I love my VX, and I plan on being buried in it, but I gotta say, it seems like a tricky choice to be taking somewhere so harsh, owing to the scarcity of parts and the general reticence of some mechanics to even crawl underneath. Wouldn't buying something manufactured more locally (a Land Rover) or with a TON more available parts (dare I say Jeep) make more sense on a trip like this? Hell, you can probably find your choice of military surplus off road vehicle for cheap, and those things tend to be designed so almost anyone can repair them with nothing but a pocketknife to carve tools out of soapstone.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck in any case, sounds like it could be a hell of an adventure!