Hello All,

I have recently accepted a job in Antananarivo, Madagascar, and would like to ship a 4x4 out with me so that I can explore the island. I will be working in the capital, where the roads are OK. The main roads out to the provincial capitals are tarmac and OK but the majority of the island is covered by dirt roads that disintegrate into a muddy mess during the rainy season. I will also likely do some driving on the beach on surf trips. Below is an image from a typical rural road, taken in 2015:





I am based in London. Importing a RHD vehicle into Madagascar is illegal, so I need a LHD. For some reason Freelanders seem to be very cheap in LHD configuration here in the UK (maybe they are easy to convert?) When I say "very cheap" I mean half the price of equivalent age and mileage Mitsubishi or Toyota 4x4s in LHD.

I am hoping for some advice from the experienced members on this forum - basically, what car should I buy, and what modifications would give me the biggest bang for my buck in terms of improvement in off-road capability? Below are five of my considerations when buying:

1. Budget is around £4000. This would include any modifications I might need to make to the vehicle to ensure it is ready to go off-road (i.e. buying larger tyres, snorkel, any suspension raise etc.)
2. It has to be LHD (this is Malagasy law). So no importing a UK RHD sadly. Also, I hear that converting most 4x4s from RHD to LHD is a complete pain, and likely to waste most of my budget.
3. The more seats the better. Ideally I'd like 6 or 7, or some sort of bench arrangement in the back. Folding seats with lots of storage space would be great to load up on camping supplies. This is one of the factors pushing me towards a Mitsubishi Pajero / Shogun or a Toyota Land Cruiser rather than a Freelander, but I imagine a Defender or Discovery might also have more room? Also means a Suzuki Jimny or similar is out of the question.
4. Diesel or petrol makes little difference. Fuel economy also doesn't matter too much as fuel is cheap out there.
5. AC is borderline essential as it's bloody hot out there!

I guess the overall question is: if I buy a LHD Freelander for £2000, and spend £2000 on it, will I be able to get it up to a suitable off-road standard? Or is there a more suitable type of Land Rover (like an old Discovery) that I should hunt around for in LHD configuration? Or should I scrap the Land Rover idea altogether and go for a Japanese 4x4 (Shogun / Pajero / Hilux / Land Cruiser / L200)?

Before people say this is a crazy budget: in 2006 a friend and I drove a 1973 Land Rover Series III 88' from London down to Liberia in West Africa...and that only cost us £900! Story of that journey can be found here: West Africa - Monrovia or Bust - Polo's Bastards

Any advice much appreciated!

 

Personal opinion, and mind you I am not a Toyota fan, but I would probably go for a land cruiser or hilux simply because parts and knowledge of mechanics is fairly constant everywhere

 

Thanks for this. A couple of people over at LR4x4.com said the same thing. I think there is no official Land Rover servicing centre in Antananarivo (Madagascar's capital) which would make me reliant on South Africa for parts if I imported a Land Rover. Not a great situation to be in on such rough terrain!

So, anyone got any thoughts on an old LHD Mitsubishi Pajero?