The road and climate conditions were certainly demanding, running through the spectacular deserts and mountains of Botswana, Zambia, South Africa and Swaziland before finally reaching Maputo on Mozambique's Indian Ocean coast. Temperatures ranged from a low of 13 degrees to a high of 55 degrees celcius.

Some 4000 km of the route was over gravel. Appropriately the Tucsons were equipped with a a 2.0-liter common-rail fuel injected engine, 4x4 drivetrain and a driver-selectable 4WD lock to provide a continuous 50/50 torque split between front and rear wheels. Problems were limited to two tire punctures, three air filter changes and one air conditioning filter replacement. Overall fuel consumption was measured at 9.3 liters per 100km, a respectable figure considering the vehicles were operating for 15 of the 22 days with the air conditioning set at full blast and maximum cargo loads of 300kg. Some of the drivers were journalists. Some journalists have all the fun (just kidding!).