Lol pukegoat. I know a guy who has one....I want to take it apart just for fun after it pukes out its guts on the highway one day.

 

I am definitely convinced at this point that saying one is "better" than the other isn't the way to go. It depends on what your needs are, right? That said, I came into this discussion without any love for Jeeps and now I'm thinking..... hmmmmmm... maybe a dedicated trail rig in my future...? I mean, ****, $5000 for a built up truck to go stomping around in is just crazy!! My X cost $23,000 used and still I've put almost a grand into her at this point.

Don't get me wrong, I still love my X and plan on keeping her, but if there is a next rig...... well, I'll do a little more research and let you know....





Keep on wheeling! And don't forget to pack out what you packed in so we can all continue to enjoy our parks.

 

For $5K you can have a really nice rig if you do the work yourself.

My XJ Beast (mild compared to many on this site!) serves as my DD. Not because I have to, but because it is so much fun to drive.

I paid $600 for it in non-running form. One trip to the JY and $40 had her running fine again. Spent another $600 on lift and tires- some more upgrades after that and I am at a little more than $2K and have an XJ that will go just about anywhere I care to. Once I add a couple of lockers I am pretty sure it will go more places than I will let it!

I also have an '09 Jeep, but when I look at the monthly payment I just can't thrash it off-road like I can my XJ- so the new one is a mall crawler my wife drives. :-)

Fun discussion. I have two friends with Xs and they both love them, but has gone to the trails with me.

 

Tell those bums to get out there with you! Trucks belong in the dirt. I live in LA and can't tell you how many Humvees and things (real, honest to goodness off roading vehicles) that have blinged out 26" rims and low profile tires on them. They are so shiny and you just know the owner has never even put them in 4WD mode. It's like getting a big, burly pitbull and sticking a big pink bow around its neck. Embarrassing.

 

No it's Iron

 

New vs. new is one thing, but I'd like to see Motor Trend Mag. find these SUV's w/ 200,000 miles on them & THEN do their tests.I'm no expert and have never claimed to be. I've worked in the used car business for about 23 years mostly doing recon & paint work, but I am fairly good at mechanical work also.Nissan's and any Import for that matter aren't cheap to fix.Ever had to replace a knock censor on a v-6 Nissan?

Yeah the x's are nice to look at,but so isn't my XJ covered in mud
In my opinion,seeing what I've seen in the used car field,the XJ is better as far as price,mantainence,& aftermarket support. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't own one.

 

my 2001 xj has 196,000+ on it all stock components. my buddy called cause his 98 f 250 was in the ditch.this is my first jeep so i told him id try but didnt know if my poor lil truck had the weight to pull him.....booooy was i surprised. i had him all the way out to the road(2' of snow and 36 feet later) and i caught a dry patch and finally detonated my 231 j tcase...upon tearing it open...all i did was break the chain and obiliterate my front yoke bushing. going to pick up a new tcase($250) and put this one on the bench for some heavy duty improvements...so next time she goes..it will be as bulletproof as my tireless 4.0. i worked in auctions for a few years and drove some x's to auto shows and dealers lots and they are quite roomy comfortable and excellent in rain and snow...but for the cost of a similar hiccup in the x i could put an new tcase and rebuild the old one in my xj. so depending on what ya need and your budgeting options the xj can be altered to fit any almost any need for pennies on the dollar. but the x is truly a luxury suv with a luxury tag, so to each his own..but ill stick with the brand thats proven itself on every corner of this planet.

 

The Land Rover Discovery is junk. It's easy to break things on them, and they are very expensive to fix. My mechanic says stay away from Land Rovers.

 

Well, I wasn't going to mention anything about the Land Rover but since you started it...........

I have known a few people that owned them and the problems are endless and quite possibly the most expensive in the entire industry. I guess they are a good 4x4 but cost of repairs should enter the equation when talking about how good something is,and that pretty much eliminates the Discovery.

That's the icing on the cake for the Cherokee. I'm a simple guy and I like to look at things in a simple way. If the goal is an awesome 4x4 that can handle abuse, is cheap to buy, can haul a few people, get some groceries, look cool on the street, cheap to upgrade, and cheap to repair, the Cherokee is at the top of the list. At least this is my opinion.....but I'm still green on the whole 4x4 thing.

Mike

 

This has been a great thread to watch, and being an owner of a '93 XJ (stock except for a JCR front bumper) and a bone stock '05 Xterra, I can say that they both have their merits.

