Sydney and that won't be often anyway. I dare say the Sierra would be fine for that trip surely?
Thanks.