FJ Cruiser vs Pajero vs Wrangler vs Xterra - which one is better for my use?

[Ilya]

19 minutes ago, samamara said:

maybe like how far can you go on a tank maybe

I think its about 500 km on stock wheels and less on large ones (nor sure, but nothing tells me that Jeeps are good in efficiency)

Regarding the noice - no issues at all (at all) - on stock, BFG315/70/17 and Coopes XLT305/70/17 tires. Its much better than e.g. lux cabrios like BMW Z4 or so. I assume all bad stories comes from the older, hardly modified jeeps

[samamara]

3 minutes ago, Ilya said:

I think its about 500 km on stock wheels and less on large ones (nor sure, but nothing tells me that Jeeps are good in efficiency)

Regarding the noice - no issues at all (at all) - on stock, BFG315/70/17 and Coopes XLT305/70/17 tires. Its much better than e.g. lux cabrios like BMW Z4 or so. I assume all bad stories comes from the older, hardly modified jeeps

Thanks for that @Ilya - the cabin noise is one of the biggest worries I have! Speaking of the wheels, do you feel the stock wheels are good enough for desert driving, or is an upgrade necessary do you think?

[Hisham Masaad]

5 hours ago, samamara said:

Hi @Frederic and all - I'm jumping in on this thread because I have recently started thinking about upgrading my vehicle, not because I want to do anything extreme exactly but because I'd like to go deeper into the desert to support my hobbies of camping and photography ❤️. I have a 2011 3.5 5-door Pajero right now, which I love, but I feel that I want to change it up - not just for off-roading though, which is why it's a bit tricky to make a decision. 

My heart was originally set on getting a Wrangler, though a few have advised me against this for several reasons, such as inflated price, not being great on-road in terms of fuel efficiency and comfort, noise in the cabin while driving on the highway (this I find one of the most unsettling...don't want to have to shout a conversation to my passengers 😂💔), weak ACs and a few other issues. There were the obvious pros to weigh against these cons, but the cons are still important considerations. 

I'm wondering if any experienced Wrangler drivers can weigh in on any of these issues? I know you all love your Wranglers but please try to be objective 😂🙏🏼!

Two of the people who advised me not to go for the Wrangler instead suggested that I go for another Pajero, but a 3.8 (both said I could still with the 5-door though they'd advise a 3-door for the weight in the sand). Their arguments were that I could get it for less, invest some of that saved money into some mods and upgrades, that it would then be pretty much unstoppable in the desert and that it would still be a great on-road vehicle. In fact, the only con they both had (in separate conversations so they weren't tag-teaming me 😂) was the limited modification options compared to a Wrangler. @Fredericthe reason I quoted your list here is because I see you've also put the Pajero 3.8 ahead of a Wrangler and I'd like to ask you why. 

And while I'm here, I don't necessarily love the look of the FJ Cruiser but have been advised that it's amazing both off-road and on-road. Just a question or two: how many doors does it have...just two, or like two and a half or what? Do the back windows roll down? Is it roomy and comfortable for passengers, front and back? Those are silly questions, maybe, but all the off-road type questions seem answered by "Yes, it's amazing" 😂. 

Thanks all!

Fj

5 hours ago, samamara said:

Thank you @Fredericfor that...I appreciate it! I'm glad to hear that you would go for a Rubicon if you had the budget; I'm still really hoping for a Wrangler but if it's not going to be comfortable as an on-road car as well, I would really have to think long and hard about it. I will be keeping my beloved Pajero as a family car anyway, but I'd still want to use the Wrangler full-time for myself. Someone said to me if it's only going to be for the desert that's great...but I don't want to spend so much money on a car I'll only use in the desert first of all and, as you know, I live in RAK so sometimes I drive hours to get to the desert I want to be in 😂🤷🏻‍♀️! 

