Land Cruiser or Land Rover?
Notwithstanding the fact that opinions are like backsides (everybody has one, and you shouldn't necessarily get them out in public)....here then is my opinion, in public.
This page is not intended to be a detailed discussion of all the various vehicle options out there.
Nor is it what you should look for in an overland vehicle.
To help answer either question I would recommend Chris Scotts (excellent) Overlanders Handbook,
Tom Sheppards (superb) Vehicle Dependant Expedition Guide, or any of the multitude of forums devoted exclusively to this topic.
For me, based in the UK, the choice was always between a Land Rover Defender or Toyota Land Cruiser.
(For you, I would recommend whatever you feel comfortable with!)
And for me, my decision was a strange one, as I have spent a decade working for both companies at their UK manufacturing facilities (and I'm the first to admit my decision might well prove to be the wrong one?)
Toyota build cars better. Fact.
(Aha! But do they build better cars?)
Search google for books on the Toyota Production System - there are many (and I own quite a few of them). Toyotas manufacturing philosophy, methods and tools have been analysed, discussed, debated, emulated, copied and implemented by other car makers, other manufacturers, indeed, other industries.
The same can not be said of Land Rover.
I have had the opportunity to directly compare both companies approach to both in-house process and supplied parts quality. I know which is best.
So the logical part of me would go for the Land Cruiser? Well, for vehicle reliability and quality, yes.
But for vehicle desirability - uhm, no....and this is where all logic crumbles....
The first (borrowed) car I ever spanked into a wall in the Devon lanes was a Land Rover (so obviously by that logic, had I smacked a Ford Escort into that hedge I would now be taking a Focus across Asia?!).
I've vaguely liked Land Rovers ever since, they don't seem to have changed much over the years. That first conceptual design scribble in the sand of a North Wales beach by Maurice Wilks (Rovers then Technical Chief) in 1947 is still very recognisable in the Defenders of today.
For me, this chronic lack of design investment into the Landrover / Defender marque over the years is what makes it truly unique. And I don't use that word lightly. The last time I walked the Defender assembly line it owed more to hairy-arsed Midlanders with block and tackle, than robots and CADCAM. Land Cruisers are indeed great, very capable, but I'm just not that excited by them.
When choosing between the two, I sat behind the wheel of both marques.
One was comfortable, quiet, well engineered, adequately powered, oozing quality, but to me - dull.
The other was decidedly uncomfortable, noisy, leaked (water in, oil out), but oozed "character".
I like to think of myself as a logical person, but then conventional logic does not dictate that I take six months out to drive to Mongolia and back. This is, after all, supposed to be an adventure...
This page is not intended to be a detailed discussion of all the various vehicle options out there.
Nor is it what you should look for in an overland vehicle.
To help answer either question I would recommend Chris Scotts (excellent) Overlanders Handbook,
Tom Sheppards (superb) Vehicle Dependant Expedition Guide, or any of the multitude of forums devoted exclusively to this topic.
For me, based in the UK, the choice was always between a Land Rover Defender or Toyota Land Cruiser.
(For you, I would recommend whatever you feel comfortable with!)
And for me, my decision was a strange one, as I have spent a decade working for both companies at their UK manufacturing facilities (and I'm the first to admit my decision might well prove to be the wrong one?)
Toyota build cars better. Fact.
(Aha! But do they build better cars?)
Search google for books on the Toyota Production System - there are many (and I own quite a few of them). Toyotas manufacturing philosophy, methods and tools have been analysed, discussed, debated, emulated, copied and implemented by other car makers, other manufacturers, indeed, other industries.
The same can not be said of Land Rover.
I have had the opportunity to directly compare both companies approach to both in-house process and supplied parts quality. I know which is best.
So the logical part of me would go for the Land Cruiser? Well, for vehicle reliability and quality, yes.
But for vehicle desirability - uhm, no....and this is where all logic crumbles....
The first (borrowed) car I ever spanked into a wall in the Devon lanes was a Land Rover (so obviously by that logic, had I smacked a Ford Escort into that hedge I would now be taking a Focus across Asia?!).
I've vaguely liked Land Rovers ever since, they don't seem to have changed much over the years. That first conceptual design scribble in the sand of a North Wales beach by Maurice Wilks (Rovers then Technical Chief) in 1947 is still very recognisable in the Defenders of today.
For me, this chronic lack of design investment into the Landrover / Defender marque over the years is what makes it truly unique. And I don't use that word lightly. The last time I walked the Defender assembly line it owed more to hairy-arsed Midlanders with block and tackle, than robots and CADCAM. Land Cruisers are indeed great, very capable, but I'm just not that excited by them.
When choosing between the two, I sat behind the wheel of both marques.
One was comfortable, quiet, well engineered, adequately powered, oozing quality, but to me - dull.
The other was decidedly uncomfortable, noisy, leaked (water in, oil out), but oozed "character".
I like to think of myself as a logical person, but then conventional logic does not dictate that I take six months out to drive to Mongolia and back. This is, after all, supposed to be an adventure...