Grand Cherokee or Explorer (2005-08)

[Mark B]

Hey everyone,
Im looking to get my wife a midsize SUV to replace her car. AWD/4WD is a must. Need to keep the asking price below 10k. After doing a couple of quick searches, my options seem to be an Explorer or Jeep Grand Cherokee. Does anyone have expirence with both of these? What are your thoughts?

Any other options I am missing?

Thanks,
Mark B

[1320B4U]

You concerned w/gas mileage or towing capacity? I'd look into a smaller suv if not. I'm a gm man but we leased 2 fords (mountaineer and mariner) and they were the best vehicles we've ever had...since they don't make mercurys anymore a ford escape is the next best bet. Explorers tend to be a better buy w/lower mileage from what i've seen compared to the grand cherokees.

[Mark B]

Gas mileage and towing are not really issues. She wont drive much & we have my truck for towing the boat. I tried to get her interested in the escape, but she wasnt a fan.

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

06 Explorer is the first year of the 5 spd auto vs. 4 spd IIRC.

I've had my 06 4.0 XLT 4x4 since fall of 06 (Got it with 16k miles) and am now at 120k. I've had zero issues outside of half my speedo lights dying. I have a gas mileage spreadsheet since the day we got it, and in the past 104k miles, I've averaged 17.5 mpg. Keep in mind that I live on a mountain, and rarely see straight, 65 mph highway uninterrupted by traffic. I've had a CAI on it since 75k miles and saw a slight bump in mpg (as well as a cool intake whistle!). It's towed several smaller trailers, and has been stuffed to the gills for a camping trip while towing the jet ski in 98 degree heat for 5 hours straight through the hills of upstate NY with no issue this past summer. It's a nice balance between useable space versus overall size of the vehicle, and the plus side is that the 3rd row seats only 2, but 2 real adults can fit comfortably back there.

Other factors affecting mileage are the fact that I run 18" wheels on a 255/55/18 tire for most of the year (March/April-November), vs the stock 16" wheel on a 235/75/16. My best tank was 23 mpg straight highway at 65 mph with no traffic, with frequent forays in the 20-21 range in light-moderate traffic with a high highway concentration. On a regular basis now, I get between 17-20 mixed commuting on Rt 80/280 in fairly heavy traffic (plus my drive from the boonies to the highway).



If you have any other specific questions let me know.

[Featherburner]

Originally Posted by Anti_Rice_Guy

06 Explorer is the first year of the 5 spd auto vs. 4 spd IIRC.

My wife's 2000 had a 5 speed auto.

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Originally Posted by Featherburner

My wife's 2000 had a 5 speed auto.

First year 5 spd standard for V6s is what I meant, sorry about that. I believe it was just an option in that body style.

[Squirrel]

my dad had an 08 explorer with the 4.6 in the dark blue pearl, sharp looking truck, got out of its way pretty well, but other than that, the thing rode meh (not as bad as his 4 runner before though, that was brutal), and with the all terrains and low ground clearance, the thing was garbage in the sand... his 11 GC is a ****ing rockstar though, i love that truck

[maroman88]

JEEP all day, these newer explorers are just terrible (esp from and enthusiast point of view!) my aunt had an 02 explorer, low ground clearance and just very blah, my pd has an 03 with 20k miles and all around just slugish, rough ride. my other depts just blew up with under 80k miles on it, neither are used for routine patrol either.

as far as jeeps... HEMI i dont have that much experience in the year/body style u mention, but the 99-04's are fantastic even with high mileage

[OG]

x2 on the hemi. love my 5.7

ain't gonna find many 2005-2010 hemi's, if any, under 10k tho

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

It's for his wife for basic transportation, so the enthusiast statement is irrelevant in this case.

Forgot to mention that my Exploder is impossible to crash in bad weather because of Stabilitrak. That is, short of steering for a tree

[BullittSVT]

Grand Cherokees are great if they're ZJ's or WK's.. skip the WJ's, they have no soul. I love my ZJ and so does everyone else that owns them that I know of.. the WJ owners I know hate it and it looks cheap and boring inside and out. Explorers look decent after 02 and again use proven motors and don't stray away from familiar parts. GC's have my heart though for SUV's, they're solid and can be whatever you want them to be. Not to mention 4WD capabilities. Stay away from Chrysler 4.7's, Go big or go 4.0

[sweetbmxrider]

For the years you are looking at, I'd go Ford every time. I have a jeep but its from when they were good.

