[jewel]

Originally Posted by lujabe

Hi Jewel,

I find mine an excellent vehicle, great as a tourer and daily driver, and capable enough to be fun off road. It's not a Wrangler but if you plan your lines you'll be surprised where it'll go. It grips like the proverbial, and if there's any traction to be had, it'll find it. I think it's all-round capability would be genuinely hard to beat, particularly in its price/class.

The only caution I'd issue as a tourer is that they aren't a large vehicle. My partner and I did a Central Australia camping trip in it and it was back seats down and packed to the roof. If you carry a lot of gear or have kids, you'd need to be looking at options like roof racks or towing something.

As for problems - I've had a few minor issues - leaking shock absorber, squeak from driveshaft area (which they haven't yet pinpointed), and a couple of trim issues, and in several cases getting these resolved seemed more painful and frustrating than necessary due to slow parts supply and questionable dealer competence - but as you have a Jeep already I'm probably not telling you anything new.

The 9-speed transmission cops a bit of criticism, and to be honest they probably still haven't got the calibration quite right. Shifts between 1-2-3 arent as smooth as they could be and it can at times be a bit hesitant to change down - but once on the move in the higher gears (3-9), shifts are barely detectable. I wouldn't call it a bad transmission, but I wish they could sort out the lower gear shift quality. That said, yours will be newer than mine so maybe they've improved over time.

So overall, it's proven to be a capable, comfortable, reliable and enjoyable vehicle. The tranny could be a little better sorted and the ownership experience hasn't been painless, but if it were written off tomorrow I'd most likely buy another one. I'd have a look at the Discovery Sport first but with no locking diff, no low range and low profile tyres I'm not sure the Land Rover would have gone the places I've taken the Trailhawk quite as happily.

Also, if you do go ahead, have a think about how you'll use it. The stock tyres are highway tyres, and a lot of people who 'use' these things end up upgrading to more rugged tyres. So might be worth trying to cut a deal that includes upgraded tyres if you think you'll want them.

Thanks Lujube your insights have been very helpful, I think CJD are trying to regain lost market share after poor market perception and critics like John Cadogan, self proclaimed Auto Expert.