Top Gear: Bolivia to Chile

[bbbflash]

Hi guys I have this on another forum, but thought I would put it up on here as well.

I watched this episode today and thought I would start the discussion. For those who haven't seen it, it is S14:E6 and it is one of the few off road episodes that they do. They take a Suzuki Swift, Range Rover and Landcruiser 1000 miles through dessert, jungle and mountains. If you haven't seen it, it is classic Top Gear and a good show. I am wondering, for those who have seen it, if you were surprised by the outcomes, interested in doing the trip; Awesome scenery! I am also curious which car you would have taken given the three they had and the. Which one you would have preferred to have. Looking forward to what you all say.

I you need me to find a link on the Internet of the episode I can.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

There are a handful of threads here on ExPo (circa 2009) about that episode... been that long since I've watched it but it is worth seeing again
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/36358-FJ40-on-top-gear

 

[David Harris]

Hi guys I have this on another forum, but thought I would put it up on here as well.

I watched this episode today and thought I would start the discussion. For those who haven't seen it, it is S14:E6 and it is one of the few off road episodes that they do. They take a Suzuki Swift, Range Rover and Landcruiser 1000 miles through dessert, jungle and mountains. If you haven't seen it, it is classic Top Gear and a good show. I am wondering, for those who have seen it, if you were surprised by the outcomes, interested in doing the trip; Awesome scenery! I am also curious which car you would have taken given the three they had and the. Which one you would have preferred to have. Looking forward to what you all say.

I you need me to find a link on the Internet of the episode I can.

It's not a Suzuki Swift, but rather Samurai. The Swift is a little econobox. I would have taken the Range Rover for all the reasons it did well in the show. The 3.5 carbed Rover V8 is the most reliable of all Rover V8's due to it having more metal around cylinders than the later ones. It's the most comfortable serious 4x4xFar, as well as the most capable in stock trim of the three by far, by virtue of its soft, long travel coil suspension. The Land Cruiser would have done better if it hadn't been thrashed through a hard life already. Also, the mods killed it in the later stages. The Samurai did great as well, but as James May noted, the ride on those things is absolutely horrible, as was the Land Cruiser with their leaf springs and short wheelbases. Definitely want to do that trip or something similar someday. The Pan American highway itself is great, but getting back onto some of the secondary routes like the Death Road would be the best part, I think. By the way, if you're interested in the area, check out the Ice Road Truckers Bolivia series. They take medium trucks over some of the same routes. Gives a good idea of what the roads can be like down there.

David