That said, I'm glad to hear too that you are a big fan of the Pajero 3.8. I do love the Pajero I have, though there's a small part of me that says if I'm going to change my car I should chaaaaange it and not get another Pajero 😂. I do like the idea of an inexpensive fix and being able to save money to do a few modifications. Sigh...it's a hard decision to make, to get a new (to-me) car. 

I knew about the suicide back doors in the FJ cruiser but I thought only one of them opens...or is it both? Yes, that's kind of the issue; I don't think the people that come with me on offroading/photography trips will be super comfortable in what seems like a tiny back.

Don't throw a Prado in the mix - I can barely choose as it is with the options I've thought about 😂💔!

Fj

56 minutes ago, samamara said:

@Gaurav - thanks for that! I hadn't really thought of that, actually 🤔. I'll look into it as an option but as I hinted in a response to @FredericI'm not sure I'll ever make a decision if I add more to the possible mix. Any Xterra owners out there can weigh in with pros and cons (though I don't love the idea of a permanent squeak!). 

Fj

[Ilya]

22 minutes ago, samamara said:

Speaking of the wheels, do you feel the stock wheels are good enough for desert driving, or is an upgrade necessary do you think?

I see two advantages of the large wheels:
1) It's nearly a "guaranty" that you won't have pop-outs, at all. There are some very extreme cases (like my only one 🤭), but normally you won't have any. With stock tires Wrangles still better than other cars in terms of pop-outs, but I've seen many pop-outs with Carnity on Sport/Sahara 32s and even Rubicon's 33s
I won't touch the pandora box of the ability to climb higher on the dunes, but would just highlight the pop-outs

2) The look

[samamara]

19 minutes ago, Ilya said:

I see two advantages of the large wheels:
1) It's nearly a "guaranty" that you won't have pop-outs, at all. There are some very extreme cases (like my only one 🤭), but normally you won't have any. With stock tires Wrangles still better than other cars in terms of pop-outs, but I've seen many pop-outs with Carnity on Sport/Sahara 32s and even Rubicon's 33s
I won't touch the pandora box of the ability to climb higher on the dunes, but would just highlight the pop-outs

2) The look

Thanks @Ilya 🙏🏼

[Gaurav]

17 minutes ago, Ilya said:

I see two advantages of the large wheels:
1) It's nearly a "guaranty" that you won't have pop-outs, at all. There are some very extreme cases (like my only one 🤭), but normally you won't have any. With stock tires Wrangles still better than other cars in terms of pop-outs, but I've seen many pop-outs with Carnity on Sport/Sahara 32s and even Rubicon's 33s

Pop out has mostly everything to do with drive style first.

Second HT vs AT tires

Third over deflation or leaking valve.

Never heard that upgrade size from 30 -33 can prevent pop-out

[samamara]

31 minutes ago, Hisham Masaad said:

Fj

Fj

Fj

Thanks @Hisham Masaad 😂🙏🏼. Unfortunately the fact that the back windows don't go down is going to be a deal-breaker for me 💔. 

[Gaurav]

3 minutes ago, samamara said:

Thanks @Hisham Masaad 😂🙏🏼. Unfortunately the fact that the back windows don't go down is going to be a deal-breaker for me 💔. 

So if FJ is out.

Let's kick more cars out to make your choice easy:

• Pajero - you already have one.
• Xterra - squeaking.
• Wrangler - expensive and some models aren't reliable (Keeping my Jeep friends happy by adding "some").

[samamara]

Just now, Gaurav said:

So if FJ is out.

Let's kick more cars out to make your choice easy:

• Pajero - you already have one.
• Xterra - squeaking.
• Wrangler - expensive and some models aren't reliable (Keeping my Jeep friends happy by adding "some").

That takes them all out 😂💔. I'm worried about the "some" models not being reliable for Jeep. Sigh!

[Gaurav]

Ultimate choice is yours, but if I'm in a similar situation, I will live with a squeak.

Btw, squeak can be handled to certain extent by regular steam washing @M.Seidam, adding rubber @Foxtrot Oscar, or spacer etc.