Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I've got a 60 series landcruiser at the moment and i'm thinking about getting something smaller. I don't go 4x4ing very often anymore and when i do is usually sand dune and beach driving, maybe a few bush tracks but nothing very extreme.
Test drove an 88 2dr hard top last weekend. Liked it but was wandering what they are like with a passenger and the back loaded up with a bit of camping gear? Also what are they like on the highway?
Is the 1.6 carby motor ok or am i better off spending a couple thousand more to get the efi model?
What is the price of parts for these like?
ok i think i've asked too many questions already
Any info would be greatly apreciated

hi andrew81,

i dont think i can answer many of your questions fully or directly, but i have a 89 soft top vitara, 1.6 carby.

i usually go out hunting and duck/geese shooting up here, so my vit gets loaded up pretty good. usually there is only me and a passenger, with the back holding a medium esky (drinks and ice), a small esky (for the birds we shoot), and a 25L water container. we have our guns as well.
we've been camping a couple of times, which need more stuff like tents, and cooking equipment, and a bit more water, but usually we have another car too.

anyway, mine seems to handle things quite well loaded up, its no power house, but it doesnt stop either. fully loaded, i dont get over 110km/h on the hwy, i think it might just be my vit.

mine has a few mods to it.

fuel wise, mine gets 100Kms per 10L, if you drive normal and under 3000rpm. (also, i have 31" tyres, which means more fuel.) other wise its a bit worse. full tank is about 35L, but i think i can only fit 30L now.

if you don't intend to mod the vit a whole heap, then it will be ok.

parts? i dont know about that, but there are a few wreckers in qld that have a few vits, and others down south. with s/hand parts, i guess you get what you pay for.


sorry if the above doesn't make sense, i think i'm suffering heat stroke from the build up here.

hope it helps.
steve

If i get it probably won't do too many mods. Maybe 2" sus lift, 235/75 tyres on stardard rims and maybe exhaust and air filter.

maybe exhaust and air filter.

Correction. Snorkel!

What SiKiD said, with the addition of mine being a hard top that, when packed right can sustain gear + fuel and other stuff for 5 days with 2 people on board...

Dont forget the snorkel. :(

Other than that a Vitara on 235/75/15 or on 30"s is not a bad option. not a competition beast but ok for what you've stated.

yeah, after spending thousands on an engine rebuild, i gladly handed over a few hundred for a snokel

or ya could just stay the fark away from water and mud like me

Pussy

come drive some rocks when ya get ya 33's, then we'll see who the pussy is

dont make me test that exo of yours

Thanks for the info guys. I like to keep clear of the water if i can.
Craig, what is your fuel ecomy like for normal driving?

I drive mine like i stole it

4 inches of lift, 30 inch tyres and a snorkel and i`m still getting about 10/11L per 100 K`s

that said, i've had it well setup by a mechanic who know whats what

i've got a stock standard lwb vite. i get 450 klm regularily from my tank of fuel, either city or highway doesn't matter. tank size is 55 lt on lwb models. all lwb models have a efi motor which runs alot smoother and a bit more powerful than the carby motor. back to fuel econ, my 450 k's is from 45 lts so about 100 k's from 10 lt. there is always about 10 lt left in the tank when i fill up. my vite is auto, it will cruise comfortably at 120 kph, and have read articles that they're happy at 140 kph still with more go past that. mine overtakes with ease at highway speeds too.

hope this helps.

oops just re read your qu's, forgot to say, have a suzuki specialist near me, he says he'd go broke if he specialised in vitara spares, the only thing he sells lots of for vites is inside door handles, window winder mechanisms, and front wheel bearings, mine colapsed last month, it has 240,000 k's on it. his words " nothing goes wrong with vitaras "