Suggestions for an ideal 4x4 truck or SUV please
Discussion
Hi Im hoping this is the correct place to post this question.
I have a preferred budget of £10k ish for a 'propa' 4x4 probably diesel will consider petrol, ideally this will be a very long term vehicle which I plan to DIY service and hold as many spares for as possible.
Key criteria -
Plentiful parts supply and good reliability.
Good DIY ability & access to knowledge with out the need for main dealer diagnostics.
Something capable for occasional off road use, so transfer box and diff lock(s).
I would prefer it to be auto so my wife can/will drive it (I like auto's as well).
At least 3 seats and space for 2 large dogs.
I have previously owned a Land Cruiser Colorado D4d 02, Shogun 3.0 petrol 02, LR Discovery Tdi 96, Land Cruiser was the best by miles.
Also considered - Jeep Wrangler or Cherokee, a friend had a nightmare with a diesel Cherokee but thats just one and he wasn't doing any preventative maintenance.
A chap round the corner from me is on his 4th Defender as the 1st three have been stolen from his home, I don't want to attract that sort of attention.
What would you recommend please?
I have a preferred budget of £10k ish for a 'propa' 4x4 probably diesel will consider petrol, ideally this will be a very long term vehicle which I plan to DIY service and hold as many spares for as possible.
Key criteria -
Plentiful parts supply and good reliability.
Good DIY ability & access to knowledge with out the need for main dealer diagnostics.
Something capable for occasional off road use, so transfer box and diff lock(s).
I would prefer it to be auto so my wife can/will drive it (I like auto's as well).
At least 3 seats and space for 2 large dogs.
I have previously owned a Land Cruiser Colorado D4d 02, Shogun 3.0 petrol 02, LR Discovery Tdi 96, Land Cruiser was the best by miles.
Also considered - Jeep Wrangler or Cherokee, a friend had a nightmare with a diesel Cherokee but thats just one and he wasn't doing any preventative maintenance.
A chap round the corner from me is on his 4th Defender as the 1st three have been stolen from his home, I don't want to attract that sort of attention.
What would you recommend please?
I have a Grand Cherokee I was about to sell :-)
Had it two years and only done 10k miles in total. Other than a few bushes for MOT, and a couple of simple electrical gremlins it has been faultlessly reliable, comfortable and in Overland spec on the WJ it comes with sump guard, rock rails etc. Also, on the later 2004 models you can get Quadra Drive which gives you gerotor varilok diffs in front and rear axles.... keeps it moving nicely when slippery.
For a big 4x4 it isn't as wallowy as I expected, and I quite like it. Only getting rid as I signed up for one of those cheap lease deals on the 2016 Grand Cherokee.
Had it two years and only done 10k miles in total. Other than a few bushes for MOT, and a couple of simple electrical gremlins it has been faultlessly reliable, comfortable and in Overland spec on the WJ it comes with sump guard, rock rails etc. Also, on the later 2004 models you can get Quadra Drive which gives you gerotor varilok diffs in front and rear axles.... keeps it moving nicely when slippery.
For a big 4x4 it isn't as wallowy as I expected, and I quite like it. Only getting rid as I signed up for one of those cheap lease deals on the 2016 Grand Cherokee.
spookly said:
I have a Grand Cherokee I was about to sell :-)
Had it two years and only done 10k miles in total. Other than a few bushes for MOT, and a couple of simple electrical gremlins it has been faultlessly reliable, comfortable and in Overland spec on the WJ it comes with sump guard, rock rails etc. Also, on the later 2004 models you can get Quadra Drive which gives you gerotor varilok diffs in front and rear axles.... keeps it moving nicely when slippery.
For a big 4x4 it isn't as wallowy as I expected, and I quite like it. Only getting rid as I signed up for one of those cheap lease deals on the 2016 Grand Cherokee.
Thank you! Grand Cherokee seems the wise choice thenHad it two years and only done 10k miles in total. Other than a few bushes for MOT, and a couple of simple electrical gremlins it has been faultlessly reliable, comfortable and in Overland spec on the WJ it comes with sump guard, rock rails etc. Also, on the later 2004 models you can get Quadra Drive which gives you gerotor varilok diffs in front and rear axles.... keeps it moving nicely when slippery.
For a big 4x4 it isn't as wallowy as I expected, and I quite like it. Only getting rid as I signed up for one of those cheap lease deals on the 2016 Grand Cherokee.
Another vote for the Jeep Grand Cherokee after having a TDI 200 90 then 300 Discovery then moved to TD5 110,next up a Toyota Hilux which was spot,but sold that for a Discovery V8 with LPG,even with two tanks it never held enough gas and was always looking for a place to fill her up,so that went and a TD5 discovery took it's place,this was a great car,towed nice,comfortable easy on the eye,should not have sold it but got offer money back for it after 4 years ownership,then Range Rover L322 best tow car I have have had most comfort 24 MPG not bad for a big 4x4,5 years of ownership and the repair bills just kept coming so was looking to replace and like a lot of people just kept looking at the X5 to expensive, Mercedes ML not with the write ups I've read,so now move to a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee.Why I never looked at these before I don't know.My son was playing rugby around the corner from a main dealer as usual we got there 2 hours before kick off warm up,team talk find who's got the kit etc so I walked over to have a look at the Alfa's and ended up having a test drive in a Jeep,within a week I had purchased one.I don't tow as much as I used to but even with the tri axle Brain James hooked up loaded with large 4X4 it feels confident .Fuel drops from 32 MPG down to 27 with a trailer,ride is good,all the right extra's and some you will never need.Jeep Grand Cherokee gets my vote and for 10k there some nice early models out there. 
