Which 4x4 is best?

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Originally Posted by scrambler

Even the Jeep dealer I spoke to didn't rate the early Grand cherokees highly. The Ford Explorer is a Mazda car with slightly raised suspension. Please don't mention it on a serious 4wd site. At least the last 2 options are possibilities. You haven't mentioned the common choices - Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi. For a large-car-substitute with occasional 4wd ambitions, they do as well as anyone. The Discovery tried to be like them, but was built on a genuine 4wd chassis and drivetrain so is better than most once you get off the blacktop.

The list you give suggests you want something a little out of the ordinary, reasonably car-like and with some genuine potential as an off-road vehicle. Your last two suggestions make the cut, IMHO.

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Sorry but don't agree with this statement, the Ford Explorer is made at Ford in the USA and has no Mazda parts at all in it, in the US it comes in quite a few different styles from Short wheel base in ute or wagon and also a larger version F Truck size, the new Ford Ranger or older Courier on the other hand is a Mazda, the Ranger has the 4.0lt Ford V6 in it.

Owned an Explorer, they are a good vehicle.

Baz.

Hmm maybe i should have asked this same question before i got the D2, oh thats right i test drove them all and as soon as i drove the D2 my decision was made, the boss would not even go back to drive the playdo a second time, her mind was set;)

Don't be a rashby and rush into it. Sounds like you're mainly looking to drive in city - stick with your Toyotas, Pajeros. Why not even a subaru or xtrail? Seriously - carefully consider why you want a proper 4wd in the city. Land Rovers are for people who are, or who will become, enthusiasts. If you want a vehicle that you don't want to keep fiddling with then buy Japanese. If you don't mind fiddling and things breaking - go for European or UK. If you live in the city and rarely venture into the bush - drive a late model petrol car - not a diesel.

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Originally Posted by Redback

Sorry but don't agree with this statement, the Ford Explorer is made at Ford in the USA and has no Mazda parts at all in it, in the US it comes in quite a few different styles from Short wheel base in ute or wagon and also a larger version F Truck size, the new Ford Ranger or older Courier on the other hand is a Mazda, the Ranger has the 4.0lt Ford V6 in it.

Owned an Explorer, they are a good vehicle.

Baz.

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I think he was confused with a ford Escape/ Mazda tribute. Explorers are a piece of sh$t, they dont call them exploders for nothing, i worked with a guy that had one only 4 years old and had to replace both diffs and g/box transfer and it wasnt even used offroad. The current explorer sems ok and looking underneath looks very similar to the rear of a D3.

My 2 cents.....

I think what is important here is what sort of budget or age of vehicle are you looking at.

Then you can compare a new Disco with the new Grand Cherokee or even the Explorer. If you look at the old Explorer, up to 99 (I believe) were known to have plenty of problems and were really average on road due to their suspension not being tuned for "Australian Conditions" and not that good off road either due to poor approach/departure angles. I don't know much about the current shape explorer, it looks nice but I don't know how good they are.

Also, comparing the old Grand Cherokee to the new one, they are worlds apart.

Then you have the current D3 compared to the D2 which had live axles and not as much electronics as the current D3.

For some good advice, you would need to be aware of how much off road you want to use it for, the difficulty of off-road you are going to venture to and also what your budget is and also do you want 5 or 7 seats (I don't think the Jeep or Explorer have 7 seat options - could be wrong)

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Originally Posted by loanrangie

I think he was confused with a ford Escape/ Mazda tribute. Explorers are a piece of sh$t, they dont call them exploders for nothing, i worked with a guy that had one only 4 years old and had to replace both diffs and g/box transfer and it wasnt even used offroad. The current explorer sems ok and looking underneath looks very similar to the rear of a D3.

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Another uninformed comment from someone that doesn't know anything about Explorers,

it's always "a mate had one and......blah balh blah"

Very similar to a toyota owning Landy expert:mad:

Baz.

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Originally Posted by Redback

Another uninformed comment from someone that doesn't know anything about Explorers,

it's always "a mate had one and......blah balh blah"

Very similar to a toyota owning Landy expert:mad:

Baz.

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I had to rescue a V8 Explorer from Dalhousie Springs back to Alice Springs. Under warranty, the water pump had failed (leaking coolant).

We had an earlier (6 cylinder) one traded in at work. It was a very unpleasant piece of machinery to drive. Seating position very odd, suspension soft and wallowy. Decent amount of grunt in a straight line though.

Should I now duck for cover too? :D:angel:

"I had to rescue a V8 Explorer from Dalhousie Springs back to Alice Springs. Under warranty, the water pump had failed (leaking coolant)."

Any MV can fail... I'm sure there are plenty of LR stories here to be told.

"suspension soft and wallowy."

Modelled on early discos?

"Decent amount of grunt in a straight line though."

Certainly not describing a diesel disco......

A bit off topic..... but may help your decision making.

The caption to the photo may speak a lot of wisdom:

"The happy couple in a horse drawn carriage - a safer option than a Land Rover
SSgt Rick Dawson RLC"

But read the whole story here



https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Can't help myself... this might be a better option:

http://www.lr-mad.co.uk/images/cuthy.jpg