Land Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Land Cruiser
When you’re out and about on a trip like this, you notice what the other people are driving. You see how they’re outfitted and, if you’re like me, you may even occasionally get some roof rack envy when you see something that someone else has that you know would look cool on your own roof rack, like a proper jerry can holder rather than straps.
There are basically only a few choices that you have when you take a trip like this. There’s the regular Land Cruiser, which we didn’t look at much, though they’re fine vehicles. There’s the Nissan Patrol or the Mitsubishi Pajero, both of which are good vehicles but require a little extra work to get them ready for proper off-roading, neither of which we really even thought about. Then there are the Land Rover Defender or the Discovery. The Discovery is just too small and kind of silly. When we started the trip we were torn between the Defender or the Land Cruiser Troop Carrier.
It turns out the Troopy was the right choice. The Land Cruisers in any version are the standard and everyone and their brother knows how to fix them which makes repairs nice and cheap. Since we’ve started, I can count the number of Land Rovers we’ve seen anywhere unpaved on one hand and one of those was in Seisa on Cape York in a garage with it’s tranny pulled apart. The mechanic said if he had his way all Land Rovers would be taken to the side of the road and set on fire. The Land Rovers, at least here in Australia, are likely for people with more money than 4wd abilities and certainly more money than sense.
The thing about the Defenders is they look cool, there’s no denying that. They have a great style to them. And when they’re all decked out with gear in front of Opposite Lock or ARB as a show vehicle then the drool starts flowing. Unfortunately, that’s the only place you ever see them. -jp
