Mitsubishi Delica, Toyota HiAce, Jeep XJ Cherokee: The Dopest Cars I Found For Sale Online

Remember two weeks ago, when I talked a big game about being back on Dopest Cars after all sorts of interference? Well, I sat down to write last week's installment, and suddenly my little allergy-induced sore throat turned out to be Covid. Thus, a week off, and another apology today. On the plus side, this week you might get a truly out-there Dopest, thanks to my delirious, fog-addled brain. 

Right before I got sick, though, I got my first-ever taste of outdoor rock climbing up in New York's famed Shawangunk Ridge. I spent my convalescent quarantine watching a bunch of rock climbing documentaries and '90s rock climbing footage, and it's safe to say I have fully caught the outdoors bug. Today, I aim to transmit that — and only that, not the Covid — to all of you, with a special Cars Of The Great Outdoors edition of the week's Dopest Cars. 

When you think of off-road capability, what car comes to mind? The average person might say a Jeep Wrangler, but you're no average person — you're a Jalop. No, your tastes don't run nearly so pedestrian, and your mental image for off-roading is likely something way weirder. Maybe it's a rally-prepped Subaru WRX, maybe it's an old pickup on a lift and mud tires, but I bet it may well be something like this Mitsubishi Delica. 

The seller of this Delica seems to be parting out some of the fun off-roady bits, but that's not an issue. You can replace anything that's sold off, because apparently every Delica ever built is now someone's vanlife build in the Pacific Northwest. This one's only unique in that it's located on the East Coast — there are plenty of aftermarket options to turn this Delica into any genre of off-roader you can imagine. Provided that off-roader in your mind's eye is Instagrammable. 

The Delica isn't lesbian enough for you? I feel you. In that case, I propose the best car Subaru ever produced: The Baja Turbo, a tiny little turbo ute with WRX running gear and an Outback chassis. I had honestly thought every remaining Baja had crumbled into dust by now, so it's amazing to see one so immaculate. 

Granted, this Baja doesn't seem to be wearing factory paint, so maybe it's had some work done to keep it so pristine. It looks normal enough at first glance, because this shade really isn't far off from Subaru's own Harvest Gold, but the Baja never got that color from the factory. Don't worry about how much Bondo may be under there, though — just load the back up with camping gear and go explore some new wilderness. These cars are built for that, not for inane and unending forum arguments about color codes. 

There was a time where any Tenere 700 under $10,000 was a Dopest entrant from pricing alone, but times have changed. Now a T7 needs to really earn its spot in this hallowed blog, especially one in the boring launch color, but this one does. It's not just modified, it's modified well. 

This T7's build list, which the seller helpfully included as one of the images in the listing, is an ADV enthusiast's dream. Swaths of parts from Camel, R&G, and AltRider, but seemingly few dumb little electronic gadgets to sap battery power — just aftermarket lighting and a Garmin mount. The Camel exhaust isn't the best-sounding option for this engine, so anyone who's mounting it on their bike is doing it for the fall protection rather than the vibes. Sure, that may mean a dropped bike, but you'll drop it yourself too. Just pick it back up, it'll be fine. 

Oh, you thought a Delica was enough to sate my JDM desires for one week? Think again — this is two weeks' worth of Dopest hits I'm getting through, and I'll be damned if an adventure-focused installment of this hallowed blog doesn't include both a Delica and a HiAce. If I found an Estima Joyful Canopy, that would be here too. 

Anyway, this HiAce may not be decked out for off-roading, but you can fix that. It is, however, decked out for extended stays. The curtains, the comfortable seating, this is a van you'll be happy to spend days on end inside. If you really want to get out into the wilderness, this is a comfortable way to get there. Just get yourself a lift kit and some dirt tires, or take some roads more traveled. A fire road is still arguably off-road, at least if you want to make it sound cool after you get back. 

Isn't it weird that, for a minute in the halcyon aughts, you could get Mercedes Sprinters with Dodge badging? The Sprinter, the height of vanlife enthusiasm, wearing the ram's head of predatory interest rates for guys on military bases who just got their first paychecks. Honestly, there's probably more overlap between those demographics than I'm giving the folks at Daimler credit for. 

