Deux Smurf Diaries: The Story So Far
This was taken the week we bought her during her first trip to Wales
January 2026 will mark two rather important birthdays: Deux Smurf turns 30, and we celebrate ten years together. Given how much love she seems to get whenever she appears on The Mud Life, it felt only right to finally give her a proper ‘story so far’ — a chance to introduce her properly, warts, wins and all.
How we got here
Back in December 2015 our much-loved 1996 Land Rover Discovery finally lost her long-running battle with tinworm. Her inner arched, sills and everything made of steel had waved the white flag and, just like that, we were 4x4-less, which would have been mildly inconvenient under normal circumstances, except Muddy Madam and I were right on the cusp of launching The Mud Life.
The irony of starting a 4x4 and outdoor website without having an actual 4x4 was not lost on us. In fact, it was borderline ridiculous. So the hunt began… and it needed to be quick.
My list of non-negotiables was fairly simple:
Budget capped at £4,000
Reliable (this was key)
Nothing too modern
Good off-road
Good on-road
Easily available parts
A proper 4x4 system with low box
I made the conscious decision to discount Land Rover products. Not because I’d fallen out with them, a Discovery 2 was very tempting. but because I wanted The Mud Life to be broader than just another green oval appreciation society.
After a month of trawling the internet, enthusiasm gave way to despair. The vehicles were either rotten, overpriced, wildly optimistic, or all three. I genuinely began to think I’d have more luck finding a set of hen’s teeth in a bucket of rocking-horse poo.
In a moment of frustration I posted a random comment on the UK Toyota Hilux Surf forum, bemoaning the fact that decent Surfs had seemingly vanished from the classifieds. Within hours, a forum member replied with a link to a selling site I hadn’t checked.and there she was. A rather tasty third-generation Surf, just an hour away. The fuzzy feeling returned.
Ormskirk, honesty, and a handshake
Muddy Madam and I headed over to Ormskirk to take a look. The Surf was exactly as described, but more importantly, Paul, her current custodian came across as genuine. He insisted on going through the service history in detail and talked me through everything he’d done over the previous two years.
I was smitten almost immediately. Crucially, so was the ever-dubious Mrs Muddy, which sealed the deal.
With 166,861 miles on the clock I’d be her third UK owner. At £3,500 she was a little more than we’d planned to spend, but her condition, history, and the honesty of the seller made it a complete no-brainer. And just like that I was a Toyota Surf owner once again.
Getting to know you
Because she was our second Surf, and because Surf still rhymes with Smurf, she was promptly christened Deux Smurf.
After a full service (all belts and fluids changed) she was immediately thrown into Mud Life duty. Trips to the NEC in Birmingham, Wales, and the Lake District followed in quick succession, and within weeks we’d racked up nearly 1,000 miles.
Not everything was perfect, mind you. The windscreen wipers worked, but they did so angrily, squealing like a toddler denied sweets. A pair of Bosch Aerotwin wipers soon sorted that, along with a new rear wiper from Roughtrax. Fitting the rear unit is a fiddly little job involving two minuscule screws that don’t come with the wiper. Drop them and your afternoon is over.
The General Grabber tyres she arrived on were legal but past their green-laning best, so replacements were needed. Cue the familiar tyre headache: mud or all-terrains, premium or budget? I’ll admit I’m a creature of habit, my last four 4x4s had worn BFGoodrich All-Terrains and they’d been superb.
So I sent a cheeky email to BFG… and to my surprise they agreed to supply a set of KM2 Mud Terrains for review. Result.
Living with Deux Smurf
For the next two years and 10,000 miles nothing more than routine servicing was required. Eventually the exhaust back box began rattling at idle, so a replacement was sourced from Milner Off Road, along with a new battery.
Around this time I fitted a set of Thule roof bars so we could transport our 16-foot open canoe. I’ve used Thule bars (pronounced Toola), on several vehicles and they’re bombproof, which is handy when they’re regularly thwacked by overhanging branches on green lanes.