leginigel said:
Another vote for the Jeep Grand Cherokee after having a TDI 200 90 then 300 Discovery then moved to TD5 110,next up a Toyota Hilux which was spot,but sold that for a Discovery V8 with LPG,even with two tanks it never held enough gas and was always looking for a place to fill her up,so that went and a TD5 discovery took it's place,this was a great car,towed nice,comfortable easy on the eye,should not have sold it but got offer money back for it after 4 years ownership,then Range Rover L322 best tow car I have have had most comfort 24 MPG not bad for a big 4x4,5 years of ownership and the repair bills just kept coming so was looking to replace and like a lot of people just kept looking at the X5 to expensive, Mercedes ML not with the write ups I've read,so now move to a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee.Why I never looked at these before I don't know.My son was playing rugby around the corner from a main dealer as usual we got there 2 hours before kick off warm up,team talk find who's got the kit etc so I walked over to have a look at the Alfa's and ended up having a test drive in a Jeep,within a week I had purchased one.I don't tow as much as I used to but even with the tri axle Brain James hooked up loaded with large 4X4 it feels confident .Fuel drops from 32 MPG down to 27 with a trailer,ride is good,all the right extra's and some you will never need.Jeep Grand Cherokee gets my vote and for 10k there some nice early models out there.
Thank you for this! Which engine/version Cherokee have you ended up with? 32mpg sounds V good, my 3.0d Land Cruiser would consistently do 27mpg general running around with a average range of 425 miles per tank, this is my bench mark to beat if possible.g8ape said:
Thank you for this! Which engine/version Cherokee have you ended up with? 32mpg sounds V good, my 3.0d Land Cruiser would consistently do 27mpg general running around with a average range of 425 miles per tank, this is my bench mark to beat if possible.
2010 onwards the only real engine choice in the Grand Cherokee is the 3.0 diesel. 2010-early 2013 were 240 bhp (or 188 in Laredo trim) with 5 speed autobox. Later models are 8 speed auto with 250 bhp. Look for the headlight shape as a giveaway, the later have a corner 'chopped' and DRLs, the early is more rectangular. Other engine is the 6.4 V8 petrol in the SRT model, sub 20mpg but 0-62 in 5.0secs.KevinCamaroSS said:
2010 onwards the only real engine choice in the Grand Cherokee is the 3.0 diesel. 2010-early 2013 were 240 bhp (or 188 in Laredo trim) with 5 speed autobox. Later models are 8 speed auto with 250 bhp. Look for the headlight shape as a giveaway, the later have a corner 'chopped' and DRLs, the early is more rectangular. Other engine is the 6.4 V8 petrol in the SRT model, sub 20mpg but 0-62 in 5.0secs.
Thank you! I will try and find one to drive, I had a brief interest in a 2006 ish SRT8 but don't think anyone really needs a non off road off roader... So is the 3.0 diesel a V6? I will research, I have a slight hatred of V6 engines as a bit like fwd its a packaging exercise to suit the manufacturer rather than the best engineering solution if you know what I mean.techguyone said:
Would a Suzuki Grand Vitara 5 door (Petrol) be too small?
Thanks! I drove up to Norfolk yesterday and saw quite a few of them, good value as well. I did have a Jimny a few years back as an emergency winter car quite liked it but they are small.Off to search Vitara's now
g8ape said:
Thank you! I will try and find one to drive, I had a brief interest in a 2006 ish SRT8 but don't think anyone really needs a non off road off roader... So is the 3.0 diesel a V6? I will research, I have a slight hatred of V6 engines as a bit like fwd its a packaging exercise to suit the manufacturer rather than the best engineering solution if you know what I mean.
The 3.0 deisel in the grand cherokee wk is a V6. It's a cracking engine. 215 bhp but can be easily mapped to 270-280bhp. On a run, once, mine managed 32mpg. If your on the motorway 27mpg is common, urban driving generally 23mpg. I bought a 56 plate Overland for under 7k a year ago, which at the time was a bargain. Tax is a sore point, insurance is cheap. Running cost have been reasonable.
Terzo123 said:
The 3.0 deisel in the grand cherokee wk is a V6. It's a cracking engine. 215 bhp but can be easily mapped to 270-280bhp. On a run, once, mine managed 32mpg. If your on the motorway 27mpg is common, urban driving generally 23mpg.
I bought a 56 plate Overland for under 7k a year ago, which at the time was a bargain. Tax is a sore point, insurance is cheap. Running cost have been reasonable.
Thank you! I wasn't aware mapping was an option but suppose any TDi is possible, that does make them more interesting! Thanks for the mpg info also!I bought a 56 plate Overland for under 7k a year ago, which at the time was a bargain. Tax is a sore point, insurance is cheap. Running cost have been reasonable.
g8ape said:
I bought a Ronge Raver Vouge 2004 45k miles, the BMW 4.4 V8 variant. I never realised how much I needed a retracting memory steering wheel thats also heated. The OBC is the 5 series BM version.
As long as nothing goes wrong it'll be great
Hopefully everything that normally goes wrong has already been fixed.As long as nothing goes wrong it'll be great
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