My first ever 'what car' thread.

[Asterix]

Thinking of a 4x4.

I'm really liking the look of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee and the reviews seem to be very positive, especialy given that it's based on the Merc ML platform but with Jeep's offroad capabilities - the latter is important as we do quite a bit of camping during the winter.

Nothing else is looking even remotely interesting, perhaps an LR4 but I've heard reliablity horror stories.

I had a 2004 Grand Cherokee and it was awesome in the dunes and never missed a beat so I'm happy to return to the brand.

Thoughts please chaps.

[IanUAE]

Nissan xterra
FJ Cruisers
Prado (4L)

are all good desert cars.

and of course Landcruiser / Safari

[Asterix]

IanUAE said:

Nissan xterra
FJ Cruisers
Prado (4L)

are all good desert cars.

and of course Landcruiser / Safari

The Nissan is a bit low rent inside - I've had a Pathfinder before and I wasn't impressed with the interior.

FJ Cruiser - nah, not into Tonka Toys unfortunately, plus visibility is terrible.

Prado - a contender but so, so dull.

[dxbtiger]

The SRT cherokee?

Do you want new or s/h within warranty?

I guess the only problem with those is the low profile tyres not being great off road but it will be quicker than the Cayman and make a nicer noise.

[Asterix]

Nope - the SRT is compromised off road. Wouldn't mind dropping the drivetrain into a standard GC though - that would surprise a few people.

[dxbtiger]

I know I shouldn't but I really like the Evoque.

No idea if it is capable when you leave the black stuff though.

[Asterix]

dxbtiger said:

I know I shouldn't but I really like the Evoque.

No idea if it is capable when you leave the black stuff though.

Hmmm - not my style really, I'm sure it's probably quite capable - bet it doesn't have the option of 17 inch wheels and offroad tyres

[Asterix]

New or no more than two years old.

[dxbtiger]

Asterix said:

Hmmm - not my style really, I'm sure it's probably quite capable - bet it doesn't have the option of 17 inch wheels and offroad tyres

We could have a winter wheels thread as well!

I guess the problem is that anything that will bash round the desert isn't going to set the world alight on the road.

I think Prado's are great, can crush km's on SZ road or dunes with equal ease.

[Asterix]

Only driven a Prado briefly off road so will have to revisit.

[Hitch78]

The New Patrol is awesome, and less dull than a Toyota. More expensive to begin with but I bet you get more back when you come to sell.

I want one in grey with black wheels if you find one for about 60k....must be the 400bhp one too!

[shirt]

dxbtiger said:

We could have a winter wheels thread as well!

[thb]

New Nissan Patrol is pretty good - they do a boggo-spec one now for 180k, though not sure if that has the trick electronics pulled out of it as well as all the leather etc to get the price down. The only ones I've ever seen in the showroom have been the full option 350k jobbies.

LR4 is great with the 5.0 NA V8, but make sure it's got warranty and service contract and be prepared to make friends with the service guys at Al Tayer.

Evoque is great off-road - better than the big Rangies due to its light-weight, but a decent-spec one costs the same as an entry-level Range Rover Sport with the same cracking NA engine as the LR4.

LR2 is a great car, but after all the problems I had with mine I wouldn't recommend going anywhere near one.

Prado/LandCruiser/FJ are great off-road but dull everywhere else.

XTerra is rough-and-ready (leaf springs at the back) and cramped in the back.

Avoid all the American barges - far too heavy for good off-roading. New Explorer is nice, but not really suited to desert driving though reasonably capable.

New Grand Cherokee is supposed to be pretty good and a world away from the PoS old one.

Touareg/Q7/Cayenne - new versions of these had all the off-road toys removed as owners never took them off-road, so not worth looking at if desert is a big thing for you.

If you really want to do a lot of desert driving, my call would be an LR4 (even with the reliability issues I mention) as it does everything you could ask of it. Just be sure it's in warranty and it's serviced to the letter by Al Tayer (service contract is a must).

[shirt]

what's a rangerover like in the dunes? a full fat range is most definitely on my 'list' for owning whilst i'm out here, especially when the 5.0l sc engined variant has depreciated sufficiently.

