Help chose! Do-it-all vs separate off roader (LR Discovery vs Volvo XC90)

[Gaurav]

Offroad advice:

• In UAE, there are majorly three level of offroad activities:
  1. Beach, little road side sand, gravel track - Any Car, SUV, even 2 Wheel Corolla is acceptable. Because its so busy place that if once in a blue corolla get stuck then 5 people can push the car out in no time.
  2. Desert - Drive through real desert dune - bash it or drive it - your choice - Needs a "PROPER" "SERIOUS" 4x4 with LO gearing and not an imposter or soft-roader, that will die on its first to second drive itself.
  3. Mountain: Normal SUV with good ground clearance can scale half of mountain trails here, but for steep inclines and big boulder negotiation you need proper 4x4 with LO gearing and lift kit.

Family advice:

• Most families get excited with offroad name but their enthusiasm decline after first few drives, mainly because in Type 2 and 3 level offroad (explain above) driver gets the thrill and adventure. Passengers doesnt enjoy that much but come to accompany the driver (moral support / love).
• I have tried this with my wife - she lasted 5 drives.
• I have tried this with my Parents - they lasted 2 drives.
• I have tried this with my 6 yo Son - he lasted 2 drives.

I am not saying that all families (spouse, parents and kids) are same but there is a high probability factor that they might not buy-in in your offroad weekend plan all the time.

Keeping above in mind, buy what you can enjoy and matters most to you as a driver, offroader, etc. If your family, joins in, that's a bonus for you.

So def don't buy offroader now. Test the water of offroad and family intake with this mid-range vehicle. And once you get better clarity on both front, go for a proper offroader (20-30K) and you will love that car - THE MOST.

[Shadab Khan]

39 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

Offroad advice:

• In UAE, there are majorly three level of offroad activities:
  1. Beach, little road side sand, gravel track - Any Car, SUV, even 2 Wheel Corolla is acceptable. Because its so busy place that if once in a blue corolla get stuck then 5 people can push the car out in no time.
  2. Desert - Drive through real desert dune - bash it or drive it - your choice - Needs a "PROPER" "SERIOUS" 4x4 with LO gearing and not an imposter or soft-roader, that will die on its first to second drive itself.
  3. Mountain: Normal SUV with good ground clearance can scale half of mountain trails here, but for steep inclines and big boulder negotiation you need proper 4x4 with LO gearing and lift kit.

Family advice:

• Most families get excited with offroad name but their enthusiasm decline after first few drives, mainly because in Type 2 and 3 level offroad (explain above) driver gets the thrill and adventure. Passengers doesnt enjoy that much but come to accompany the driver (moral support / love).
• I have tried this with my wife - she lasted 5 drives.
• I have tried this with my Parents - they lasted 2 drives.
• I have tried this with my 6 yo Son - he lasted 2 drives.

I am not saying that all families (spouse, parents and kids) are same but there is a high probability factor that they might not buy-in in your offroad weekend plan all the time.

Keeping above in mind, buy what you can enjoy and matters most to you as a driver, offroader, etc. If your family, joins in, that's a bonus for you.

So def don't buy offroader now. Test the water of offroad and family intake with this mid-range vehicle. And once you get better clarity on both front, go for a proper offroader (20-30K) and you will love that car - THE MOST.

Hi @Gaurav I love this response so much!   Thanks for sharing the personal experience of driving with your family.

So I will likely do all three types of activities as you wrote, but will not do desert as much as others: I mostly plan to drive around Wadi trails, and beaches, and few "gentle" desert drives (definitely not bashing, I don't have the heart for it!).

Actually, I have finalized a Jeep GC 2015 Summit (5.7L V8, 50400 km mileage) which has enough driver assist tech (adaptive cruise etc) to please me and the wife. The car still has an on-road bias, but has the muscles and the means (with a few changes) to do well off-road. Price is great, car is under short warranty (expiring end of next month), did 5/5 on mechanical/electrical inspection (only needs cleaning and minor paint work), has like new tires, good amount of brake pads left for 80k. So I am going for it 

As I am still unsure how serious off roading I might end up doing in reality, I think this is a good choice. If I get serious about off roading, I will make GC my main car, sell the Traverse, and get a proper off-roader (e.g. Wrangler) and go from there.

