UPDATE: Hola, from Mexico! We sorted out our wheels a short while ago. The first week we got here we ended up renting a Nissan March - maybe one size smaller than a Versa but an impressively resilient little bugger, taking all sorts of abuse from potholes, speed bumps, errant board straps and strong crosswinds. I’m just glad it wasn’t my credit card we used for the deposit
In all honesty it was a great little runabout and, as with a lot of these newer sub-compacts, it had a surprising amount of interior room, even traveling 4-strong.
One week later we became proud co-owners (along with a local friend here) of “Diablo Blanco”, a well-worn white on blue (really, white on blue? very ballsy of you, Ford of the 1990’s) ’97 Explorer.
Apologies for the bad quality photos below but hopefully it indicates the, er, fairly well-worn condition of the Explorer. But aside from a couple of minor electrical issues, it’s already proven to be a fantastic surf rig. Plenty of room and compliant suspension with enough travel for potholes and speed bumps, and the size is just the right side of unwieldy for negotiating the narrow village roads.
It ain’t a Range Rover or a JDM Mitsubishi camper van, or the others that were defintely appealing and intriguing options suggested above, but it turns out it made the most sense to just get here and find something that was local, and only after we understood what we really needed it for. For the record, SUV's and trucks are definitely the way to go down here - the roads are crap. Anyhow, thanks again everyone for your help and input - it was greatly appreciated!
