Wish list of the best vehicles

Taking a better vehicle shouldn't cost much. The entry fee for the event is very low in order to encourage teams put some of the savings into taking better vehicles in order to raise more for the charities in Mongolia.

 4x4 Wishlist European List

1) Landrover Defender (Mil. Spec. surplus auctions)

2) Toyota’s in general Hilux, 4Runner, FJ series, Landcruisers

3) Mercedes G (Mil. Spec. surplus auctions)

4) Landrover Discovery

5) Subaru Forester

6) Nissan Patrol, Pathfinder

7) Opel, Isuzu 8) Daihatsu Fourtrak EL

USA

• Honda CR-V

• Nissan Patrol, Pathfinder

• Subaru Forester

• Toyota 4Runner

• Toyota Highlander

• Toyota Land Cruiser

• Toyota RAV4

• Toyota Sequoia

• Toyota Tundra

• Ford F 150, 250, 350

• Mini-SUV: 1997-2002 Honda CR-V

• SUV: 1999-2002 Nissan Pathfinder

• Small Pickup: 1997-2002 Ford Ranger / Mazda B-Series

• Large Pickup: 1997-2002 Ford F-150, 250, 350

• Nissan Pathfinder SE

• Toyota 4Runner SR5

• Subaru Forester L

• Toyota RAV4 AWD

• Best Used Small SUV: Subaru Forester

• Best Used Mid-Size SUV (Traditional): Ford Explorer

• Best Used Full-Size SUV: GMC Yukon

• Best Used Small Pickup: Toyota Tacoma

• Best Used Pickup: Ford F-150 However, it will be easier to find Japanese parts in Mongolia.

The best 4x4s ever? Obviously "the best" is really only an opinion, whether or not it is based on certain criteria, and subsequently varies from person to person and maker to maker since some manufacturers have nothing that will meet even half the criteria we would set at the bar, the Army or other challenges.

Toyota-'97 FJ80 Land Cruiser

Don't even try to argue with this one! The '97 Land Cruiser has got to be the best 4x4 package that Toyota ever offered in the U.S. The 4.5L engine was backed by a four-speed automatic transmission that gave decent power and a good amount of torque when needed. The FJ80 sported matching front and rear solid heavy-duty 9 1/2-inch ring gear axles with dropout-style third members that made it the most heavy-duty Toyota to date. It has the option of three different lockers. The Land Cruiser nameplate has always been Toyota's premier off-road vehicle, but at some point it went from sport-ute to luxo-ute and required big bucks to get into one, especially the '91-'97 FJ and FZJ-80s. However nowadays you can find these full-time 4x4s for increasingly lower prices and can easily transform one into a Family Fun Machine. The '93-and-later FZJ-80 models are desired for their 4.5L engine and the fact that some are factory equipped with locking differentials front and rear. To add to all this, the 80s have solid axles, boxed frames, and coil suspensions but for the most part, 300,000 miles can be expected, especially since most served street duty for the first 100,000.

Land Rover Defender 90

The Defender series of Land Rovers were based on the original Series 1 Land Rover and has not changed all that much: they still have the same classic boxy styling as the first ones. But in the U.S. you can no longer buy new Defenders, not the 90s or the 110s, because Land Rover did not choose to adhere to the oncoming airbag laws that were required after the '97 model year. But don't fret, rumors of a new one coming into the U.S. are circulating and I'm sure we'll be anxious to get our hands on one as soon as possible (maybe even one with a Rover diesel!). In the meantime, I believe the '97 Defender 90 to be the best 4x4 that Land Rover ever offered in the U.S. I thought about the LR3 and the most current Range Rover as well, with their super-complicated 4WD traction systems and more options than you can shake a stick at. But their low ground clearance, lack of front solid axles, bigger size, and ultra complex builds made me pick the D90, in all variations. Land Rovers have always had great reputations as some of the finest 4x4s in the world, and Range Rovers are the cream of this British crop. However, many of these fine 4x4s have long since passed from the Ivy League gates into the Truck Trader pages, and this is a great opportunity to snatch one up. We'd recommend the earlier versions of '87 and '88. These are prior to the problem-riddled air suspensions, and they have the burly LT-230 full-time transfer case with a creepy crawl ratio of 3.3:1. Most of the body is aluminum while under the steel hood is an all-aluminum V-8, all sitting on a boxed steel frame with a coil-sprung suspension.

Ford Ranger

The FX4 might be a better package than you know. It came with an F-150 8.8 31-spline rear-end with 4.10 gears and packed with a Torsen limited slip. The 4.0L V-6 feeds power to a five-speed manual tranny or a four-speed automatic that splits power from a Borg-Warner transfer case. The front end is an IFS A-arm setup, and at the end of each hub is a factory Alcoa wheel with a 31-inch tire. The suspension was also upgraded to carry Bilstein shocks on the FX4, so ride was much improved over a stock Ranger.

Ford F 250

Straight from the factory with a Dana 60 rear and 44 front axle, the '76 F-250 provided you with one of the bestselling features of older trucks: solid axles. We always enjoy seeing homebuilt rigs like this on the trail. They're a testament to how you can easily take a stock vehicle more than three decades old and, with a little bit of time and money, turn it into a low-budget wheeler that will leave you smiling when you see how much it raises at the auction!

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