Thanks a lot for help everyone!  I will post an update as my purchase progresses.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Shadab Khan

[Gaurav]

Btw, I think someone mentioned here if you are going for Jeep Grand Cherokee go for that version that has two stock tow hook in front bumper.

[Shadab Khan]

This one doesn't, it'll cost me 1000 AED to get the tow hooks attached from what I found out online.

[Gaurav]

1 minute ago, Shadab Khan said:

This one doesn't, it'll cost me 1000 AED to get the tow hooks attached from what I found out online.

Nope, that's not what I meant to attach tow hook on a non-tow variant.

Instead buy the variant that has tow hook as that is reasonably offroad ready, in terms of ground clearance and all.

These non-tow hook variant are so low that on road side gravel you will damage the lower lip or the bumper skirting.

[Shadab Khan]

Oh! Makes sense. I will read some more about the differences (my source is jeepgarage.org).

[Chaitanya D]

1 hour ago, Gaurav said:

Offroad advice:

• In UAE, there are majorly three level of offroad activities:
  1. Beach, little road side sand, gravel track - Any Car, SUV, even 2 Wheel Corolla is acceptable. Because its so busy place that if once in a blue corolla get stuck then 5 people can push the car out in no time.
  2. Desert - Drive through real desert dune - bash it or drive it - your choice - Needs a "PROPER" "SERIOUS" 4x4 with LO gearing and not an imposter or soft-roader, that will die on its first to second drive itself.
  3. Mountain: Normal SUV with good ground clearance can scale half of mountain trails here, but for steep inclines and big boulder negotiation you need proper 4x4 with LO gearing and lift kit.

Family advice:

• Most families get excited with offroad name but their enthusiasm decline after first few drives, mainly because in Type 2 and 3 level offroad (explain above) driver gets the thrill and adventure. Passengers doesnt enjoy that much but come to accompany the driver (moral support / love).
• I have tried this with my wife - she lasted 5 drives.
• I have tried this with my Parents - they lasted 2 drives.
• I have tried this with my 6 yo Son - he lasted 2 drives.

I am not saying that all families (spouse, parents and kids) are same but there is a high probability factor that they might not buy-in in your offroad weekend plan all the time.

Keeping above in mind, buy what you can enjoy and matters most to you as a driver, offroader, etc. If your family, joins in, that's a bonus for you.

So def don't buy offroader now. Test the water of offroad and family intake with this mid-range vehicle. And once you get better clarity on both front, go for a proper offroader (20-30K) and you will love that car - THE MOST.

Hahaha... @Gaurav you are absolutely right with regards to family advise.

This is where @Wrangeld and @Jeepie are blessed to come to drives together and compliment/compete with each other.

@Shadab Khan good luck with your purchase.

[Srikumar]

21 minutes ago, Chaitanya D said:

Hahaha... @Gaurav you are absolutely right with regards to family advise.

This is where @Wrangeld and @Jeepie are blessed to come to drives together and compliment/compete with each other.

@Shadab Khan good luck with your purchase.

That's because they drive in turns. Maybe we should start doing it? 🤔

[sertac]

1 minute ago, Srikumar said:

That's because they drive in turns. Maybe we should start doing it? 🤔

I offered to let my wife the drive all day long but she hates it. Whenever i step in to the dune she is feeling like car is going to flip and we going to die in it. 

[Rahimdad]

29 minutes ago, Chaitanya D said:

Hahaha... @Gaurav you are absolutely right with regards to family advise.

This is where @Wrangeld and @Jeepie are blessed to come to drives together and compliment/compete with each other.

@Shadab Khan good luck with your purchase.

Dr @Chaitanya D with due respect @Wrangeld and @Jeepie do not compete with each other, they complete each other. Looking at them I now realise why we call each other the better half.