Hey!!
I’m all for a Sierra but my opinion could be considered bias.
I use mine as a daily and I love it. Yes it leaks, and yes it’s loud and often uncomfortable but I still enjoy it. Having said this I do have a Landcruiser which I do most of my long trips in, so if your one to do hundreds of Km’s at a time consider the Sierra’s difficulty here. It’s fun to do long trips in occasionally but often would be too much IMO.
Pros as I see them;
They are great fun to drive.
They are capable Offroad stock standard.
They are generally easy to work on.
Parts are available, generally if you have a network of Sierra wielding friends and you use the buy/sell here you can source most stuff easily enough.
If you resist the urge to go silly with mods they are still fairly usable on road.
They are small, easy to bomb around in.
Cons:
Regular long k’s can be tough.
They are getting older now so maintenance and repairs may well be more frequent and necessary. If your mechanically minded (sounds like you are) and proactive you can have them running in good condition, but the likelyhood of repairs are still higher than fresher vehicles.
They are small, so camping/road trips require forethought and minimalism.
They leak, mine usually piddles on my feet when I drive in the wet.
My suggestions are;
if your considering or dead set on a Sierra then by all means go for it!!
Read the Sierra 101 write up in the Good Tech section thoroughly and understand its implications.
Find one that is mechanically sound and has been looked after!! A little body damage/roughness is fine, especially if your going to take it for a beating at the 4wd park, but a mechanically poor Sierra will spoil your day regularly.
Buy one that is stock or pretty close to it and be very conservative with your mods!! Learn from experiences here. Steve is spot on with the common mods, what he listed are good mods which won’t destroy the cars usability on road, but can enhance its ability off road (oh and tyre size wise, I favour 29-30”. 31’s will start to require cutting etc so it doesn’t hit the body and bumper outriggers)
Lean toward preventative maintenance rather than sik mods (P.S., don’t use terms like sik mods please). Give the drive train a birthday and make sure the wiring hasn’t been butchered.
By all means, consider Vitara or Jimny!! They both have virtue and ability! But if your dead keen on a Sierra then go for it
