The right type of car for Georgia / Armenia / Azerbaidjan
 

Hi all, after having done 2 huge trips through Asia (northern and southern route) we missed Georgia / Armenia and Azerbaidjan.
Now that we are fixed to school holidays, we want to squeeze this in a long summer holiday.
So we are with a family of 4 and I think we will be up to 5 weeks in the area itself, all in all, not that long.

Our current 4x4 van has been everywhere can do everything accept cover large distances in silent and cool comfort :D
At some point we will buy something newer, and in Europe we don't offroad that much. When we do this upgrade, I still take the option for this Georgia / Armenia trip into account.

So I am thinking to buy something like a rear wheel drive Sprinter with a wheel baze not too big and just fit some decent all terrain tyres, and possible lifting it a tiny bit.
I think I can get far enough with RWD knowing its limitations. And most offroading is not about crossing a desert but more about dealing with unpaved roads in mountanious area.

So the question is, what will we be missing if don't have full on 4x4? Is it just about not being able to do a few nice offroad trails, or are some areas impossible?
It will be middle of summer, so the mountains should be free of snow (in theory).

Other options are buying/renting a normal 4x4 and just use guesthouses/hotels. But that doesnt really allow bushcamping which we like. And unfortunately we don't like to use a rooftent with a family.

Next to all this I could also buy a vehicle and sell it locally. Of course it would have to be useful to them and be at a reasonable price given the import taxes.

Some of the mountain roads in Georgia really need a high clearance vehicle (unless they have been upgraded since I last visited). Upper Svaneti (approaching from Zugdidi), Racha and Khevsureti are OK for lower vehicles, but the road up to Tusheti will not be kind to a low clearance vehicle.

In Armenia there are fewer tough mountain roads (road condition is generally poor but not to the extent of needing a high clearance vehicle), though I did a couple of very nice off-piste drives, one across the Geghama Highlands from Lake Sevan to Abovyan which would have been challenging in a low clearance vehicle and another from Tsar in what was then Nagorno Karabakh to Jermuk in Armenia which absolutely needed a 4x4, though recent political changes mean this would now be impossible to attempt.

So overall, the vast majority of the region is fine for a low clearance car. You can always hire (quite cheaply) a 4x4 to do certain trips and not damage your van.

EO

Define 'right'.

The car you have. Save your money. Sounds like you are looking for an excuse to upgrade your vehicle. You have already travelled zillions of kms in your van, so what's one more trip (of very short 5 weeks)? Georgia and the zone is relatively close.

Even the road to Tushetti (Georgia) can be managed (gingerly over one or two passages) can be done by car. We've seen a VW California do it. Plenty of YouTube vids of this road.

The other roads are paved.

In 2016 we got a visa (free, online) for Nagorno Karabakh but the rules were to enter AND exit by the same border crossing...so no go for us to continue to Sochi Russia.

Lada Niva.

Next year we will go for some months to Georgia, Armenia..... with a VW T2 Westfalia from 1973, i hope this will be high enough :clap:

Yes it can all be done in slower less comfy vehicles. But not in 5 or 6 weeks. Slower travelling is always better, but unfortunately we have to stick to school holidays now.
What would be a good idea if we would have a few months for this, is you take the time to travel there in a relaxed way, and be there just outside the peak temperature time. And it would be fine and I would be very happy to take our 4x4 van there.

We have a pretty good overlanding vehicle, but it would require more time.
Our Hiace 4x4 can go everywhere, but driving 10.000km in 5 or 6 weeks requires a more comfortable vehicle.


I guess I should have made it more clear. Any car will do, the question is what I would be missing out on if I come with a 6 meter or even 7 meter RWD van with reasonable clearance (but long wheel base) instead of a 4x4.
For us, "right" means being able to comfortably do the mileage in a short amount of time, which just means a relatively new vehicle.


The problem is that it is very short. That is in fact the problem why I am searching for alternatives.
In our van I am literally sitting on top of the engine, which is an old noisy diesel. Even with sound proofing it is still exhausting to do lots of mileage in a short time, and then this is also in peak summer with high temperatures.
If we would have like 3 or 4 months for this trip, I would take our current vehicle.

I am not looking for an excuse to upgrade. It is quite simple, 10.000km in 5 or 6 weeks, we will never go and do that with this van.
We love our van but we hate driving it in 40 degrees C or on long driving days.
I don't think we will even sell our current van, it is far to rare, and it is very useful for other trips where time is not under pressure.

I do agree that any car will do. That is what I always tell people, but with this tight schedule it is hard. In that sense, it would be way more fun (and about 1000 times more comfortable) to do such a trip with our daily driver, an electric car with a decent range.
It is a serious option if we are going to rely more on restaurants/guesthouses/campsites instead of having everything in a vehicle.

And then just rent a 4x4 there for a few days or a week to do the few tracks that cannot be done with this vehicle.

I reckon you are on the right track with a RWD Large van fitted with very off road tyres on the rear.

Try and find one that can have a rear locker fitted.

Carry a tire or handwinch.

:)

I couldn't resist buying a Mercedes Sprinter 4x4 extended wheelbase van, as a project to convert to a campervan, and at some point probably sell it as a turnkey campervan. Not entirely sure if we will keep it, since it is a bit too big for our liking.
But while we do have it, it may be a great van to do this trip with. It will have decent ground clearance. It lacks low gearing though, and at 7 meters long and a wheel base of over 4 meters, again you cannot go to every mountain pass. Cars will always be a compromise. But at least we will be able to do such a mileage in comfort and still be able to get off the pavement.

We bought as a project, not really intended for this trip, but I think it would do great.