What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

What would be a suitable manual seven-seat vehicle for use in remote areas of Uganda?

I am a trustee of a small UK charity working to improve primary education in Uganda. We are trying to find a suitable secondhand vehicle for use in our charity's work in a rural area of Uganda. One possibility is a manual transmission long wheelbase Toyota Land Cruiser with seven or eight seats. However, it appears that very few manual versions of this vehicle were made. Please can you suggest other similar makes/models with manual transmission and at least seven seats that would be suitable for reaching remote villages in Uganda? Our budget is the equivalent of around £15,000 and so we are looking for a 10-year-old model.

Asked on 14 August 2010 by alanj

Answered by Honest John
There are at least two types of Land Cruiser available in the UK: the larger 4.0-litre plus 'Amazon' type and the smaller 3.0-litre LC. LCs are more likely to be manual. Also consider the Nissan Patrol LWB, Mitsubishi Shogun LWB and Nissan Terrano 2 LWB.

Another possibility is to source a Toyota Fortuner 7-seater or Isuzu Adventure 7-seater directly from Thailand where they are made. These are fairly rugged, pick-up based MPVs. But check first they have 4WD before you buy. Some are 2WD. There are regular auctions at www.manheimthailand.com
Similar questions
I hope you can help. I know this is a bit off your usual track. We are currently looking for a proper 4x4 to drive here in Oman. I am not planning to cross Africa in it but it needs to be a real 4x4 capable...
Could you please advise my daughter who is moving to live in the city of Accra, Ghana? She will need to take journeys into desert terrain. She hopes to buy a high clearance vehicle, preferably one that...
We need to buy a new car when we emigrate to South Africa. We will need a tough car as there will be a certain amount of light off-road use. Most South Africans drive the Toyota Fortuner, which is not...
Related models
Excellent tow car and rugged off-roader. Better ride quality than the previous Shogun.
Big, roomy, tough and stacked full of kit. Very capable off-road and as a tow car. Seats up to eight people.