[Vash]

Guys,
I'm doing the following:

Lots of freeway/road/commuting
Sand
Mud, dirt, fire trails, very steep stuff.
Trips like Cape york, Tasmania, Simpson desert, all via the hard stuff to get to the interesting areas.

I want to do this in comfort and still have a cheap to run car.

So far i'm using a Vitara LWB but thinking Jimny or Grand vitara for an upgrade.
Is the jimny ok for long road use or is it a huge difference between the GV and jimny?
cheers

[Kennel]

I don't think the Jimny is a tourer, but that's how I use it.

On long trips little things like the left foot doesn't really rest comfortably start to grate unless you have consciously decided to forgo the comforts of foot rests, cruise control and so on. The other major draw back is the fuel tank, 40l is too small for a tourer, be prepared for carrying quite few jerry cans.

That said, I love my Jimny - however I have no experience with a GV. I wanted a small 4WD and the new Vitara's were too big for my needs.

As per usual, just my opinion YMMV.

[MacDaddy]

Vash wrote:

Guys,
I'm doing the following:

Lots of freeway/road/commuting
Sand
Mud, dirt, fire trails, very steep stuff.
Trips like Cape york, Tasmania, Simpson desert, all via the hard stuff to get to the interesting areas.

I want to do this in comfort and still have a cheap to run car.

So far i'm using a Vitara LWB but thinking Jimny or Grand vitara for an upgrade.
Is the jimny ok for long road use or is it a huge difference between the GV and jimny?
cheers

I dont think you will find any one Zook to do all of that, some will be better in some area's, and some wont be... it will be a compromise... whatever you get, it will need to be modded to do all that...

The GV is a Great road tourer, Very comfortable, economical/good millage, and with some mods can be good offroad as well, but it wont be able to do very hard stuff...
The Jimny, is IMO, to small for your needs, it wont carry alot, and can be underpowered loaded up with gear, it is ok comfort wise, but can be a bit squishy inside, sardine in a tin can, but modded, will go just about anywhere...
But i think, that the LWB Vit you have right now, is it EFI ? would be the best option for your all round needs, pretty comfortable onroad, and with a few mods, can be very good offroad as well, and has plenty of room inside for all your gear... so i would keep the Vit, and mod it !

[jmd-247]

MacBear wrote:

so i would keep the Vit, and mod it !

i like this.

[larry]

i have a lwb vit, and its not fun driving more than 2 hours in it down a highway.

a GV sounds like its would be the best for long trips, maybe with quite a few mods it will be able to do what you want offroad.

maybe a 2L vitara would be the best option here.

how much money do you have to spend?

[royce]

GV's have been to all those places and done the hard stuff

if you need the space and want the power go with it

[monley]

Kennel wrote:

I don't think the Jimny is a tourer, but that's how I use it.

On long trips little things like the left foot doesn't really rest comfortably start to grate unless you have consciously decided to forgo the comforts of foot rests, cruise control and so on. The other major draw back is the fuel tank, 40l is too small for a tourer, be prepared for carrying quite few jerry cans.

That said, I love my Jimny - however I have no experience with a GV. I wanted a small 4WD and the new Vitara's were too big for my needs.

As per usual, just my opinion YMMV.

Don't for get there is a long range tank coming out for the jimny as soon as i take my car back to get it finished

[alien]

i'd be choosing a 4dr GV... however take a look at the kia sorrento (08/09 models) - better clearance, turbo diesel, still has low range etc and definitely more space. aftermarket parts are expensive though.

[Gwagensteve]

Hilux.

No suzuki product was ever designed for that kind of use, especially a GV/Vitara.

Suzuki's are great for what they are good at, but trying to make a reliable touring car with road use and hard track capability out of a GV or Vitara is pointless IMHO.

I know of Vitaras that have done the canning stock route, sierras that have done the cape from Melbourne... crossed the simpson... whatever - but generally, they were pretty rooted afterwards.

I regularly offend people by saying that sort of thing but I've never been proven wrong. If you want a long distance tourer you need more than 450kg of payload.

