Tero97acb
New member
Hi folks. If any of you make it over to the Mitsubishi section of this forum you’ll see I have a 1997 Mitsubishi Montero. While there are some things about it I wish they’d done differently when they made this vehicle, it’s probably my favorite I’ve owned to date. It’s incredibly capable, even without the factory lockers, spacious enough for an interior sleeping platform, and I have a roof rack that’s nearly the entire footprint of the vehicle that is so incredibly handy and attractive. Because of the MPGs, or lack of them, it’s not my daily driver. I have a Mazda CX-5 for transporting my work gear and myself around Southern California (25/30 mpg).
We found out in late December we have a kid on the way and have come to the conclusion the Montero (aka the extra car) needs to go and a modern 3-row family car needs to replace our sedan. Both for the lack of time I’ll have to maintain the Montero and the added value of a guest parking space to our 3 car driveway we decided to make a change. So now that it’s nearly time to list the Montero for sale I’m presented with the challenge of finding a newer vehicle that checks a lot of boxes, but importantly, for myself at least, needs to be able to take us on adventures and out to camp sites every now and then. Ideally I’d like to not put a platform in a newer car and just be able to buy a luno mattress for camping in-vehicle.
I’ve narrowed it down to the new Nissan Pathfinder, specifically the Rock Creek edition that’s yet to come out, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee L. I’m specifically comparing the Nissan trim levels SL and Rock Creek, to the Jeep trim levels Laredo and Overland. You get more features for the same money on the Pathfinder, some of which are deleted on the Rock Creek model. Both essentially have an AWD system with no low range (at these trim levels) on a unibody platform. Nissan’s FWD to the Jeeps RWD. All of the car journalists of course drive the Overland trim of the Jeep with the air suspension and Jeeps quadratrac 2-3 system, and of course they think it’s better than a Nissan by leaps and bounds. The interior and features are also more comparable with a BMW at this point. The RC pathfinder is essentially the same underneath but comes with AT tires, wheels almost like the Frontier Midnight edition which are some of my favorite wheels on a stock truck, and a sturdy flat tubular roof rack while keeping the 21/27 mpg rating vs the Jeeps 18/26
Basically, I’m wondering whether at the Limited trim level and below, the Jeep is still the off-road capable jewel of a modern station wagon or minivan they hail it as, or whether I’m going to be in the same boat as with the Nissan? With the appearance of capability, but actually far less than advertised. I, of course, would also have the drop the $$$$ on tires and a roof rack for the jeep to give it the same features as the Rock Creek Nissan as it comes with nothing off-roady on the Limited (aka the Soccer mom trim). Only considering those trims on account of the fact that the trim levels higher than that cost more than the down payment I put on my house. Curious to hear thoughts From those who’ve driven Jeeps and Nissans offroad, and modified them for camping as I’ve owned neither brand before. All my tools are metric.
We found out in late December we have a kid on the way and have come to the conclusion the Montero (aka the extra car) needs to go and a modern 3-row family car needs to replace our sedan. Both for the lack of time I’ll have to maintain the Montero and the added value of a guest parking space to our 3 car driveway we decided to make a change. So now that it’s nearly time to list the Montero for sale I’m presented with the challenge of finding a newer vehicle that checks a lot of boxes, but importantly, for myself at least, needs to be able to take us on adventures and out to camp sites every now and then. Ideally I’d like to not put a platform in a newer car and just be able to buy a luno mattress for camping in-vehicle.
I’ve narrowed it down to the new Nissan Pathfinder, specifically the Rock Creek edition that’s yet to come out, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee L. I’m specifically comparing the Nissan trim levels SL and Rock Creek, to the Jeep trim levels Laredo and Overland. You get more features for the same money on the Pathfinder, some of which are deleted on the Rock Creek model. Both essentially have an AWD system with no low range (at these trim levels) on a unibody platform. Nissan’s FWD to the Jeeps RWD. All of the car journalists of course drive the Overland trim of the Jeep with the air suspension and Jeeps quadratrac 2-3 system, and of course they think it’s better than a Nissan by leaps and bounds. The interior and features are also more comparable with a BMW at this point. The RC pathfinder is essentially the same underneath but comes with AT tires, wheels almost like the Frontier Midnight edition which are some of my favorite wheels on a stock truck, and a sturdy flat tubular roof rack while keeping the 21/27 mpg rating vs the Jeeps 18/26
Basically, I’m wondering whether at the Limited trim level and below, the Jeep is still the off-road capable jewel of a modern station wagon or minivan they hail it as, or whether I’m going to be in the same boat as with the Nissan? With the appearance of capability, but actually far less than advertised. I, of course, would also have the drop the $$$$ on tires and a roof rack for the jeep to give it the same features as the Rock Creek Nissan as it comes with nothing off-roady on the Limited (aka the Soccer mom trim). Only considering those trims on account of the fact that the trim levels higher than that cost more than the down payment I put on my house. Curious to hear thoughts From those who’ve driven Jeeps and Nissans offroad, and modified them for camping as I’ve owned neither brand before. All my tools are metric.
