[landrumdh]

Ok to start this THESE ARE THE ONLY TWO OPTIONS
Well the time has come for my father to get a new company car. Off of the 'approved' list those are the only 2 that remote suit the needs that we have for it and interest from him (example the 300M which is a boat . . .).
I'm going to do some research and we'll go test drive them both, but which do ya'll preffer?
*Edit* Lets add some more information. My dad will have it for 3yrs / 70k at most (we put 70k on in 3yrs anyways). I won't lie 50k will be normal onroad useage. But we do camp, this will also be the family trip vechile (most likely my golf in as followup car with me and my bro if we go

). But we also do alot of 'home fixin' so being able to load in plywood / sheetrock . . is a MUST.
For the 'lux car' of the family we already have an RX300 which is my moms (She loves it and we couldn't change her mind

)


[Modified by landrumdh, 8:39 PM 9-30-2002]

 

[PJA]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (landrumdh)

I voted for the Chrysler 300M.

 

[GeoffD]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (landrumdh)

The Exploder has much more interior space. The Grand Cherokee is better off-road. Other'n that, they both share the same basic gripe list. Average, at best, reliability. Marginal power with stock engine. Cheesey interior. Poor handling.

 

[Bixmen]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (GeoffD)

add to that, the fact that everyone else in the world has these vehicles, and you'll be an unoriginal, boring tag along in an endless sea of boring yuppyness....
sorry, i hate both vehicles, and cannot on good concienceness recommend either.

 

[VWjet]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (landrumdh)

Ford Explorer - independent rear suspension, available 3rd row seat, DVD player option, 6-disc CD player, best turning radius of any SUV/truck that I know of, average power, good fuel economy, can tow a ton, rear windows go all the way down, the list goes on and on...
How GMC Envoy won Motor Trend SUV of the Year I'll never know!

 

[ChicagoVeeDubs]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (landrumdh)

hey now, the RX300 really isnt that bad..........but back to the topic i would go with the Explorer if thats all i could choose between.

 

[landrumdh]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (ChicagoVeeDubs)

the RX300 is my mom's car and it's not going anywhere. Yeah it's nice I just can't get into it, feels WAY to isolated from the road for my liking.
Thanks for the opinions so far! Yeah we are limited to the vechiles on the list, but then again whose going to complain about getting a FREE 30k car? I know we don't :-D

 

[Sporin]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (landrumdh)

The new Explorer is a very good SUV. It's unfortunate that it's launch basically coincided with the Firestone debacle.
If I wer sticking primarily to On-road and drit coads/camp roads, I'd go Explorer.
If you really wanted to get into some true Off-roading, then get the Jeep.

 

[Anton73]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (landrumdh)

....A Honda Pilot
....and yes, 4'x8's do fit

 

[mutcth]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (landrumdh)

quote:[HR][/HR]Off of the 'approved' list those are the only 2 that remote suit the needs that we have for it and interest from him (example the 300M which is a boat . . .)[HR][/HR]​

Drive the 300M. Really. It's big, but far from a boat. Is a Lincoln LS on that list - that would be my pick for a domestic company car. Then again, can't haul plywood with those - unless you just bought a roof rack.
Anywho, of the two choices, the Explorer is BY FAR the better choice for anything short of Rubicon running. Much more room, much more modern suspension, much more advanced safety features, and likely better reliability. For what it is, a new Explorer is a rather nice truck.
Tom


[Modified by mutcth, 8:42 AM 10-1-2002]

 

[Kyle C]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (landrumdh)

quote:[HR][/HR] THESE ARE THE ONLY TWO OPTIONS[HR][/HR]​

Hmm lets see, now that I learned how to read I guess I won't tell you to buy a Hummer since these are the only two options.
This is an easy one, do you want a 4WD minivan for driving the kids to soccer practice? (Exploder) or do you want a good tradeoff of on road driving and off road capability? (Jeep)

 

[1983GTI]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (Kyle C)

Jeep....absolutly. i have owned both. Explorer was very unreliable. Horrible gas mileage. Lousy build quality. The jeep is no prize in these areas either, but based on my experience of ownership..the jeep is superior.

 

[Tripp]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (1983GTI)

Jeep.
And this is coming from an Explorer owner.
I am not at all impressed with the 02 Exploder...when I was looking for another car, I test drove one for ****s and giggles and felt that overall, my '93 was as good, if not better.
IRS: The absolute worst thing you can put on a truck. Don't get me wrong--the independent suspension is a wonderful thing, but in a 4WD application, it severely limits its off road potential. If you want a nice riding car, get a Lincoln LS.
Rear Axle: It passes THROUGH the frame (to accommodate the 3rd row). Not a big deal until you take it off road and you get stuck because you have no wheel travel.
3rd Row Seat: I think this is one of those gee-whiz gimmicky things like the HUD on Corvettes. Unless you have a couple 6 year olds that you're going to stick back there, it's pretty useless. Adults sure as hell aren't going to want to be stuck there.
Build Quality: While the 02 was acceptable, the my 93 was just as good. IMHO, the 02, being a brand new truck, should have been lightyears ahead of a 9 year old SUV. I was expecting better.
That said, the Explorer has more cargo space (and airbags out the yinyang), but a GC will hold 4 golf bags just fine.

