Melbourne to Perth trip

Gday all,

For a few months now, i've been researching the idea of doing the melbourne to perth drive along the nullarbor, and back over 3 weeks. I have no intention of doing any serious 4WDing, but I am currently in the process of selling my Volvo, with a view to buying a peugeot 405, or some sort of 4WD in the region of less than $10k. Basically, I am unsure as to what would be an ideal vehicle to do this trip in. The peugeot would be nice for the road trips, but prevents any exploration. I'll be needing enough room to carry me and 2 friends, as well as our swags, and the other necessary gear. As I said, i wouldnt want to be doing any serious offroading, but something that would allow me access to the Nullarbor cliffs, and the various sites along the way would be good. A suzuki vitara wagon looks like it could be competent enough (and being the 4 door, big enough) to cater for such a trip. Any advice on the trip, potential vehicles, experience, etc. would be greatly appreicated.

Thanks,

Chandler