Friday, January 10, 2014

Land Rover or Toyota: What happened in 2013?

Was Land Rover or Toyota the preferred vehicle choice in 2013 for independent trans-Africa overland travel?  In this blog post I outlined the preferred vehicle choice for 2013, average travel time in 2013 and a summary of different vehicles used over the last four years.

The Africa Overland Network was formally launched in September 2000 and currently has over 800 independent overland websites listed - this website provides an excellent base for actively monitoring overland trips departing per year.

Over the last decade of independent overland travel, the preferred vehicle has been Land Rover but in 2011, Toyota became the preferred vehicle of choice.  In 2012, Land Rover bounced back to claim the number 1 spot. What happened in 2013?

Here are the links to the previous overland website statistics: 2010 | 2011 | 2012

The 2013 Stats...

Land Rover and Toyota once again proved to be the most popular choice for overland travel in Africa (departing in 2013). A total of 53 websites are listed on the website (departure date in 2013), surprisingly the same number for 2012.  I acknowledge that I have probably missed a few trips (and websites) as its hard to keep updated and often travelers don't know about The Africa Overland Network.

In 2013, Toyota was the preferred vehicle... only the 2nd time in a decade of independent overland travel that overlanders have preferred to use Toyota.

The average age of the Toyota vehicles departing in 2013 was 19 years old. The average age of the Land Rover's chosen were 13 years old.

Average Travel Time:

The average travel time for trips departing in 2013 was 267 days.  Interestingly, if you opted to drive a Toyota you spent more time traveling in 2013 compared to Land Rover drivers.

 Other Vehicles:

Campervans, trucks and even a taxi all contribute to different type of vehicles departing for a Trans-Africa Trip.  I have not attempted to list the number of motorcycle overland websites, as these clearly outnumber motor vehicles, plus The Hubb and ADVrider do an outstanding job of keeping track with current trips. The chart below shows the number of websites departing per year using the different vehicle options. Interestingly Land Rover 101s have not been used in the last four years (or rather no travelers blogging that I am aware off).
I enjoy reading about travelers using alternative vehicles - these include tractors, quad bikes, Rolls Royce and even a Porsche.  Read more: Unusual overland vehicles (2010).
I have attempted to keep listing alternative transport options.  The following chart shows the total number of websites listed per transport option:
Websites Listed on The Africa Overland Network

Forum Discussions

I have kept two forums updated with the statistics. Feel free to contribute and comment.

Disclaimer

As in previous years, the usual disclaimer... these statistics are based on websites listed on The Africa Overland Network and generally represent English overland websites only.  I endeavour to keep the site as updated as possible but fully recognise that not all independent overland websites get listed or even know of the website.

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