Looking for a new suv

I have Falken Wildpeak tires on a Chevy 2500 my daughter drove as her vehicle in high school. And is now my snow plow truck. The tread has held up very well. They are so old the only issue will be dry rot. Great tires.
 
I got the Toyota FJ Cruiser after falling in love with my PH's Land Cruiser in Africa. They are not the same but pretty close. My FJ is the 6spd manual with the 4.0L V6. It is physically slightly smaller than my friend's Jeep 4dr Rubicon. It is also a tank off road. Extremely capable with a better ride and better reliability than most Jeeps. But, sadly they have not been sold in the USA since 2014 and good used ones bring a stout premium. I have heard that Jeep quality took a dive after the pandemic. The V6 engine is more efficient but seems prone to blown head gaskets and other failures.

Other options: The new Ford Bronco (not the sport) is small and very capable. I have never driven one but like them. But, Ford has trouble building a engine that will last these days. My wife has an old Benz ML350 that impresses the hell out of me when I drive it in snow and ice. Good power, easy button for bad weather. small and compact. V6 or V8 or Diesel power all available. Used ones are not too pricey now and they are reliable other than a few electrical gremlins. Lastly, I have an old Isuzu trooper 4dr 5spd V6 that is unstoppable. Despite being 30yrs old, it just goes and goes. Plus, it is at least as capable off-road as the Toyota.
 
steve white said:
@Rubberhead--have you, or any acquaintances had any problems with the Google programing on your Explorer or other Fords. A friend let a 2025 trade in for something else after the shop kept it way over a month with no contact or explanation. A life long Ford man, he threatened to ditch them. The dealership had Ford phone him and this is what they said: "Sir, you have one of 100 or so glitches that we attribute to Google, but they won't fix the problem unless we pay them to do so. We haven't ironed it out with them." My friend told them they would get the blame even though they were not the one at fault.
I am no expert, but Jerry is. And he is no dummy. He fixes electrical problems in hospital operating rooms.
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No problem like that but I don't use Android Car Play (or whatever it's called) so I don't think the Google problem would arise. They did have to "wipe and reload" the software when I first got it but they did it during an oil change so I got it right back.

Yeah, Ford is frustrating and I keep threatening to buy something else next time but then I get 160k+ on a Ford without any real issues so I keep going back. I did switch my wife from a Ford Explorer (that she loved) to a Toyota Highlander. The Toyota is fine but it's got it's frustrating things too. My wife still misses her Explorer. He's okay with the Toyota but doesn't opine on how much she loves it either.
 
The eco boost has four filters that at 60-100,000 miles tend to burn out that begins to start a host of problems. I had a beautiful King Ranch F150 that I had to spend $7,000 on eco boost repairs. Just me. It was enough to both make me sell the truck after repairs and swear off the engine. If they offered a V8 option I would have bought one. love everything else about them
 
Rare Breed said:
The eco boost has four filters that at 60-100,000 miles tend to burn out that begins to start a host of problems. I had a beautiful King Ranch F150 that I had to spend $7,000 on eco boost repairs. Just me. It was enough to both make me sell the truck after repairs and swear off the engine. If they offered a V8 option I would have bought one. love everything else about them
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Which EcoBoost engine was that? Most King Ranch trims have a 3.5. Completely different engine with a different track record than the 2.7. The 3.5s definitely don’t crack any most reliable lists.
 
JG26Irish_2 said:
I got the Toyota FJ Cruiser after falling in love with my PH's Land Cruiser in Africa. They are not the same but pretty close. My FJ is the 6spd manual with the 4.0L V6. It is physically slightly smaller than my friend's Jeep 4dr Rubicon. It is also a tank off road. Extremely capable with a better ride and better reliability than most Jeeps. But, sadly they have not been sold in the USA since 2014 and good used ones bring a stout premium. I have heard that Jeep quality took a dive after the pandemic. The V6 engine is more efficient but seems prone to blown head gaskets and other failures.

Other options: The new Ford Bronco (not the sport) is small and very capable. I have never driven one but like them. But, Ford has trouble building a engine that will last these days. My wife has an old Benz ML350 that impresses the hell out of me when I drive it in snow and ice. Good power, easy button for bad weather. small and compact. V6 or V8 or Diesel power all available. Used ones are not too pricey now and they are reliable other than a few electrical gremlins. Lastly, I have an old Isuzu trooper 4dr 5spd V6 that is unstoppable. Despite being 30yrs old, it just goes and goes. Plus, it is at least as capable off-road as the Toyota.
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Yeah, they are not remotely the same.

A FJ Cruiser is more like a Jeep or a new Ford Bronco, rock climbing capable with small upgrades.

A FJ-79 is a super narrow field grade vehicle, that doesn't have the same off road capability. But it's tough and will last forever.
 
@Rare Breed
I considered that. The 2.3 had problems with the head warping but it was fixed several years ahead of the one I got. But, just to make sure, I bought a very long extended warranty - which I normally don't do.
 
Cooposo said:
Which EcoBoost engine was that? Most King Ranch trims have a 3.5. Completely different engine with a different track record than the 2.7. The 3.5s definitely don’t crack any most reliable lists.
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You know much more than me my friend. I only know what I experienced. This was back in 2015 when I bought it. You would probably know the eco boost engine going into them at that time. Just a huge disappointment for me
 
Rare Breed said:
You know much more than me my friend. I only know what I experienced. This was back in 2015 when I bought it. You would probably know the eco boost engine going into them at that time. Just a huge disappointment for me
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Sorry to hear that. Those king ranches are awesome trucks, but I’d definitely be over it after those repairs too. My F-150 is a 2014, but when I was shopping I definitely looked for a V8 and actively avoided the 3.5 EcoBoost because of reliability issues. Mine has the 5.0 V8 “Coyote”. I’ve had it in two trucks and had good luck. As you said though, no such V8 options in a small Ford SUV.

As for knowing more than you, not true at all. This just happens to be a recent rabbit hole I’ve gone down trying to solve my own vehicle problems.
 
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Cummins R2.8–Powered 1987 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ70 5-Speed

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Rare Breed said:
I had a GMC Canyon for five years cGreat truck easily fit into my garage
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I’ve never once been able to park in a garage, which really sucks living in Alberta
 
Aaron N said:
I’ve never once been able to park in a garage, which really sucks living in Alberta
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Same here. Someone asked me to total up the value of all the stuff in my garage that is in there instead of a car. The car cost more, but where to store the junk? The car weathers better outside than would the junk.
 
steve white said:
Same here. Someone asked me to total up the value of all the stuff in my garage that is in there instead of a car. The car cost more, but where to store the junk? The car weathers better outside than would the junk.
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Don’t you mean “treasures”?
 
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