4wd car as basis for overland trip?

Hi Folks, I am new to the forum but I have had a trip in mind for a while now.

A friend of mine did the Plymouth to Banjoul event a number of years ago in a battered old M2 Golf and loved every minute of it. I am not planning that type of event but it got me thinking. I have taken my last 5 years of holidays in mainland europe with the car and done a mixture of camping and b&b etc. It was fantastic but I want to push things a bit further.

I have a rough plan in mind to head from Aberdeen over to Norway and head right up to the north of the country into Finland then south to St Petersburg, Kiev and then home west through eastern europe.

I am a big Landrover fan and I have have many landrovers and jap 4x4's in the past. The majority of any overland trip is on road (at least mine would be) and a car with 4wd would be more economical and nicer to be in most of the time.

I was a young fella in 1993 when ford did the overland challenge London to NY in 4x4 Mondeos. I guess its got me thinking about an overland trip in a 4wd car.

So I wanted to get your thoughts on it. I love the bullet proof mature of older Audis so an A6 Tdi Quattro estate is the strongest contender. I am thiking safari roof rack, winter tyres, underbody protection, awning etc.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks

Dave

Hi Dave, welcome to the forum.

An interesting one. At first a Subaru Forester sprang to mind, but this is petrol. Why not go for a practical, easy-to-drive 4x4 such as a Mitsubishi Delica. Diesel so 30mpg should be possible, comfy, can sleep in it, fit a stove and you can brew up, fit a fridge and you will have cold beers at journey's end, reliable motor, auto box, easily fixed the world over. Worth consideration?

Hi and welcome,


Does sound like a good trip, we have a Land Rover Camper, and only 45 miles from Aberdeen, so not far to the start, normally we have to travel 500/600 miles to start, or is it mainly for 4x4 cars.

Hi, thanks for the reply. I used to have a forester and it would be perfect but they are as thirsty as the Delica.

Would need to be 45mpg hence the Audi.

Plus, I kind of just like to do things differently!

Dave

Romingman, its not an organised trip, just something I fancied doing!

Tried to post a link but was cancelled by forum. Was a chap used a merc 300 estate. It got me thinking.

He had a pressure cooker under the bonnet too and Long range fuel tanks!

Dave

An anti-spam security thingy within the forum software prevents new registrations like yourself posting links and photos. It does however let you after either a few posts or a set period, don't know which?

Try posting the link without the 3 w's and/or spaces, although I think it's probably the www. it picks up on rather than the .com or .co.uk

i.e. 4x4 overlandtravel . com

Hi & welcome to the forum.

Going on fuel efficiency the best 4x4 vehicles I have driven are the VW Tiguan 2.0 tdi bluemotion 4 motion and VW Amorak 2.0 twin turbo di 4 motion. These averaged 44 & 39 mpg.
As for the audi a 45mpg will be un-likely. I have owned and toured in a 2.7 a6 quattro in the uk and the average fuel consumption is around 25mpg.
Based on these facts, I recommend a Terracan. Im my ownership i regularly achieved low 30's mpg. Its a 4x4, and robust and capable enough from standard to tackle most of your travels.
These past 12 months I have driven from the UK to parts of france and spain, all by road in a 2.7 twin turbo Jaguar S Type, and I have documented 57mpg, food for thought really.
These are all standard vehicles, carrying myself, one passenger and the usual host of camping equipment.

Once you fill your vehicle up with equipment and stuff, fit over-sized tyres, add a 100KG in accessories and armor, your fuel efficiency will be significantly effected.

Id recommend before you spend lots of money try the trip with the vehicle standard before spending money on bash plates and other equipment or off road accessories that you might not need.
Your vehicle will remain more reliable especially if its an Audi, cheaper to run and insure and you could save ££££.

Jas

How about this? Complete with Oztent on the roof ... what more do you need

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=112095815482708&set=pb.110915898934033.-2207520000.1368559211.&type=3&theater

Or this, if you prefer a roof tent rather than ground tent

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=187013168118259&set=a.177744082378501.1073741828.177720635714179&type=1&theater

Never mind about an obscure photo off the net, this was parked up at ADVENTURE OVERLAND last year!



(Mr Colley's photo by the way, not mine!)

Being a bit Mr Thicky here .... what car is that?

Definitely an Alfa Romeo, but no idea of the model.

I think its a 159 alfa

Been trawling though Alfa's catalogue for several hours now, but can't seem to find an Ezi-Awn roof tent as an Oprional Extra - can't understand why?

Must be looking in the wrong section, think I'll go back and have another go.

Tom Mc wrote:

Been trawling though Alfa's catalogue for several hours now, but can't seem to find an Ezi-Awn roof tent as an Oprional Extra - can't understand why?

Must be looking in the wrong section, think I'll go back and have another go.

It was only a factory fitted extra in the Asian market, so you would need to import one from Japan

Doh!

Knew there had to be a reason.