JK 4dr V Defender 110

[WHHEMI]

WE are setting our jk crd up for touring and find it very sutable with camper trailer we have enough room for the 4 of us to go away for extended holidays so far we have arb winch bar, uhf, ipf lights, all terain tyres, and ome lift and it works very well for us i would sugest you drive both vehicles and see which one you prefer

[davidd]

one othe thing to consider if you want to take it away on extended outback country touring is the ease of maintenance. i.e can you drop into any town and have a mechanic or sparky easily diagnose and fix problems or is it necessary to be near a dealership with specialist knowledge or equipment. and also are parts readily available in au, to be quickly shipped to a country town if needed. at the end of the day this can be THE most important consideration if away from the city. one that overrides almost all other things. the greatest vehicle in the world is no use if you are stuck in the outback, broken down and no-one there jnows where to look to fix it and even if they do you are stuck for a week or two waiting for parts. seriously you will really wish you had bought a lesser vehicle that can be quickly repaired and get you on your way. i know, i've been there.

[davidd]

if you add those criteria to your vehicle selection you may find you will be looking at other vehicles as well as the landrover and jeep. you may well add toyota, nissan and holden to your list.

[gorillav]

Originally Posted by djsteve

Hi All,

This may seem a strange question to post of the jeep forum, however, I'm in the mist of purchasing another 4x4, and I;m considering a 4dr wrangler (diesel) or the newer defender.

My initial reasoning is fairly straight forward... both vehicles have a long reputation for being very capable as standard vehicles. the only mild mods i would be looking at are a front bar of some sort ot accommodate a winch, mud treads, side steps etc... no suspension work or anything.

Has anyone been through this same choice?? anyone had experience with both of them.

In the past I have had a couple of cherokees, with one being unstoppable through plenty of mods, and an 80 series set up for touring.

the wrangler on the surface looks to present great value for money. It would mainly be set up for touring and the diesel is a must.

like I said if anyone has driven/owned both, let me know your thoughts.
thanks
Dale

Hi djsteve,

For touring - I'd go a Landy - much more room, more reliable, tried and tested over the years = piece of mind. Plus, have a really good look at the readers' posts in the JK forums...many of us whilst we are totally in love with our Jeeps and wouldn't trade them in for the world - have lots of niggling issues with them as they are a new model. Me personally - had the truck since Sept 07 - been to the dealer 8 times for warranty issues alone. But I still love my Jeep.

I have no idea about Rover (service & parts) but as you can also read here - there are many problems with Jeep Dealers and their lacklustre efforts with handling issues and problems.

Goes back to your requirements - you want to go touring - you want/need something reliable...you don't want to have to be towed down the Strezlecki Track because you've broken down due to the failure of a $50 part that will take Jeep 2 weeks to get in from overseas. If I were you - go a Landy, Toyota or Nissan...(as I said, no idea about Landy's but lots of experience with Toyota's & Nissans - their parts and service are everywhere)

My 2c worth.

[J.B.]

There is a comparo out there somewhere between the Unlimited and the Defender....because I remember reading it. It was typically 'not committal' though...and in the end... they gave the JK the nod over the Landy'... but value for money was a big factor. I know it was probably the worst landrover model of the lot...but I drove a series 3 ..for six years..off and on...and they were junk. Everyone raved about the aluminium bodies on them...but if you wash your car after doing wading & fording...or hitting the beach...whats the big deal. I've had bad experiences..with Landrovers...and less so with Jeeps... so I can't give you an unbiased view. Try before you buy...but if you wan't real room...get a camper trailer...

[wranglertj]

Go the JK in my biased opinion as they are much better value for money and very capable offroad (as is the defender) and certainly no less reliable

[davidd]

just to throw a spanner in the works (this will get some response i'm sure). i was watching a current affairs programme on tv about 12 months back and it was all about faults in grand cherokees including fires under the dash board and a number of other nasty issues. they quoted figures (official) but i forget the source, which listed landrover and jeep as the two worst vehicles on the australian market, based on factory recalls and warranty claims lodged. interesting i thought.