I paid $500 for my XJ (and $505 for the bumper!) and have put on 20,000 miles without any costs other than maintenance. It is strong, cheap, dependable and fun, and as far as bang for the buck, it is unmatched by anything I see out there. I bought the bumper to protect against deer hits (common out here), but the occasional scratch or ding does not bother me too much.

The Xterra was $16,000, bought used last year, and has had a lot of miles put on it without issue. I bought it because of the bulletproof VQ 4.0 liter engine, years of trust, history and respect for Nissan products, and it looked to be well built and rugged while being semi-civilized (it is my family truckster, after all.) I will put a Schrockworks bumper on it as soon as I can afford to (and wait the requisite 8-10 weeks for it to arrive.)

I split my driving time equally between the two, and while I don't *really* wheel either machine, in their stock form BOTH vehicles out perform any standard and most modified rigs out there. (Just ask the jacked-up Toyota Tacoma driver I pulled out of the ditch in 24" of snow 2 weeks ago - no slam against Tacomas intended.) The Jeep is my "beater", and the Xterra is the trailer tower and family rig, but both machines get washed, vacuumed and loved regularly.

Bottom line: in 10 years, the Xterra will be dirt cheap, easy to find, reliable, tough as nails and easily modified, much like our beloved XJs are now, IFS notwithstanding. Plus, in both machines, I get the occasional "Cherokee wave" or "Xterra wave" from fellow owners who know what great rigs both trucks are.

Great thread, and I'm glad to see that everyone keeps it fun and spirited - both communities are excellent sources of info and fun to boot!

 

And the final word from the man who knows most about the subject. Great way to end the thread for us, NeosXJ. Bravo!

 

Funny this thread came up as I was debating between an XJ and an Xterra. I personally liked the interior of the X much better, seats were nicer, layout of controls were nice, and finish looked good. I decided to stick with the XJ because I didn't know too much about the reliability of the X and have owned about 6 jeeps(XJs, TJs, YJ, CJ) and knew most of the issues that came with them. Still I wouldn't mind taking an X off road to see how it does!

The price was another factor of course, I would have needed to spend more for the newer X and got a deal on my XJ so that clinched it for me.

 

There ya go!
Its the old version of topgear... but a nice review.

 

so to stir up an old thread. I have owned a 06 X and currently own a 90 XJ. first off I haven't gone through this whole thread to read everything so some of this may be redundant. Milage is the same my 90 gets the same gas milage as the Xterra did. that is 16 years of no improvement, I thought Japanese vehicles were supposed to get better gas milage. Interior well I like the 1990 XJ better. if you Xterra owners ever looked in the cargo area you would realize where that storage space on the right came from it wasn't a new idea. Warranty I dont have one and Nissan is worthless on theirs. Paint my Xterra was covered in rust through the paint spots and Nissan would not warranty it though the coverage is 10 year and unlimited milage on the Jeep who cares. the rear end of the X is i think worse than a D35 and your lift options are limited and pricy. I had to get rear ended to get an after market rear bumper for my X however after the dealer noticed it they almost didn't want to do warranty work on it. from what I saw at 36K miles the thing wouldn't have made it to 150K without major work. it is marketed for off road but nothing on the belly of an X can withstand a hit the skid plates are crap and the "reenforced" oil pan i dented when it dragged across a log. 9" of ground clearance i though was good but that is at the bottom of my diffs running on 26" tires. as for those street users yes it is fast but to make it ride good you have to remove the rear sway bar. to me it was not worth it.

 

I'll tag along, I have owned many 4x4's, my 1st was an 85' Toyota truck, cheapo roll up window, no power steering base model that gave me 250,000 miles with a ton of mods, lift, gears, locker and eventually power steering. 2nd was a Suzuki Samurai, gears, locker's, lift and so on. I was looking for an 84' or 85' 4Runner but the cost of one and the almost unability to find one in a stock configuration sent me in the direction of the Cherokee, solid axle, I6 power, and ease of DIY mods sold me. I am very happy with my XJ, it has become my DD and for less than 3K, I think I have done quite well, the availabilty of used parts is abundant, many parts are available in my local area and it is extremely easy to work on! My friend has a Range Rover D90, that I have nearly rebuilt do to rust issue's, and he can't believe what I have done to my XJ in in less than 2 month's of ownership. I do like the Xterra as well as the Toyota FJ Cruiser, but for something I intend to hit the trails with and not worry about the occasional ding or scrape, the XJ was the perfect choice for me.