Hi, I'm new here, and I'm considering a Pajero, specifically for overlanding in southern Africa.
So for a bit of background, I'm from the UK and want to buy a 4wd to do overland trips in southern Africa. I have tried to do this with a Land Rover Discovery 300tdi, and you can probably guess how that ended...
I've never really considered the Pajero, (mainly because ASPW told me they're not very good, if I'm honest) but now with the new lense of having actually been to Africa and done (most of) a trip, another Land Rover isn't really an option. My budget could get me a very rough and tired 95 series Prado, but that seems like quite a bad idea, so I'm looking at either a gen 2 or a gen 3, probably the diesel, but might consider the V6 petrols if you guys reckon it's the engine to have. Also I might be doing the occasional trip with more than one other person, and I want to sleep inside the vehicle sometimes when I'm solo, so it's the LWB models I'm keen on.
The obvious questions are "where do you want to go" and "what do you want to take with you". The answer to the first question is "I'm not sure, everywhere?" And the answer to the latter is "not much, I travel light". Given that, can a Pajero go anywhere a Land Cruiser or a Land Rover can? I know in standard form a gen 3 can't quite manage, but with a bit of a lift, larger tyres, underbody protection and some aftermarket bumpers, I imagine that the list of places it can't follow the solid axle vehicles is quite small.
Note that I'm not seeking particularly difficult tracks, but I want to see all the views and camp in all the same places I could if I had a LR/LC. What I really don't want to do is get to a particular track, find that it's been damaged by the rains, and have to turn back and miss out on somewhere I was looking forwards to going, but can't go because the vehicle can't manage it. I'm also not towing, and I'm not going to put anything on the roof if I can avoid it, so I'm hoping I don't have to do anything insane with the suspension, and I'm not going to ruin the road manners or the fuel consumption.
My current favourite is the gen 3 3.2L diesel. More reliable than a Land Rover, cheaper and lighter on fuel than the Toyota, more powerful and better on the road than both, but not quite as good offroad. So really my main question is, does that matter? Where can I not go that the other vehicles can?
Thanks in advance for your responses!
