Top 10 Used Overland Vehicles: Do you agree?

[sjpomyrn]

it is pretty amazing what they can do in with what seems to be lower profile tires. They just crawl up surfaces with ease.

[Erik N]

+1 on the Mercedes wagon. I have one and have done many an extended fishing trip in it. It is a 2 wheel drive model, but let's face the fact that graded roads go pretty much EVERYWHERE in the US. The back folds down totally flat, and yes you can sleep in it (I'm 6'2")

Plus, it will do 125mph fully loaded. Typically I will arrive at a river in the afternoon, fish till dark, sleep then get up and fish the whole next day, leave the following AM to go eat and get to the store to fill the cooler again, then arrive at the new destination quickly that afternoon in time to repeat.

Alas, it has no lockers, winch, roof tent, off-road lights, or sliders. But it works for me!

[Bip Bip]

I agree with a few of the guys (daretogo and others) that note that this list is a bit limited and, well, truly redundant.

The title of the list reads 'overland vehicle' and that by definition means a vehicle that meets a bunch of criteria - size (or fit in narrow roads vs tipping on the rocks), weight, payload, economy, range between fills, 4WD capacity, internal vs external size, cost, reliability, parts availability, diesel motor, manual transmission, sleeping arrangements, security concerns...to name a few. More importantly, these are vehicles -sorry to the Hummer man - need to carry fuel, water and stuff for MORE than 4 days. We are not off to the Hamptons for a weekend....

So the list needs to consider WHAT it takes for say 4 months or maybe 4 years of on the road travel. Thus this list of N/A SUVs is really missing the mark on overlanding.

So the list goes a long way for navel gazers to jabber about their choices - given a seriously limited North American market. Europe - particularly the Germans - as well as the Australians have some very cool and legitimate contenders that this list, admittedly, skips over.

So considering what I have seen, I might choose a 2WD Toyota Hiace van, the Trooper is rebadged in South America with the Chevy Bowtie and is everywhere, and the Suzuki Vitara is universal. But my vote goes to the 4WD MB Sprinter shortie.

We North-Americans need to get out of our little bubble of space and learn that there is a whole world out there of great ideas.

[cody93225]

Interesting list, I am surprised at the lack of fullsize trucks on the list. They seem to go above and beyond in terms of strength, power, and load carrying ability.

[AA1PR]

This one makes no sense what so ever
#10 Mercedes Benz E320 or E350 4Matic Wagon (2000-2006) $10,000-25,000

your choices seem rather biased given the sponsors here that cater to the land rover society for starters

[grimbo]

This one makes no sense what so ever
#10 Mercedes Benz E320 or E350 4Matic Wagon (2000-2006) $10,000-25,000

your choices seem rather biased given the sponsors here that cater to the land rover society for starters

Makes lots of sense, reliable, comfy, found all round the world, spare parts are ready available and overlanding doesn't neccessarily mean 4wding, most is on roads

[Scott Brady]

your choices seem rather biased given the sponsors here that cater to the land rover society for starters

???
There is only one Land Rover on the list. Most are Toyotas.

Of course my list is biased. It is biased by my experience with these vehicles and my experience as a traveler. Anyone's list would have bias and reflect personal taste and experience. It is up to the reader to decide if my argument is logical, or if they are just upset because their Hummer H2 didn't take top honors...

[88Xj]

I'm actually kind of shocked theres no Grand cherokeee or Cherokee on the list. I agree with every rig on there but the Benz. But in all fairness I've never looked at a Benz waggon/car to be a capable offroader either.

[grimbo]

Overlander NOT off roader very different things

[toymaster]

Almost all of the differences in opinion on this board are from different descriptions of what overlanding means. On one end you have persons like bip bop that think it is an extended road trip sleeping under street lights to Scott who knows the best roads are not paved nor marked.

My idea of a good vic to support a mission is not what an urban dwellers, that cannot get away from streetlights, would be. What I fail to understand is why more people do not realize this fact. I can count on one hand the number of posts that reflect this bit of insight. I like to read about other people's experiences however, when they start trying to convince everyone of their methods it gets irritating when the advice is not qualified with the type of travel.

If your mission is to hit every bar from NA to the tip of SA obviously your vic can differ from an overlander that wants to find that secluded spot off the beaten path.