Trucks.

[simple]

I'm my own car club

[Cruiser]

Dunno if you've ever daily'd a wrangler but it's not for everyone. They're fairly spartan which can be good or bad depending on your preferences. I traded my jku for a gladiator a little more than a year ago and haven't looked back. It's true that full size truck guys mock my little bed and my littler diesel but I've enjoyed the shit out of both. We have an mdx hybrid also and it's pleasant enough but I find it boring to drive and always take the gladiator when I have the option.

If the idea of having the doors and roof off for a substantial part of the year isn't super appealing to you then you'd prolly be wise to scratch the wrangler/gladiator off the list.

[hatchgreenchile]

We own a 22 MDX Advanced and a 21 Wrangler Willys. They are polar opposites in functionality, safety and driving experience.
In comparison to older Wranglers, the JLUs cruise pretty well on the highway, but it's still a Jeep. Those 4xe models look slick, but you might be waiting a while (and the Rubicon buildout will be overkill)
For sitting in traffic on I-70, the MDX would be my top choice! Comfortable, spacious, captain seat conversion, intuitive navigation, HUD, etc.

[AK47bp]

Help needed on trucks/SUVs to look at for purchase this fall. Looking for something that’s good in the snow, not enormous, has off road capability but enjoyable and safe on the highway. Interested in the Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, 4Runner, Tacoma, MDX and Bronco. Any advice and experience with these?

Enjoyable on the highway = grand Cherokee / MDX

Decent off road capability = grand Cherokee

Answer = Grand Cherokee.


(4Runner and prior Grand Cherokee owner)


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[PNWbrit]

Seconded.

Grand Cherokee owner, former Tacoma owner.

[EWG]

Help needed on trucks/SUVs to look at for purchase this fall. Looking for something that’s good in the snow, not enormous, has off road capability but enjoyable and safe on the highway. Interested in the Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, 4Runner, Tacoma, MDX and Bronco. Any advice and experience with these?

Thirded. We just went for the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. Wanted a 4xe and waited almost a year for it but finally admitted they are vaporware and got gas. It’s my wife’s vehicle. She had an off-road optioned-up one years ago and loved it. Regretted giving it up everyday, and is now beyond thrilled to have one again.

The trailhawk model is shockingly capable off road. It blows everything else you are considering away in that respect. My lovely wife drives off road like a maniac so it’ll help for us.

It also drives very well on road. 5/5 would recommend. Happy to answer questions.

[bodywhomper]

Needed a 4x4 for a work outing in May. Got a grand Cherokee rental with 40k miles and highway tires. Drove it a total of 8 hrs in a day, including high speed highway, windy roads, and steep, loose dirt/clay, rocky, high clearance, rutted, unmaintained forest service road. I used 4lo for some long steep descents but let the automated system do its thing otherwise. It worked great! Was comfortable after the long day on my ass. The stock stereo was nice, too.

I like my land cruiser more, but I am biased.

A car geek friend bought a pilot a while ago. He test drove an mdx when he was shopping. His assessment was transmission annoyance that the mdx felt like it was constantly hunting for the right gear.

[SoVT Joey]

My other half drives a trail hawk as well. Absolutely loves it. It’s great for forest roads and mud and snow. And drives awesome on the highway.

[This End Up]

I loved my Grand Cherokee back in the day. However I think the Italians (Fiat) are determined to destroy all Jeep branded products.

I found this in a motor trend review of the 2022 model:
“Engineers ran the front axle through the oil pan to reduce the engine's packaging height and keep it as level as possible with the rear axle. “
That sounds like oil leak is armageddon if you do any off-roading.

Source:

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2...-drive-review/

[EWG]

Im actually gonna trust that they know what they are doing and say it’s a neat trick. Plus it lowers the hood which my 5’-2” lovely wife appreciates.

[Shredhead]

I also like my 2015 Jeep GC with the Hemi. It has loads of power and is a great tow vehicle
The 4R was neither and the GX460 was 20K more.

[SoVT Joey]

Im actually gonna trust that they know what they are doing and say it’s a neat trick. Plus it lowers the hood which my 5’-2” lovely wife appreciates.

im right there in the same camp. Short wife loves it and if she rips the oil pan off off-roading we have some other things we need to talk about beyond the oil pan, like the what the fuck were you thinking part…. It’s still a $50k suv…. If you want to truly off-road, that’s a risk with every vehicle.

the one downside is the cost of the guardian/Sirius xm set up for navigation… it’s pricy but without it the entertainment system is shitty.