I owned three hiluxes and they were great touring/camping cars but I was wrecking them trying to drive the stuff sierras can easily - It's horses for courses.


Steve.

[royce]

Bullshit, anything will fall apart in those conditions if its not setup well and or driven like an idiot, I know a guy loves to tell the story of his Hilux front bar just falling off and driving over it from the corrugations.

Bruce went to the cape and to Innaminka and other places over the years in his GV and it was immaculate

If you need to take 450kg of stuff with you you are missing the point of going to remote locations (or shep) look at how little bike guys carry

[TheRealCJ]

royce wrote:

If you need to take 450kg of stuff with you you are missing the point of going to remote locations (or shep) look at how little bike guys carry

Come now, you make it seem as if Shep has trouble getting the poin- oh, right.

[TheRealCJ]

I wouldn't use a Jimny as a cruiser. It just doesn't have the guts for long hauls at high speed, and you'll get sick of the sound of a high-revving engine after the first hour or so.

[monley]

TheRealCJ wrote:

I wouldn't use a Jimny as a cruiser. It just doesn't have the guts for long hauls at high speed, and you'll get sick of the sound of a high-revving engine after the first hour or so.

So that;s why you fit them with a big f^#& of stereo so you carn;t hear that loud motor.

[TheRealCJ]

monkey wrote:

TheRealCJ wrote:

I wouldn't use a Jimny as a cruiser. It just doesn't have the guts for long hauls at high speed, and you'll get sick of the sound of a high-revving engine after the first hour or so.

So that;s why you fit them with a big f^#& of stereo so you carn;t hear that loud motor.

Or the overtaking roadtrain

[monley]

TheRealCJ wrote:

monkey wrote:

TheRealCJ wrote:

I wouldn't use a Jimny as a cruiser. It just doesn't have the guts for long hauls at high speed, and you'll get sick of the sound of a high-revving engine after the first hour or so.

So that;s why you fit them with a big f^#& of stereo so you carn;t hear that loud motor.

Or the overtaking roadtrain

hey it can be done alright

[matt91112011]

I'd say for long trips a vit would be your best bet. A LWB in particular just for ease of packing . I like my SWB and I've done a few 500-600km trips in it and had no problems aside from the fuel issue, but there's nothing stopping you from getting a long range tank and carrying a couple of jerrys.

I average 9-10L/100km in my SWB around town, which I think is pretty good considering that my old 4Runner used 15-17L/100km.

But in saying that I dont have large tyres yet, so I'll see what happens to my economy in a few weeks when I get some big rubber put on it.

They're cheap to modify as well. Also parts are easy to come by.

So go the Vit in my opinion

Cheers

Matty.

[buzbox]

Yep, stick with the LWB Vit.

Get some comfy seats or simply thick genuine sheepskin seat covers like I have done, Personally the longest drive I've done was 10 hours and sure at some stage I wished I hooked up a cruise control unit but I think it takes away teh driving experience. One other downside is when it's fully loaded it a little gutless on the freeway, but after all it is just a 1.6L.

Other than that I think mine is pretty much setup for everything you've described and is probably why I havn't sold it for a more common 4WD like a patrol.

[firstjimny]

Hello gentlemen, I'm new to this forum. I was interested in your converstaion. I have a 2001 Jimny and all though it isn't the perfect vehicly or even right for everyone (especially tall folks) when properly prepared it will do what you want to do and go where you want to go. It will take repeated beatings and keep on ticking.

If you left foot is really that uncomfortable then install a dead pedal like some sports cars have. Problem solved for a small price.

I don't know how many days you are planning on being gone before you are able to replenish some of your equipment and supplies, but 450 kg seems a bit of an overkill.

Again, if you set it up correctly and drive it right you will be hard pressed to beat it.

[zukenutter]

I'm setting my Jimny up to be more of a tourer than its predecessor but know that it'll never match a GV or even a LWB Vit for comfort and highway prowess. It just comes down to which of your needs are of higher priority. I tend to flinch at the thought of long drives in the Jim but happy to sacrifice for its other good points.

