I consider those TJs to be rollover vehicles. The Jk is nice. My work buddy has one with a 3" lift and 35"s. He jsut got back from Moab.

 

Dailyish driver, with some off roading on teh weekend. I will keep the stock tires on it and lift it. Then when I want to go muddin/wheelin I will bolt the bigger ones one it.

 

idk i like my durango, had a dakota before it, and my dad is on his 3rd dak, the 1st gen durango (98-03) are almost exactly the same parts as the 2nd gen daks and drive/handle very similarly(actually better in snow/low traction situations due to extra weight over the rear axle), but if you have a heavy foot they do drink down the gas, if i am careful with it i can get 20+ on the highway and 17+ around town, on the other hand if i leadfoot it around all the time that drops to 13 around town and maybe 15/16 highway. the 4.7 is probably the most efficient motor offered in the durango, but the 5.9 is definetly the way to go IMO, most aftermarket support and the best base to start from if you want to mod it, if you have any specific questions about the durango let me know, or post it up in the 1st gen section and we will be more than happy to answer them for you

and since you are looking at off-roading it there are quite a few guys over there who have built their D's as wheeling rigs and i am sure they could point you in the right direction

 

I'm just not a big Ford Fan. Never really liked them at all. Their trucks are great work trucks, but I just am not a Ford fan, that's all really. And believe me I've owned a couple before. In fact I'm thinking about getting an Escort for a beater, but I really just am not a Ford fan, I've just gotten too many Ford Lemons in my life. The escort I'm hoping to get has been in my family since new though and I know it's been well cared for.
I really just had too many problems with them.



Am I not allowed to dis-like Fords?

 

Dis-like anything you want, I was just curious..

Have you owned any ranger based vehicles (ranger, Explorer, Bronco II)? Me and my father have owned many. They're a fantastic platform and tough as nails. The 2.3 will run forever, my dads got a 2wd 2.3 ranger, over 200K on it when he got it, I drove it for 8 months when I got my license and wasn't nice to it, we've put over 80K on it. He's figured maintenance (besides oil) has cost him $1 every 500 miles.
My explorer I had had 220K on the 4.0 and still ran great, the 4.0 in my B2 has 190K on it, runs great. The 2.9 that was in it ran great and wouldn't die, it had 240K on it. I put the last 20K on it without changing the oil, just added (Mobil 1) and still had 60PSI warm oil pressure when I pulled it and it still ran great. The M5OD 5 speed is also very tough. They use real wheel bearings, no unit bearing junk, (Jeep, I'm looking at you). Granted there's a lot of fords I don't like, but the RBV platform is great.

My dislikes about the XJ is the Unibody. The exhaust manifold on every single 4.0 is cracked in the same spot, all of my friend's have done it and every single one I look at in the junkyard has done it as well. The door hinges crack the body and fall right off, it was kind of comical when my friend's XJ did it a couple months ago, reminded me of the movie "Tommy Boy". The D35 rear axle is junk, don't spend a dime on it. The 95-99 front D30s are decent but use unit bearings, no unlocking hubs and the gears like to exploded in the deeper ratios (4.56, 4.88). Working on anything on the front of the 4.0 is a nightmare. The interior isn't as nice (or roomy) and as Explorer IMO. The rear T-case slip-yoke sucks, ect. I will say the automatic tranny in my buddy's XJ has been tough as nails though.

 

A lot of people dislike Ford which is kinda wierd seeing they are the only American company doing anything correctly right now. My father has only owned 3 vehicles in his life. All 3 were F-150s. (Sorry 4, he had a Pinto in Highschool lol). His current truck is a 2004 F-150. He has 208k miles on it, with only regular maintence.

A friend at work has an 02 F-150 with 315k miles on it. Original motor and automatic trans. And he still tows a snowmobile trailer w/ 4 sleds on it back and forth to Vermont all winter.

My family has always had Ford's which is probably the reason I'm bias towards them, but they are the only U.S. automaker not screwing everything up. Consumer Reports just reported that 48 out of the 52 vehicles they make (including Lincoln and Mercury) were above average or great in reliability for 2010. Chevy had 26 out of 48 I believe and Dodge had 1... Yes 1 out of I don't remember but its like 36 or something. Only one was above average in reliability. They need to get there stuff straightened out...



But I guess all that has nothing to do with the topic at hand. So I would say if you're looking for a DD and off roader, get a Jeep Cherokee or Explorar. I don't know much about the Cherokees but from what Hahns says, they can be a pain. That would lead me towards an explorar. My grandfather had one and always liked it. He always thought it was awesome in the snow. Never had any major problems with it either. So i guess, although I like the Cherokees a lot, I would probably go with the Explorar based on Hahn's reaction. But thats just me.

 

out of every vehicle that my family has owned in the last 10 years...acuras, mercedes, lexus, bmw, porsche, dodge, jeep, ford, land rovers etc etc etc

the best quality car was the lexus, hands down
180k km on it, nothing was done to it except for oil changes, brakes, tires and plugs...which is all required anyway

the next would probably be the dodge grand caravan, 250k km, it did require a new transmission put ive put that thing though ****, taken it off roading, etc etc its a solid ride

the worst was the land rover and mercedes, was in the shop every other week and parts are expensive as ****

 

Yeah I've head Land Rover is pretty bad about the reliability.