I'm trying to understand this concept. Maybe I'm just dense or you're kidding? Maybe that Sienna would be a good trailer to drag behind for a couple of the kids to sleep in? Well, maybe one kid anyway. I mean, why not go all the way and make a Kia Optima into a camper? Or a Nissan Cube? Nothing from Toyota would be reliable where I want to go.
I mean choosing a Hiace for what we do is like choosing a SMB for an around-town parts delivery vehicle. It makes no sense - to me at least.
Everyone has
different lifestyles, read on below. And hey some people don't
need a huge 4WD van. There are some build quality issues with Sportsmobile that would shy me away. While not a van...an ICON FJ44 would get my money over a Sportsmobile-that makes the most sense to
me. Build quality is at a savant level of perfection, more capable, and Hell just plain cooler! Throw on a RTT and call it good! Of course I would have the TLC boys throw in a Toyota Tundra 5.7 motor over the Cheby, so it would be super reliable!
The Sienna is just another option, decent gas mileage...be ok for graded dirt roads, as people camp out of cars, really not that much different, just bigger. Not that I would buy a Sienna, it would pull a lightweight 3 rail moto trailer, I do
most of my hardcore exploring via 2 wheels...because 4 wheels (especially a camper!) isn't fast enough for me....and trust me I like to go fast! I just use a camper to haul toys, supplies, gear and to be a base camp...as campers, even the 4WD ones, are rather boring for anything else. They really aren't all that fun trying to pound whoops at high speed in Baja...
Nothing from Toyota is reliable enough for you, you're kidding right!? Usually a 4WD van isn't the first choice in rock crawling and desert running, plenty of Yota's are out there tho'! A Toyota can't get you where you want to go!? That is funny! I have had a total of three...all had 250K miles on them and still were in excellent running condition when I sold them, none of them had any major issues...my current Yoda has 244K miles on her...still going strong. I don't know if I could say the same as a Ford with a 6.0....couldn't give me one of those.
The Mrs...said to me the other day, she wished Toyota had a decent sized van here (that Sienna won't work for us), would like a van to haul our downhill longboard skateboards (read: hauling gear and a place to sleep) as we don't trust anything from the big American 3 to spend
our money on. I have rented and test drove all of them Ford, Chevy, Dodge are lack luster IMO. Trust me I would love to buy American, nothing...and I mean nothing new from the Big 3 excites me. I would have to go backwards...like 60's or 70's to get what I want and it up build it myself. Well that ICON is American made, that would work!
The Euro spec Hi Ace would be a great replacement for our current VW Westy, or a 4WD VW T5.
