Hi there,
My fiancee's parents will be relocating to Morocco (Rabat) soon. This
is obviously very exciting for me as it provides me (us) with a base
for exploring all the West Africa region.
I would expect them to buy one 4x4, and I'd like to believe I'd have a
pretty good say in what to buy (but of course, the final decision
would be theirs)... Consider these factors:
- The 4x4 would primarily be used in day-to-day tasks by her mom,
therefore a "manly" car like a Defender is probably out of the
question.
- The car would be mainly used in arid/semi-arid climates (Mauritania,
Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso...)
- The car would be used for long trips (1 month +) where
self-suficiency would be required, therefore adequate storage space
would be a must.
- Carefree maintenance. I'm far from an expert in mechanics, so
breakdowns should be easily fixed by roadside mechanics.
I was drifting quite a bit in favour of the Land Rover Discovery.
Pretty much ruled out the Defender (too rough), Freelander (pretty,
but too soft) and the Range Rover ($$$).
Was also considering the Pajero, any comments on reliability?
Any other models recommended for roughing it out?
One silly question? How often does a 4x4 tire gets a puncture (ie, is
it a very rare occurence?). I'm just asking because I've seen a few
Landies having tubes fitted due to punctures in Namibia. But then
again, we were on a 2x4 and had 6 punctures in 6000kms...
Thanks for your input.
Raf |