Distance touring, want simple car

[xsaab]

Apart from the durability of the vehicle on such a journeyI would be examining the altitude of the roads and the ability of the driver to adapt to any high altitudes - from my own experience I suffer when travelling at higher than 7000 to 8000 feet above sea level. The last time I visited such altitudes I had to visit the Oxygen bar to get a 20 minute shot of oxygen.

[Overt Hill]

Xsaab, good point, fortunately only the mountain passes in the east of Tadjikistan are high altitude (only open a few months of the year), the rest of Central Asia is mostly flat arable land, desert etc..

Quackers, your knowledge of the LC is far greater than mine, I'm very unelectronic.... hence fear tech.

[Haldex]

Two words: Suzuki Jimny.

[Bob Meadows]

88’ 240: ~ spanners & screwdrivers- complications – None.

[Overt Hill]

Originally Posted by Haldex

Two words: Suzuki Jimny.

Thanks, I looked it up.... 1.3 engine with a fully loaded car, 2 people and rugged long distance. It would struggle surely?

[onyourbikenate]

haha i've been watching the Grizzly and Bear series, always makes me wonder how people can afford to just travel constantly, and also write the car off and set up a new one with so many mods!

if you want some aussie 79 series action check our Ronny Dahl on youtube he's a dude and his truck is awesome.

however as this is a volvo forum after all, I think I agree that an older volvo like a 240 or 740 or something may be simple enough, have enough boot space to live in (assuming an estate) and assuming its fully checked and serviced prior to the trip reliability shouldn't be too much concern?

[Overt Hill]

Magic money mate, magic money!

I thought about the 240 series, we had three of four 240, 245's back in the 70's ('M' reg was the first) My father would drive from Bilboa to the Algarve and back every summer and the cars never let us down. Not sure its a globally known car though so might be a struggle to find suitable mechanics to work on it?

[onyourbikenate]

well its just an old car so any mechanic should be able to fix the issues you're likely to encounter on an overland trip (wheel bearings, tyre issues, replacing belts on the engine, suspension components etc) parts availability more likely to cause you headache.

thats why prior to the trip change anything that looks like its ready to die, and carry replacement belts, ball joints, bearings etc depending on how long you're planning on being on the road.

[pauljoz]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

You will need the old version XC90, all the new cars are full of electronics and ECU's, you would be better off with a Toyota in those parts of the world.

The old XC90 is full of electronics .......
+1 for the old XC90 though if your adventurous and understand the vehicle. Great for touring.
+2 for old school Toyota

Take a risk management approach.

[m2srt]

You can still buy a Lada Cossak (Niva) in some parts of the world. As new cars go, they don't come simpler than that. Failing that, a Toyota Rav4 Hybrid would be quite a safe bet! It has a naturally aspirated engine and probably has the best dealer/service network in that part of the world. Whilst in Costa Rica a few years ago we hired a Toyota Fortuner, Hilux based SUV, it was the perfect vehicle for the type of trip that you are planning. It cruised down the Pan American highway one day and the next day was crawling along Rainforest tracks and fording rivers!