[custardtart]

I've got a Pajero. Unitary chassis and independent suspension means it's better than a Prado on road which for me is 90% of the time.

Very good off road, particularly in sand as it's much lighter than a Prado or Patrol.

Off road the main issue would be over currugations where the suspensions doesn't damps the bumps brilliantly.

However, I've driven the new Jeep and it's a fair bit nicer on the road than the Paj, don't know how it goes off road but the reviews suggest it's good enough for most trips.

If the budget allowed, I'd seriosuly consider the new Cayenne diesel. It's bloomin lovely on road for a big unit and has a decent inteior.

[Chilli]

Hitch78 said:

The New Patrol is awesome, and less dull than a Toyota. More expensive to begin with but I bet you get more back when you come to sell.

I want one in grey with black wheels if you find one for about 60k....must be the 400bhp one too!

This. lovely inside, not too bad on the outside, and brilliant on the dunes. When I last went bashing (the dunes!) I noticed out of 30 odd cars, 1 was a patrol. They were testing it to see if it was better than the cruisers, with a view to replacing the entire fleet.

[oilydan]

3 yrs ago we did a desert safari and 99% of the vehicles were Tahoes.

I took mine into the desert with 4 people and everything required for a weekend 'glamping' (everything including kitchen sink) and it performed excellently. Plenty of power/clearance/softness.

Now that it has the 22" rims I doubt it would be any good, but I still have the 17" jobbies if I ever need to go into the dust.

[Asterix]

The other issue, which is scaring me a bit and I might have to settle for something a bit 'st' for a while, is the wife.

She passed her driving test over a year ago here in Dubai and she hasn't driven since - too scared. Having hired a crapbox for a weekend and sat beside her, they basically didn't teach her anything. Technically she can drive down a road and do a U-Turn - that's pretty much it.

I can't blame her, it's not her fault - things like one instructor being 7 months preggers and nodding off during the lesson, having 4 other people in the car and only getting a 10 minute go in her hour lesson - its sucks, but we all knew that.

So... Mid SUV size is the max I want to go, get to Tahoe/Patrol size and it's just inviting trouble - I want a newer car so that it has all the safety features possible...

...and a robust insurance scheme.

The contenders so far ar the Jeep GC, the LR 4 (but seriously worried about reliability), the Prado but it might numb into a coma and...

[Chilli]

Asterix said:

The other issue, which is scaring me a bit and I might have to settle for something a bit 'st' for a while, is the wife.

She passed her driving test over a year ago here in Dubai and she hasn't driven since - too scared. Having hired a crapbox for a weekend and sat beside her, they basically didn't teach her anything. Technically she can drive down a road and do a U-Turn - that's pretty much it.

I can't blame her, it's not her fault - things like one instructor being 7 months preggers and nodding off during the lesson, having 4 other people in the car and only getting a 10 minute go in her hour lesson - its sucks, but we all knew that.

So... Mid SUV size is the max I want to go, get to Tahoe/Patrol size and it's just inviting trouble - I want a newer car so that it has all the safety features possible...

...and a robust insurance scheme.

The contenders so far ar the Jeep GC, the LR 4 (but seriously worried about reliability), the Prado but it might numb into a coma and...

I hear ya. The LR4 is a lovely looking thing, but bloody expensive, I think.

[rabailey]

Asterix said:

The other issue, which is scaring me a bit and I might have to settle for something a bit 'st' for a while, is the wife.

She passed her driving test over a year ago here in Dubai and she hasn't driven since - too scared. Having hired a crapbox for a weekend and sat beside her, they basically didn't teach her anything. Technically she can drive down a road and do a U-Turn - that's pretty much it.

I can't blame her, it's not her fault - things like one instructor being 7 months preggers and nodding off during the lesson, having 4 other people in the car and only getting a 10 minute go in her hour lesson - its sucks, but we all knew that.

Get a GPS (or a car with a built in one) it will stop her having to navigate and drive.

When we moved out SWMBO could aledgedly drive but there was always some reason she wouldn't in Dubai. Once I got her a GPS she was much happier. No matter how lost you get it will always get you home.