If you are going to overland through Africa, you better have the right vehicle. You need a rig that will stand up to the harsh weather and poor road conditions. It needs to be reliable and easy to fix in even the most remote parts of Africa. The vehicle also needs to be comfortable for living in.
Some people spend thousands of dollars adapting their vehicles. They add snorkels, extra fuel tanks, and luxurious rooftop tents. This doesn't even include the price of the vehicle itself. Our budget is low, and our needs are simple.
When we first arrived to Spain in February, I immediately began searching for a vehicle. I searched the overlanding blogs for information on the best vehicles, compared their fuel economies, and checked into their internal dimensions. Two vehicle models stood out above the rest: the Toyota Land Cruiser and Land-Rover Defender.
The Toyota Land Cruiser is quickly becoming the most common 4x4 used for overlanding through Africa. Certain models of Land Cruiser - like the 70 series - are extremely reliable and easily repaired in Africa. Land Cruisers are incredibly desirable for these applications.
We may have gone with a Land Cruiser if there were any available. Within our price range we found several 70 series Land Cruisers, but they were all in the Canary Islands. One or two were on the peninsula, but our options were limited. It was best to check other models.
The Land-Rover Defender - and the Series Land-Rovers that came before - have been the top overlanding vehicle for many decades. It is only recently that Toyota has surpassed Land-Rover. The Land-Rover Defender, especially the 200tdi and 300tdi, are incredibly reliable machines. If the good reviews about their reliability and performance didn't convince me, then the large livable interior did. I was sold.
Problem: there are practically no Defenders in Spain. If any Defenders are for sale, they are so far above our target price I never even saw them.
At first I thought there were plenty of Defenders for sale. Almost all the Land-Rovers for sale are advertised as Defenders. After a bit of confusion and subsequent research I realized what these vehicles really are: Santanas.
In the 1950's Land-Rover began contracting with Santana Motor, a Spanish car manufacturer. Santana began to make the Series II in the late 50's, and they continued to manufacture for Land-Rover until 1983. Over the 30 years Santana worked for Land-Rover, they pushed out Series II, IIa, III, and an improved IIIa.
These series Land-Rovers made in southern Spain are easily identifiable, because they always say "Santana" somewhere on the body. This is how I realized these vehicles were not Defenders - as the sellers were saying. Now I knew how to recognize a Series III and understood that these vehicles were built in Spain, but my troubles were far from over.
Santana Motor continued building 4x4s long after they split from Land-Rover. For several years they built independently, and later they contracted for Suzuki. I began to realize that the Santanas being sold were not necessarily Land-Rover era. From the shape of the bodies I could tell that many were post-split 4x4s, but they would still have the "Land-Rover" name printed on the body and steering wheel. Others would look like Series IIIs, but would have a manufacture date after the company split from Land-Rover.
Unfortunately there is very little information about Santana Motor's vehicles. Neither in English, nor in Spanish can I find any good reference about the different models made by the company after they separated from Land-Rover. To this day I still have no idea what to think about the Santanas made after 1983.
With this information in hand, we decided the Series III is the best option for us. These vehicles are old - 30 to 40 years old - and sometimes I have my doubts. We recognize there are risks with an older vehicle. But, no matter what model, our vehicle will eventually break down on a trip like this. All we can do is prepare before leaving and bring plenty of spare parts.