By February 2019, just 3-years into ownership, and we’d covered almost 20,000 miles, most of it off-road, and two big upgrades landed at once. First, BFGoodrich got in touch to ask if I fancied trying their new KM3 Mud Terrains (obviously yes). Second, I finally addressed the suspension.
On fast country roads and motorways Deux Smurf handled like a go-kart — brilliant. Around town or on rutted lanes, however, she was bone-shakingly firm and deeply committed to loosening dental work.
After asking for advice on the Hilux Surf Facebook group, one name kept cropping up: Pedders. Words like “unbelievable ride quality” and “best decision ever” appeared again and again.
A quick call to Roger at Pedders later and a +1” TrakRyder kit was ordered. The transformation was huge. Better articulation off-road, no more skipping over potholes, and sharper steering on-road. Money very well spent.
Stainless steel and small dramas
In 2020, with 192,434 miles showing, the exhaust finally surrendered completely. Following recommendations, I took her to SK Garage in Manchester and parted with £400 for a stainless-steel system. It still sounds epic.
Since then it’s been the usual steady trickle of maintenance: oil and filter changes, bulbs, suspension bushes, and sundries. There was also the wheel nut debacle, when she was broken into and the locking wheel nut key was stolen — a special kind of annoyance.
Lighting upgrades followed. An LTPZ-DLX-20E slimline light bar on the bumper courtesy of Chris at ORE4x4.com, and more recently OSRAM’s 40” VX1000-CB SM bar mounted beneath the Thule roof bars. And yes, my best modification ever: fan washer jets.
Wheels, tyres, and a trip to Russia
When I was promised a spare set of all-terrains from a manufacturer, I decided to source a second set of wheels. Facebook Marketplace provided a set just ten miles from Muddy Towers. They’d been bought as spares for a Toyota Colorado owned by the same family for over 20 years, and many years earlier that very vehicle had been driven to Russia.
The tyres were ancient, but the wheels themselves were solid if a little tired-looking. Amusingly, it took four years before I removed the tyres, and a few more before I finally had them refurbished and painted gold — just in time for Davanti to send over a set of Terratoura ATs.
(You can find the wheel refurb write-up here, and the Davanti Terratoura review here.)
The bigger picture
There will inevitably be bits I’ve forgotten, but the headline is this: Deux Smurf has been a cracking 4x4 to own.
In almost ten years we’ve covered just 37,000 miles and I’ve spent around £2,500 on servicing, parts and labour, not bad at all for a vehicle that spends a good chunk of its life off the beaten track.
Fuel economy is… optimistic. A 3.0-litre turbo diesel was never going to be frugal, and on a long run she’ll manage up to 27mpg if she’s feeling generous. She’ll also happily run on veg oil, which helps soften the blow.
More than anything, we were lucky. She’s had two extremely fastidious UK owners since being imported in 2006, and it shows.
So, what’s next?
With just under 203,000 miles under her tyres, you could argue she’s only just run in. Remarkably, for a 30-year-old 4x4, everything still works. Because — well — Toyota.
At the time of writing she’s booked in next week for a service, and to track down an air-con leak. After that, there are green-laning trips planned, a few overnight camps, and I’m finally considering a rear drawer system and fitting the EcoFlow alternator charger that’s been sulking in the spare bedroom for six months. There are a few other mods that I’ll like to make, but I’ll tell you about those later.
More urgently, her chassis and underbits will soon need some preventative protection, as surface rust is starting to appear, along with a small scab on the bonnet and front wing that needs attention.
But really, this is just the beginning. With The Mud Life usually juggling a steady stream of press cars, Deux Smurf often ends up parked up more than she deserves, patiently waiting her turn. With no press cars on the horizon for a while, she’s about to take centre stage again, and I genuinely can’t wait to get back out on the lanes, put some proper miles under her tyres, and simply enjoy driving her again, which is what she was built for.
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