Need advice on a reliable 4x4 DD for the wife

[sixstringsteve]

thanks Nick, that looks like a great option, I'll have to swing by and check it out. I secretly lust for a '97 450 with the solid front axle, then i could throw a little lift on, 35s, and have a great weekend expo rig too.

 

[Panos]

here is a web site you will really like if you choose a 80 or 100 series. It is expensive though. Or any even better option would be to cal Kurt and just talk to him about some options for these. But please dont buy a jeep over a cruiser.

 

[sixstringsteve]

now that I know OME makes a lift for the IFS Lexus LX470, I'm definitely learning that way.

 

[Panos]

I would, Great engine. smooth ride. really nice trail rig, perfect for expedition or camping. to bad you dont have your 1st gen, these could tow it for you.

 

[Max Power]

Why do all of these have so many miles and where are they driving them? You have to love the Cruisers.

 

[Thardy]

IMHO I would stick with the YOTA! You've had good experiences with them you know you can trust them. My wife is still driving the '96 that I bought in '01 with 50,000 miles on it. It now has 245,000 and the only things we have done to it are brakes, rotors, shocks, and battery. The shocks had 190,000 miles on them. Pretty reliable if you ask me.

 

[mierdota]

i have had both yotas and jeeps and i have liked them both i have seen some pretty good deals on some 4 runners that are loaded. If it were me i would go with a wj i think they look sweet and they ride good i just dont love the 4.7 v8 that are in them. You wouldnt go wrong either way though i think you will be happy with a zj, xj, wj, or a yota.

 

[LT.]

My opinion is that you should not settle on anyone vehicle until you drive an assortment of what is available. When I started looking for another tow rig to replace my 06 CTD I test drove a 2010 Ford F-450 King Ranch. No, I really did not want to pay the $65,000 sticker but, I thought that it may have some insight into what I may want out of the next tow rig. Things like a back up camera, sensors in the bumpers, and the like. My new tow rig has all these things plus. Make a day out of it an just go to some car lots and check out what other companies have to offer. It may give y'all some ideas of what you really want out of the next daily driver.

LT.

 

[sixstringsteve]

good idea LT, I've never done that before, but that's a great suggestions. I may just have to do that.

 

[Bart]

My daughter really likes her Yukon Denali and it is very comfortable. I also like the Jeep WJ.

 

[iamsparticus]

Personally steve i'ved worked on alot of cars, and owned alot and if i was getting a reliable DD for my wife, that got in alot of accidents too, Id go for a Subaru.
They have one of the highest re-sale values for a good reason. They have amazing crash ratings, great gas milage, powerful 4 or 6 engines, handles nice and the AWD is the best in the biz. Plus they last forever, my friend has one with 325,000 miles with no major maintance.
They are comfortable and handle nice. When it comes to snow my Moms outback does better than my 4runner, it just plows through stuff. Hers has had no problems and it is a 2000.
Im not saying a 4runner or FZJ 80 are bad choices but gas milage in a 4runner, FZJ 80, WJ,ZJ, or XJ are going to suck.
I drive a Mazda 3 for a DD driver to work, its my wifes car, and going from the 22mpgs i was getting in my 4runner to 33mpgs was very nice saved me tons on gas. It has never left me stuck or stranded yet

just my 2 cents

 

[Marsh99]

Ask your wife what she wants

 

[Houndoc]

I have really enjoyed my Montero Sport. I have 2" lift and 33s.

With 160k+ miles, I have had very little trouble. Starter went bad and we have some sort of vacuum leak or something that causes the check engine light to be on (but told no risk to the engine) that my mechanic has not been able to track down. Other than that, nothing but regular maintaince.

With the lift and oversize tires I get 16-17 mpg freeway (don't do enough around town to have an idea of mileage as my commute is 40 miles highway, 2 city streets each way.)

I find it far more comfortable than the XJ I had before it. XJ (was stock) got a little better mileage than I do now. However, once kids come into the picture you will find car seats take up lots of room and the wider back seat of the Montero Sport was one of the reasons I sold the XJ.

Before the XJ I had a Durrango. Sold it before getting very high mileage, so no real comment on reliablity and its mileage is similar to a little lower than the Montero Sport. However, really liked the way it drove and rode.

Liked it enough I would not mind at all getting another one.

 

[Houndoc]

Looking over the other posts, I will add in that if you will not be wheeling with it, the Subaru is a good choice. I've owned several of the years and like all of them.

Seems like the FZJ option will kill you on gas costs, but if you do want something to wheel it, they would be a good choice. But again, for trail rig that is not going to be hard core rock crawler, than I'll go back to the Montero Sport option. Stock ran Kane Creek when I first got it, and with the lift and 32s Poison Spider. Sadly, no time yet to test it with the 33s.

 

[iamsparticus]

Ask your wife what she wants

Now theres a smart man

 

[sixstringsteve]

Ask your wife what she wants

Don't worry, she has a say in this, but she will pick a car entirely on looks; something I'm not ok with.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I've heard the 100 series landcruisers get 17-22 mpg, so I'm not too worried about MPG on those.

 

[Rot Box]

Ask your wife what she wants

This x10! ^

I love Toyota's but I would never want to daily drive an 80 or 100 series on my budget.

I thought is was a stupid choice at first but I let my wife make the call. She picked a 98 Honda CRV and up till now we couldn't be happier with it. It cost us around $4 grand when we bought it and she has drove the wheels off of it with no issues whatsoever. Its easy to work on and the AWD works great in the snow plus it gets great mileage for an SUV anyway... Not trying to sell you on a CRV but often times women are just happy with practical and Honda's are quite practical when it comes to cost and reliability.

 

[iamsparticus]

This x10! ^

I love Toyota's but I would never want to daily drive an 80 or 100 series on my budget.

I thought is was a stupid choice at first but I let my wife make the call. She picked a 98 Honda CRV and up till now we couldn't be happier with it. It cost us around $4 grand when we bought it and she has drove the wheels off of it with no issues whatsoever. Its easy to work on and the AWD works great in the snow plus it gets great mileage for an SUV anyway... Not trying to sell you on a CRV but often times women are just happy with practical and Honda's are quite practical when it comes to cost and reliability.

X2 on this steve when we got our mazda i was worried about the same thing because my wife picks things based on how shiny they are no joke, but i just found out what she wanted and picked the ones i thought would be the best and she did the rest never had a problem yet and she is happy

 

[Greg]

I've heard the 100 series landcruisers get 17-22 mpg, so I'm not too worried about MPG on those.

That's very optimistic, my wife's daily driver is a '03 4Runner with the same 4.7l V8 that's in the 100 Series Land Cruiser and it averages 16-17 MPG. I don't see how a much larger and heavier 100 Series will get better mileage.