worthy off-road vehicles not allowed for sale in US. photos required!

[Shibadog]

Stellantis, who went crosseyed over the idea of pushing the Wrangler beyond its station, could learn a lot from Suzuki's philosophy for the Jimny.

This!

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[STW]

the Suzuki Jimny seems classic.

Reminds me the Land Cruiser used to come in a short-wheelbase 2 door version too. Maybe still does in some market. The J71 is listed as made from 1999-2007. I don't know if these were sold in the US market?

 

[MerPinXEss]

Lol last time in Mexico saw this in parking lot and thought what Jeep copycat, never picked up on the n, been calling it a Jimmy. Thought it had to do with sizukis tie up with gm in the 90s that they must have gotten international rights to jimmy, while gm had us rights…speaking of 90s import trucks. Many markets still built stuff like the suz sidekick and Mitsu mighty max into the 00’s the trooper esque full-size are also everywhere international.

 

[Rubi SoHo]

I do wish they were sold here. I’ve seen one at a parking lot once, couldn’t believe my eyes. Pretty neat little things.

Saw these zipping around Milan last fall, they are pretty cool.

 

[missionale]

Just curious what other worthy off-road vehicles have not been allowed for sale in the US. Then or now. Or disallowed for any particular model, or for any period of its production.
I know off-roading can look pretty different in Australia or anywhere that has vehicles you do not see in North America.

• My list includes the erstwhile Land Rover Defender, so this list can include vehicles that were/are imported in a grey market.
• Including the old Defender doesn't mean the New Defender is not a worthy off-roader. It's just that it morphed into a luxo-barge (plus it's not a worthy off-roader, heh.)
• And calling the New Defender a luxo-barge doesn't mean a worthy off-roader can't be luxurious: I think G-wagons and Lexus-based LandCruisers qualify as worthy off-roaders, for example.
• It should probably say not allowed in the US or Canada. I don't know how different those rules are in Canada vs the US, but Canadian members please let us know.

Post a photo for the vehicle type.
Or post a photo of a vehicle already mentioned.

My starter list:

• Land Cruiser J79, but the whole 70s series had limited availability in the US. The complexity of the Land Cruiser line-up is a bit mind-boggling since the FJ40, but I know some of you wonks are up on it.
• Land Rover Defender 90/110/130. The Land Rover Series off-roaders were developed after "the war" because the Jeep had proven its worth across Europe, and it was called a "jeep" when that name was more generic, a category of vehicle, and older people in the UK will still sometimes call a Series Rover "a jeep."

did you just read this ?

https://jalopnik.com/the-best-off-road-vehicles-we-dont-get-in-the-us-1850130108

 

[STW]

did you just read this ?

https://jalopnik.com/the-best-off-road-vehicles-we-dont-get-in-the-us-1850130108

I did not see that. Great minds, ha!
Over the weekend I watched a Ronny Dahl video and saw how he had set up his J79, and started realizing Australia's off-roading looks different partly because they have different vehicles available.

 

[4x4tographer]

I fell in love with the Delica when we lived in Japan. I kick myself for not looking into importing one as they were filthy cheap when we were over there.

 

[Oncorhynchus]

KIA Bongo

 

[Oncorhynchus]

KIA Bongo

https://www.topgear.com.ph/features/feature-articles/kia-k2500-drive-a2584-20211130-lfrm

 

[Oncorhynchus]

I’d buy a Suzuki Samurai, er JMNY, in a heartbeat.

 

[Oncorhynchus]

Does Tesla Cybertruck count? I heard they got ‘em on Mars, aka Musk’s Imagination. Definitely not available in the US of A.

 

[Oncorhynchus]

Hyundai Starex

https://expeditionportal.com/explor...dai-starex-interview-with-emmanuel-solorzano/

 

[STW]

Hyundai Starex

https://expeditionportal.com/explor...dai-starex-interview-with-emmanuel-solorzano/

 

[Medsker]

The Hilux is awesome. When I lived in Australia I had one with a 2 inch Lift, ARB Air Lockers front and rear and a 13,000 pound Runva winch. Took it all over Eastern Australia by Mackay. My fav road trip was Fraser Island. I'm pretty sure they are half tons too. Here's a pic of the one I had:

 

[Ratbert]

Mercedes Benz Unimog.

If you ever looked at a G-Wagen and thought “yeah, but bigger”.

Some others:

Ford Everest, Toller T4 (also a Ford), Dacia Duster (if the Subaru Crosstrek was more off-roady), and Mahindra Thar (India JK copy)

I mean, seriously, that’s just a JK with an angry grille.

Oh, speaking of copycats. The Beijing BJ40. Chinese JK copy from 2013 that looks remarkably like the upcoming Jeep Recon.

My neighbor across the street has a '75 Unimog. He took us up into the mountains behind our place soon after we first moved in. That was the first time I'd really been off roading and that excursion eventually led to me moving from sports cars to Jeeps. That thing's a beast!

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