Best off the shelf off roader/hunting rig?

In the "standard class" probably a toss up between a LandRover Defender, Toyota Landcruiser, or a Mer G Wagon....Possible you could add UMM in there too, but they are not very well known beyond Europe. If i were on a budget and did not want a pickup, and was only going to use it locally, an Suzuki SJ 314 or even a Lada Niva Cossack would work well. Before anybody laughs, these are truely excellent off road and come with 12" ground clearance off the shelf! Avoid anything over 3 years old and you will find you can get a really surprising vehicle for peanuts.

There is a Spanish company (Santana?) that is building a "copy" of the Defender which sounds very interesting. Its a low technology version meant as a workhorse rather than a yuppy mover.

The engine is something like a 2.8TD Iveco which is a standard light commercial desiel engine in Europe which finds its way into loads of different light trucks and agricultural vehicles. Its not very sexy, just a proven, reliable workhorse.

The axles are going to be Dana and I forget who is going to do the gearbox but it is another generic unit ie tried and tested and available off the shelf.

The suspension is going to be parabollic leaf spring which the company developed for a version of the Defender they built under lisence a few years back. Not quite the same wheel travel as a coil sprung Defender, but better than a S3 Landy and a far better drive on road too....

Intrior trim will be metal and rubber matting that is easy to maintain rather than cloth.

The biggest improvement over the Defender will be in the drivers position...anybody over 5' will find the drivers position in a Defender very cramped as LandRover insist on being able to seat 3 (midgets) abreast in the front when the vehicle is just not big enough. The new Spanish clone will have two "normal" seats instead!

Finally the price will be about 3/4 of the price of a Defender..

The company has a history of building 4x4 under license and built Series/90's/110's LandRovers and later Suzuki SJ..They also build stuff for the Spanish Army so the have a reasonable "pedigree"...I hope its a success as it would be refreshing to see something built for work rather than moving yuppies around,

Regards,

Pete


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