Bob's Io

I've owned my Io for about 3 years now and love it! 

During that time I've lived in Adelaide, Hobart, Brisbane and done many large interstate trips on and off road.

Aside from an ARB rear air locker and some headlight guards It's not needed any major modifications.

(as new, purchased in Nowra NSW as an impulse buy during a holiday)

I picked the Io as I was after a small compact 2 door 4wd that had to have a good sized engine, a propper 4wd system with center diff lock and hi-lo range. Previously I had been driving a Lada Niva with a 2L Lancia engine fitted that while it had more power than the 2L Io, was not street leagal and lost a lot of oil when driven.

I had a good look at X-trails, Vitara's, Feroza's, Jimneys (yuk!) but none offered a good constant + lock option with low range. The vitara came close but manual hubs were a turn off.

All the reviews of the Io were disparaging, most focused on the 1.6 and 1.8l modls labeling it as too old, clunky and behind the times. It was not until I read one about the new 2L that said "perfect for the farmer who still needs to pull out stumps and drive through the creek to get to the bottom paddock" that I decided it would be worth a look.

I was in Nowra on a holiday and saw this for sale at a dealer, so after a late-afternoon test drive I purchased it. 

The SWB is barely over 3m in length, somthing I'd not thought about fully when I bought it. Space in the back is tight but for two people is still sufficient for a fair sized trip. The rear cargo takes a postal crate/eski easily behind the seats and the ear door is much sturdier than that of the xtrail and feroza.
The turning circle is great even in 4wd and continues to amaze me with where you can make it go!

My wife and I traveled around in Tasmania a fair bit and even got to play in the snow! This was taken ontop of Mt Tim Shea in the middle of winter. The track to the sumit is very steep and rocky, difficult in the dry but the io made it up no worries in the snow with a firm application of right foot and lockers. The rear locker combined with the flexability of the rear suspension makes it almost unstoppable!

The Io's also proved itself very capable in urban 4wd'ing places you probably shouldn't get caught in too ;)

Since I've moved to Brisbane I've sustained my first damage, pushed the front skid pan inside out and dented in the fuel tank protectors. Nothing permanent but points to some 4mm steel plate being required underneath.

Future plan is to drop the front diff by 25-30mm then extend the front struts with koni inserts by the same amount. Fit 225/75-16 tyres and possibly put a lift kit in the rear only just to level out the front. I'm lokin to retain standard springs to keep the ride pleasant. Will need to install high-level breathers and am currently woking on an under-bonnet snorkel.

Will see how i go and keep you posted.

Bob