A little help,please

I am going to be buying a newer vehicle soon, and have pretty much decided either a Volvo wagon or a Cherokee. Driving experience will be better in the Volvo, I'm sure, but I like the ruggedness of the Jeep. One thing I notice that around here, there are 10 grand Cherokees for sale for every Cherokee. Comments and advice, please..

Grand Cherokee does not equal the small (XJ) Cherokee. I'd stay far, far away from those.

Well, Keith likes his, but I prefer the little one.

Advice: Do not buy a Grand Cherokee. A normal Cherokee is fine.

And that's what you should buy.

Over the Volvo?

The Grand Cherokees are dolled up pigs with lipstick, while the Cherokees are just plain old regular pigs.

Can a Grand be off road-able? Sure. Just don't expect it to be the same as a regular Cherokee.

cwh wrote: Over the Volvo?

Depends on what model of volvo and condition of the Cherokee.

You can buy a NICE Cherokee for $3-$4k around here. I mean NICE.

And they cost peanuts to maintain.

Gas mileage will probably be better in the Volvo depending on model.

For me, off road is a gravel driveway. Of no consequence. No 4wd, either.

People hate on the ZJ and WJ's (grand cherokees) and have no idea what they are talking about. They are VERY similar vehicles. The ZJ/WJ issue is really the transmission. The Chrysler transmission is the Grand (and everything else built after the 727) aren't great. The AW4 in the Cherokee (XJ) is bulletproof. Totally bullitproof. The electrics in the Grands are a bit less reliable, but really, just a bit. You can get the V8 in the Grand (5.2 or 5.9) but those come with AWD. A t-case swap fixes that. The Grand gets you coil springs in the rear. The XJ is the one I'd choose though. Just because it's more simple, and simple means reliable. Get the 4.0/Auto trans combo, replace the t-case chain and motor on for 400 or 500 thousand miles.
That said, a lifted WJ is a sexy beast

ZJ's can be built quite nicely as well

FWIW, i don't really think the Grands are terrible. I just wouldn't replace our XJ with one. (Because she daily drives it.)

Would i myself drive a ZJ? Absolutely.

I'm with the others on the Cherokee issue, but its not on my want list. A Volvo wagon is. I'll be swapping a 302 into it... So there's that.

This is for DD, business use, so no swaps. However, that does not mean that Daddy does not have impure thoughts about such things.

What are you going to use the car/truck for? They're two very different vehicles, kinda hard to compare them apples to apples. I've had/have both.

I had a 2001 Cherokee, the last year for the XJ. It was a 2WD Limited model, a company car. I picked it up with 3 miles on the odometer. Drove it for 3.5 years and 86,000 very hard driven miles, whipped on it pretty good. I wasn't a Jeep fan when I got it, but was a huge fan when I was done with it. Even with the abuse I gave it, I never really had any troubles with it. Just minor stuff. Lots of torque from the 4.0, but fuel mileage sucked...about 17-19. Carried a lot of crap with it. Even in 2WD form, it would go pretty much anywhere. Drove it through deep snow with little trouble. No fancy features inside, just basic controls logically placed. Very rugged truck. Rode like a truck too.

Currently have a '96 Volvo 850 wagon. It's a 16 year old entry luxury car. Runs smooth, rides smooth, lots of fancy features (at least for that era). Driving experience is very different. It's a car instead of a truck. Handles really well, is super comfortable inside. Fuel mileage is so-so...24mpg. With the back seats folded down, it'll carry more than a lot of SUVs. In automatic, non-turbo form it's slow, but cruises nicely once up to speed.

Honestly not sure which one I'd pick if I had to get just one for daily use. If they're both in great shape, maybe the Volvo? Then again, the Cherokee would be cheaper/easier to maintain.

I also seem to recall the V8 Grand Cherokee to be a rather thirsty little beast. I remember riding in one back in '92 or so when they were brand new and I was struck by how small it seemed inside.

My 1999 Grand Cherokee 4.7L V8 Limited ate door lock actuators and power window motors for breakfast lunch and dinner. The interior was comfortable and functional, but I averaged only 14.7 MPG.

I loved and yet hated that thing.

Just an observation:

My main need is for basic transportation, and delivery runs to freight forwarders in Miami. Do not drive very much, as we work out of the house. Occasional trips up the east coast and to Tampa. Basically want dependable and relatively comfortable. I know the Volvos have great seats and comfortable rides, but have a lot of goodies that can break. Cherokees are more basic, with less to go bad. Still can't understand why the Cherokee gets such bad gas mileage, but for me it is not a problem.

Then sounds like the Cherokee would be the better option. It's durable, cheap to fix and can haul your freight, and can tow a small trailer if needed. The fuel mileage issue is from a large, torque heavy, old technology inline 6. When that engine was designed, fuel mileage wasn't a consideration.

The 2WD XJ's on sane-people tires can get quite decent mileage FYI. Tune-ups help a lot as well. The Jeep's cheaper parts/maintenance will outperform the Volvo's better gas habits.

That's the kind of info I was after. Thanks, all. Loves me some GRM!!!

RE: Rear coil springs....

Can you swap that setup to the XJ. I am still fantasizing about building a GRM-Challenge-esque lowered XJ. It would be nice to have coil springs all the way around. And, of course, an LS1.

ProDarwin wrote: RE: Rear coil springs.... Can you swap that setup to the XJ. I am still fantasizing about building a GRM-Challenge-esque lowered XJ. It would be nice to have coil springs all the way around. And, of course, an LS1.

Anything can be done, but I'm sure it's touch. A company called clayton off road makes a kit, but I have no experience or feedback about them.

In reply to ProDarwin:

In theory you should be able to make nearly any leaf-spring SRA into a 3-link with coils (with enough metal and welder). Check out all the Pro Touring kits to see what I mean.