 

[caj1]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (Tripp)

quote:[HR][/HR]Jeep.
And this is coming from an Explorer owner.
I am not at all impressed with the 02 Exploder...when I was looking for another car, I test drove one for ****s and giggles and felt that overall, my '93 was as good, if not better.
IRS: The absolute worst thing you can put on a truck. Don't get me wrong--the independent suspension is a wonderful thing, but in a 4WD application, it severely limits its off road potential. If you want a nice riding car, get a Lincoln LS.
Rear Axle: It passes THROUGH the frame (to accommodate the 3rd row). Not a big deal until you take it off road and you get stuck because you have no wheel travel.
3rd Row Seat: I think this is one of those gee-whiz gimmicky things like the HUD on Corvettes. Unless you have a couple 6 year olds that you're going to stick back there, it's pretty useless. Adults sure as hell aren't going to want to be stuck there.
Build Quality: While the 02 was acceptable, the my 93 was just as good. IMHO, the 02, being a brand new truck, should have been lightyears ahead of a 9 year old SUV. I was expecting better.
That said, the Explorer has more cargo space (and airbags out the yinyang), but a GC will hold 4 golf bags just fine.

[HR][/HR]​

Adults fit just fine in the back of Explorers, at least my 6'0 180 lb body does..
Jeep Cherokee reliability (especially transmissions) is on par with a Yugo.. Go to Alldata.com and read the list of TSBs and recalls over the past several years for the Jeep. The list is literally a mile long.
I agree the Jeep would be a better off-road vehicle, but conservatively I'd say 99% of all Cherokees and Explorers will never see a lick of serious offroading where you'd actually notice a difference between the two.

 

[1983GTI]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (caj1)

quote:[HR][/HR]Jeep.
Jeep Cherokee reliability (especially transmissions) is on par with a Yugo.. Go to Alldata.com and read the list of TSBs and recalls over the past several years for the Jeep. The list is literally a mile long.[HR][/HR]​

I could care less about that...i base my opinions on MY REAL WORLD experience. I have owned 4 Jeeps, and currently own a GC. I have not had any transmission issues at all with any of them. All the jeep si have owned have been VERY trouble free. I have owned 2 explorers. They were both very troublesome vehicles. Lots of expensive repairs to keep them on the road. Very unreliable.

 

[landrumdh]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (1983GTI)

Thanks for the opinions so far!
Hmm even though I do like the Jeeps exterior better and the fact it's more of a 'real' SUV cargo space is a big issue. Because we do haul alot of stuff including people. I'm the eldest of 4 kids and my little sister is still in elementary school (the baby of the house) so we do have kids to throw in the back seat (the 3rd). So I've just shoot my dad and email to findout if we can get the 3rd row seat.
He said he's talked to a few people at his office who got the Jeep and all of them have been having issues.
Since our off roading is limited to dirt roads, and trails which we currantly can tackle in our 2000 Caravan Sport (albet traction issues sometimes, oh the stories!) we are both looking seriously at the ford.
Plus the saftey rating difference is a biggies!
We are going to go test driving this weekend

I love test driving cars

 

[mutcth]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (1983GTI)

quote:[HR][/HR]I could care less about that...i base my opinions on MY REAL WORLD experience. I have owned 4 Jeeps, and currently own a GC. I have not had any transmission issues at all with any of them. All the jeep si have owned have been VERY trouble free. I have owned 2 explorers. They were both very troublesome vehicles. Lots of expensive repairs to keep them on the road. Very unreliable. [HR][/HR]​

That's super. But you know how this works - you can find enough stories about personal real world experience to throw your vote either way. I could talk about my friend whose family has had 3 near-perfect Explorers, or my friends with the Jeeps from Hell.
According to CR, the GC's reliability is downright poor. The Explorer is a new design and doesn't have data yet, but the old Explorer hovered around average. The Explorer massively outscored the Grand Cherokee in testing (Sept. 2001) - true, the test scores are weighted towards on-road use (props were paid to the GC for it's off-road capability on CR's off-road course), but that seems to be where this particular Explorer will see most of its use.
Hell, it's a company car that they'll only have for three years anyway, so long-term reliability isn't the issue. Nor is off-road suspension travel.
Tom

 

[Projekt-Chick]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (mutcth)

I would say the cherokee, because you know what F.O.R.D. stands for......

 

[Projekt-Chick]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (mutcth)

double post, sorry.


[Modified by Projekt-Chick, 11:14 AM 10-1-2002]

 

[Gus Polinski]

Re: Ford Explorer XLT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (Projekt-Chick)

New Explorer >>>> Grand Cherokee.