London to Gambia trip

Hi,

I'm planning to drive across europe down to africa, destination is very likely to be Gambia.
I'm gonna buy my first land rover for the trip, a Defender 90 or 110 (I haven't decided yet). I don't know much about landrovers but I'm trying to learn a bit before i buy one.
I have a few questions and if anyone could help me, it would be much appreciated.

At first I was looking for a Defender 90, cause it might have better fuel consumption than a 110... and better speed??

I've been watching many different models and years....defender 90 and 110, discovery and range rover, v8, 200tdi, 300tdi and td5...
I was considering a defender 90 td5 (or maybe a 110) but then i read few bad things about the td5 engine and I also heard defender owners saying the best defender engine is 200tdi...

so what would it be a good choice for such a long journey?

Defender 90
Defender 110
Discovery

and what engine?
200tdi
300tdi
td5

*(im not considering a V8 engine cause is petrol engine and also cause is really thirsty, am i right?)

I'm also expecting to use bio-diesel if possible or at least 50/50. How the landys go on bio-diesel?

thanks
all the best

Hi
We did that trip (and a bit more) 2 years ago in a 110 200tdi. The 200 & 300's are a lot simpler to work on than a TD5, so you won't have to wory about needing diagnostic computers / tricky electronics etc. Our 110 had done about 190k (miles) when we set off. We just returned from a trip to Croatia and she's reading 224k now so in my opinion an excellent engine. Expect about 25mpg when fully loaded.
As for 90 Vs 110 - consider extra space inside, larger roof area for roof tent etc, 110's are supposed to give a less bumpy ride than 90's but minor points really. Either will be fine.
Do you mean Bio-diesel with all the additives (you wont find much of that on the coast road through Southern Morocco / Mauritania) or do you mean veg oil? Veg oil should be fine as long as you're in the Saharan heat and you take a few spare fuel filters. I'd always mix it though to benefit from the cleaning additives in regular Derv.
Jonnie

thanks Jonnie,
yep, i meant bio-diesel but veg oil could be a good alternative as well.

cheers