Any 4WD can survive a off road serious trip, just comes down to preparation, driving style etc. I say it often but don't think I can say it enough, tyre pressure is important, eg: if you drive a Jim on corrugation with 30psi in the tyres you'll destroy it, but air down to 15psi and you'll have a very different experience.

I'll agree with the GV or mod what you've got.

[Kennel]

firstjimny wrote:

If you left foot is really that uncomfortable then install a dead pedal like some sports cars have. Problem solved for a small price

Maybe your model has a different floor plan to mine or is an auto, but I doubt I could get a foot pedal in there and still use the clutch. When the clutch pedal is depressed (poor bastard) its a pretty snug fit into the corner.

As for highway cruising speed. While towing the camper to Newman from Perth 90kph is where the Jimny seemed most comfortable, fuel usage and noise got a bit much above that, but 100kph was bearable.

Road Trains, get out of their way

Where it really failed was on hills.

To help with this I will be fitting extractors next week, once they get back from being coated.

[laurie]

after reading this thread i think ill stick with the sierra for an
all rounder
good off road , cheap to run around town , cruises at 100kph all day
,10 + hour stints are not hard , you can fit heaps inside if you pack carefully.
with the money you save on a later model you can mod heaps
and look of course
as zukenutter said preparation is vital.
any suzuki 4wd will do the job it just depends on
where you compromise your needs / wants.
for you i would say keep the lwb and mod it for an upgrade.

[zukenutter]

Kennel wrote:

firstjimny wrote:

If you left foot is really that uncomfortable then install a dead pedal like some sports cars have. Problem solved for a small price

Maybe your model has a different floor plan to mine or is an auto, but I doubt I could get a foot pedal in there and still use the clutch. When the clutch pedal is depressed (poor bastard) its a pretty snug fit into the corner.

As for highway cruising speed. While towing the camper to Newman from Perth 90kph is where the Jimny seemed most comfortable, fuel usage and noise got a bit much above that, but 100kph was bearable.

Road Trains, get out of their way

Where it really failed was on hills.

To help with this I will be fitting extractors next week, once they get back from being coated.

I tow at 100-110km/hr, am not fitting a noisy muffler to my new Jim to make highway a more pleasant experience. Plus I've gone to lengths to ensure the gearing is well suited to towing.

[got_bar_work]

I think a gv or xl7 would be the best Suzuki for touring
A twin locked gv with a winch will get anywhere
Any other zook will get but be a million times better on the highway getting to the hard Stuff
Soon as u start moding a car that 450 payloads starts getting really close once u add bulbar winch steal diff draws compressor fridge aux batt lights etc
I have this problem with my lwb vit
I'm almost on the gvm with out any gear

[Gwagensteve]

Why do people take it personally when they are told suzuki's are a light duty 4WD?

Every structural part in a suzuki was engineered for the vehicles GVM and intended use. Loading up a suzuki to at or over it's GVM and driving corrugations for days and days isn't what suzuki had in mind when they designed what is, effectively, an urban/light duty vehicle.

Bear in mind, the weight of the driver/passenger, fuel in the stock tank etc is all "payload" - so it's not hard to end up at 200kg of actual "payload" once you and your passenger get in and turn the key. Add barwork, recovery gear, some spares, and extra fuel and you've got nothing left for camping gear, food or water.

We can do lots of things to improve off road ability, but very few of these do anything to improve durability, and that's because suzuki's are engineered to be lighter than a larger vehicle. Heavier springs and stiffer shocks do nothing to change the basic engineering.

Even cruisers, patrols etc suffer fatigue related failures when used in Australian conditions....

It is undoubtedly possible to do long distance/remote touring in a suzuki, I just think it shows denial on behalf of the owner. Most users find remote touring work quite heavy on their vehicles. If you are already sailing a bit close to the wind engineering wise (closer to GVM etc) the accelerated wear from extended outback road travel will be alarming.

Steve.

[monley]

Zooks can cross aus, coast to coast