Mercedes badging or no, though, this Sprinter is decked out for the heights of vanlife. A kitchen sink, a stovetop, a bed, storage — there's even a pull-out kitchen table. I'm not entirely sure how the seller plans to use this "off-grid" with no toilet or shower, but maybe their local Planet Fitness bathroom runs on self-contained geothermal energy. Still, for the money, it's a hell of a place to spend a weekend. Or, at least, a way to get somewhere that's truly a hell of a place to spend a weekend. 

If you've been reading these pages for a while, you'll know I have a soft spot for old squared-off Chevy trucks in muted earth tones. If you're new here, welcome! I have a soft spot for old squared-off Chevy trucks in muted earth tones. This one is no exception, despite how ornery the seller seems about having to deal with the hell that is Facebook Marketplace buyers. It's often worth dealing with the more frustrated Marketplace sellers, as that frustration alone shows they're paying attention to their messages. 

This truck may be a two-wheel-drive model, but that shouldn't stop you from loving it as I do. Just get a limited-slip rear end in there, and you might be surprised how capable a two-wheel-drive truck can be over dirt. It's all about knowing where your traction is, and making sure you keep the power there. Couldn't hurt to throw a little weight in the bed, though, just in case. 

This is the first time I've seen a Ural on Facebook Marketplace with a mod list in its ad, which also marks the first time I've realized that there are companies manufacturing aftermarket parts for Urals. My initial question is: How? There are like ten guys out there who actually own these bikes, they can't possibly need enough farkles to support an entire company of third-party manufacturers. There's no way these companies even pay off their own tooling, is there?

While I sit here confused about the economics of Ural modification, however, you can hop on this bike and take yourself and a friend to sit somewhere far more scenic. A two-wheel drive motorcycle sidecar will get you just about anywhere worth going, and you won't even have to leave all your stuff behind to do it. Look at all the cargo racks on this thing! You could fit the whole family on here. 

I grew up in the back seat of 100-series Land Cruisers, and to this day they're some of my favorite cars on the road. I saw one today, between the rock climbing gym and our traditional post-climbing Mexican food spot, and I fully stopped dead in the road to look at it. Just a regular Land Cruiser, nothing special about it. Let they who isn't down bad for a car from their childhood cast the first stone. 

This Land Cruiser looks showroom-fresh — it's clean enough that I managed to find specks on my monitor when looking over the truck's immaculate white paint. In all my recent minivan shopping, I've truly longed for a Land Cruiser, but simply haven't had the funds to make it work. Do what I can't, and buy this perfect white Hundy. 

"Amber," you say, "surely you're not expecting me to vanlife a Barbie-looking pink Volkswagen Bus. Well, dear reader, you're wrong: I fully expect you to rip out those rear seats and install a working sink and an induction cooktop in this thing. Why? Simple: I think you need more whimsy in your life. 

It's Friday, the start of the weekend, and what are you doing? That's right, sitting in your office reading car blogs on company time. We're strong proponents of time theft here at Jalopnik, as it ironically pays our bills, but you could be doing more interesting things with your time. For example: You could be in this bright pink Barbie Bus, cruising out to parts unknown, only to set up shop wherever you land and experience what a sunrise looks like from there. Doesn't that sound like a nice little adventure? The only thing stopping you from engaging in it is your own lack of whimsy. Also 29,000 United States dollars. Plus whatever induction cooktops are going for these days. 

Like the Chevy above, this is a beloved model in its least desirable drivetrain — an XJ Cherokee in rear-wheel-drive. You've already heard how bullish I am on rear-driven off-roaders, particularly if you're just getting to a trailhead or an interesting campsite, and beyond a limited-slip rear end there's little this XJ needs. It already has the lift, the roof rack, the big tires, the fancy bumpers. It just needs you to take it somewhere.

Feel free to debate the merits of rear-driven off-roading with me in the comments. I read them, I'll be there. But, consider the time you'd spend on such a task. Wouldn't you rather spend that time behind the wheel of this XJ, cruising down some fire road towards some scenic vista? I know which of the two I'd rather do, and it's not the one that plants me in front of a screen.