Five Beefy SUVs You Could Get with a Manual Transmission
The A-list of classic SUVs includes the Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser, Ford Bronco and the Holy Grail, the rare North American spec Land Rover Defender 90 and 110. What do they all have in common, besides the fact that perfect ones can cost close to $100,000? All were available with an honest-to-goodness manual transmission. Here are five, affordable alternatives, bad-ass, tough-as utility grade beef SUVs that you could shift yourself:
- 2000–2001 Nissan Xterra: Although the Xterra is the newest truck on the list, like any real SUV, it has a separate body and chassis and a pickup truck in its DNA. While not exactly common, it isn’t terribly hard to find a first-generation (and even a newer Xterra) with a manual transmission. We love the Xterra because it reminds us of an early Land Rover Discovery, minus the constant companion of Christmas lights blinking on the dash and pricey head gasket and electrical failures. A clean low-mileage early Xterra in bright yellow is a truck that will stand out and likely never depreciate.
- 1990–2001 Toyota 4Runner: The word’s out on second-generation 4Runners. Really clean, low-mileage trucks now sell for about what they did new, a sure sign that any vehicle is entering the realm of collectability. Manual transmission, 4-wheel-drive 4Runners generally sell the day they hit Craigslist, especially rust-free West Coast trucks. Super low-mileage pre-2002 4Runners can break $20,000, but in reality, there’s no reason to hold out for a 45,000-mile example. We’ve seen second gen 4Runners with 10 times the mileage with plenty of life left in them.
- 1982–91 Mitsubishi Montero: First-generation Monteros are getting scarce indeed, but if you want a collectible SUV with real competition cred, and an original Ford Bronco is out of the budget, this is what you should seek out. The two-door, short-wheelbase Montero (otherwise known as the Pajero) ruled the world rally stage for a time, taking multiple Paris-Dakar rally wins. Early Montys are crude, with a punishing ride (the front seats had to havea suspension system built-in) but they’re rugged and very good-looking. The shorty resembles a Land Rover D90 and the 4-door, looks like a D110, not coincidentally, I’m sure. The two-door briefly had a badge-engineered Mopar twin, known as the Dodge Raider.
- 1981–1991 Isuzu Trooper: The Trooper bowed right around the same time as the Montero, it was part of the first wave of affordable, rugged, truck-based Japanese SUVs. Like the Montero, the Trooper was crude and underpowered, but a beast off-road, with tons of ground clearance and lockable hubs. It also looked the part.Boxy and upright, they all looked like they should be painted white with a “UN” decal on the doors. The earliest models, with round headlights are the best faux Land Rovers, but and first-gen Trooper is cheap, hip and capable.
- 1984–2001 Jeep Cherokee XJ:American Motors Corporation, the last of the great independent American car makers went out in a blaze of creativity. The Cherokee XJ and the Grand Cherokee were probably the best designs that the company produced prior to AMC’s takeover by Chrysler. Both were rugged, modern-looking and handsome designs that soldiered on for a very long time, under three different masters — AMC, Chrysler and Daimler. But it was the smaller, trimmer XJ Cherokee that was available in a two-door and a four-door with a stick shift. Paired with the legendary AMC 242 cubic inch straight-six, it was nearly unkillable. The only thing that was Kryptonite to the Cherokee was road salt.
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