[EWG]

im right there in the same camp. Short wife loves it and if she rips the oil pan off off-roading we have some other things we need to talk about beyond the oil pan, like the what the fuck were you thinking part…. It’s still a $50k suv…. If you want to truly off-road, that’s a risk with every vehicle.

the one downside is the cost of the guardian/Sirius xm set up for navigation… it’s pricy but without it the entertainment system is shitty.

The skid plates should protect everything underneath. They are pretty extensive.

What do you loose when you take off the guardian? We aren't planning on having it, but I think all you lose is the app stuff. You can still remote start with the key, and carplay still works fine, as does regular sirius. You don't get Nav maybe? But we use the carplay for Nav. The app becomes totally worthless though.

[anotherVTskibum]

Since you had the Wrangler on the list, I'll point out that the Bronco Sport Badlands is rather capable off-road, good on the road, and probably cheaper than anything else on the list if you can find one at MSRP and don't need more space. My ex got the Outer Banks and it ended up being pretty impressive for the price. It feels small coming from my F-150, but it's a lot more practical the 90% of the time you don't want the extra space.

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[SoVT Joey]

The skid plates should protect everything underneath. They are pretty extensive.

What do you loose when you take off the guardian? We aren't planning on having it, but I think all you lose is the app stuff. You can still remote start with the key, and carplay still works fine, as does regular sirius. You don't get Nav maybe? But we use the carplay for Nav. The app becomes totally worthless though.

nav and the app stuff doesn’t work. Like the start and unlock from your phone. Which kinda sucks when we just leave keys in vehicles around our parts.

[grabtindy]

Today in decisions my wife doesn't understand but is equally amused and annoyed by:




'88 22re, 5-speed, 4x4 with 171k miles. Just getting some surface rust on the outer body panels, undercarriage has virtually no corrosion. Probably thanks to the generous anti-rust coating being automatically applied by a leaky main seal (at minimum).

[gravitylover]

Well done

[Name Redacted]

Since you had the Wrangler on the list, I'll point out that the Bronco Sport Badlands is rather capable off-road, good on the road, and probably cheaper than anything else on the list if you can find one at MSRP and don't need more space. My ex got the Outer Banks and it ended up being pretty impressive for the price. It feels small coming from my F-150, but it's a lot more practical the 90% of the time you don't want the extra space.

Anyone who buys a Bronco at this point deserves everything that is coming to them.

[Norseman]

Today in decisions my wife doesn't understand but is equally amused and annoyed by:




'88 22re, 5-speed, 4x4 with 171k miles. Just getting some surface rust on the outer body panels, undercarriage has virtually no corrosion. Probably thanks to the generous anti-rust coating being automatically applied by a leaky main seal (at minimum).

Sweet. Now pop that top for summertime baybee

[Cruiser]

Today in decisions my wife doesn't understand but is equally amused and annoyed by:




'88 22re, 5-speed, 4x4 with 171k miles. Just getting some surface rust on the outer body panels, undercarriage has virtually no corrosion. Probably thanks to the generous anti-rust coating being automatically applied by a leaky main seal (at minimum).

She's a beaut!

[ghosthop]

Sweet. Now pop that top for summertime baybee

I had a friend who could not get his top to reattach for one reason or another. There was no greater amusement than watching him try to score all night at the bar, finally set a hook, and when they got to the truck tell the poor girl he had some blankets in the back but the heater core didn't work.

[Ted Striker]

It's flexy, and might need some English to bolt back up.

It's also possible to roll a 1st gen without breaking the fiberglass, although I'm sure it's more luck than technique.

@ grabtindy, that's a really clean one. Good score!

[simple]

That 1st Gen 4runner is mint!

[The Reverend Floater]

Today in decisions my wife doesn't understand but is equally amused and annoyed by:




'88 22re, 5-speed, 4x4 with 171k miles. Just getting some surface rust on the outer body panels, undercarriage has virtually no corrosion. Probably thanks to the generous anti-rust coating being automatically applied by a leaky main seal (at minimum).

I had an 85. That's the one project vehicle I regret selling.

[anotherVTskibum]

Anyone who buys a Bronco at this point deserves everything that is coming to them.

Are you referring to the Bronco or the Bronco Sport? I've seen issue reports with the former, but not anything widespread on the latter (granted, I stopped lurking in the BS forums after we split up).

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