Originally Posted by Mark B

Gas mileage and towing are not really issues. She wont drive much & we have my truck for towing the boat.

Originally Posted by Anti_Rice_Guy

I have a gas mileage spreadsheet since the day we got it, and in the past 104k miles, I've averaged 17.5 mpg. It's towed several smaller trailers, and has been stuffed to the gills for a camping trip while towing the jet ski in 98 degree heat for 5 hours straight through the hills of upstate NY with no issue this past summer.

Other factors affecting mileage are the fact that I run 18" wheels on a 255/55/18 tire for most of the year (March/April-November), vs the stock 16" wheel on a 235/75/16. My best tank was 23 mpg straight highway at 65 mph with no traffic, with frequent forays in the 20-21 range in light-moderate traffic with a high highway concentration. On a regular basis now, I get between 17-20 mixed commuting on Rt 80/280 in fairly heavy traffic (plus my drive from the boonies to the highway).

Nice job, Nick. Stick to numbers

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

I'm a finance guy, I need numbers. I thought about doing some trending and pretty graphs. Illustrates that nothing has changed over the years, and it's not as bad on gas as one might think (while not a consideration, it's still a plus!).

[Slow-V6]

I have a 12 Jeep Liberty and I hate it.. Its the most uncomfortable pos I have ever had. It gets avg 15 mpg. It my company car so I put up with it but I can tell you that I will never own a Jeep after this exsperience..

[Z28 Heritage]

If you want a nice truck that's GM look at the 05 to newer Trailblazer's. The older ones get piss poor MPG and loaded with problems. This is my fathers 03 Trailblazer its a pile of junk but looks great.

[NastyEllEssWon]

another option would be checking out the mercury equivalent of the explorer, the mountaineer. A buddy of mine picked up one pretty cheap and it was pretty nice...it was cheaper than explorers too and it was AWD as well

[Z28 Heritage]

Originally Posted by NastyEllEssWon

another option would be checking out the mercury equivalent of the explorer, the mountaineer. A buddy of mine picked up one pretty cheap and it was pretty nice...it was cheaper than explorers too and it was AWD as well

I second this a buddy of mine has one with 200K miles on it still runs like a champ. Good looking truck if you hook it up right.

[Tru2Chevy]

Originally Posted by Slow-V6

I have a 12 Jeep Liberty and I hate it.. Its the most uncomfortable pos I have ever had. It gets avg 15 mpg. It my company car so I put up with it but I can tell you that I will never own a Jeep after this exsperience..

The 2nd gen KK Liberty shared a platform with the Dodge Nitro, and both vehicles have been discontinued. It was a crappy platform with an old, problematic engine. I am sure you are sick of it, but please don't let that POS keep you from considering something like the new Grand Cherokee if you are in the market for a vehicle of that nature.

[/Jeep Fanboy rant ]

- Justin

[jam01]

jeeps have been junk since the 70's and continue to be, the ford exploders had some problems and the escape i drove was a base model, it was slow and very uncomfortable it was also loud inside. i liked my 04 trailblazer but the gas mileage sucked. try visiting a few car lots that might have a few choices to test drive. good luck shopping

[sweetbmxrider]

Oh you just opened up a can o worms sir. What makes all those jeeps junk?

[LTb1ow]

Originally Posted by sweetbmxrider

Oh you just opened up a can o worms sir. What makes all those jeeps junk?

Their made by Dodge.

/thread

[Featherburner]

Originally Posted by LTb1ow

Their made by Dodge.

/thread

Who is made by Dodge?

[sweetbmxrider]

Originally Posted by Featherburner

Who is made by Dodge?

They're certainly not Did dodge ever make a Jeep?

[LTb1ow]

Originally Posted by sweetbmxrider

They're certainly not Did dodge ever make a Jeep?

Daimler-chrysler, sorry.

Either way. Unless its an old AMC/renault, its a lame dodge.

[Featherburner]

Originally Posted by LTb1ow

Daimler-chrysler, sorry.

Either way. Unless its an old AMC/renault, its a lame dodge.

Who?