aimcat

My husband and I currently own a 12 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with around 17k miles. While we really love dropping the top on the jeep, we have sort of gotten to the point where we are asking why we got it. It has a very ridged ride and not sure its for us. We travel a lot and its pretty raw driving down the interstate with the top moving and the vehicle swaying every time you pass a semi. Haha.

So we are asking ourselves this and need some opinions....do we keep the Jeep or sell and get one of the following.....and looking at these

06 Lexus GX470 w 95k miles
06 Sequoia SRS sport edition - 91k
07 Sequoia limited - 120k
08 Mercedes ML320 Diesel - 84k miles
08 Lexus RX350 - 74k miles

Things that are important to us - RIDE, comfy, luxury and RELIABILITY. I will be honest - it seems NONE of these have satellite radio or aux imput options and I love my satellite radio, so huge negative there....and from what ive read hard to add without changing factory options?!


Just need some imput - highly considering the lexus - is this too many miles on these? We plan on keeping 2-3 years.

Brooks2IS

If you want reliability, steer clear of the Mercedes.

Previously, I've owned a silver 06 GX470 base model. Without a doubt, the most solid, comfortable, and luxurious car I've owned. Since the GX has a cassete deck, you can buy a cassete adapter for an aux input.

I wouldn't go for the 07 Sequoia... just to many miles. My sister in law had an 06 Sequoia exactly like the one you described. Very solid truck. Reliable too, but the GX is more luxurious IMO. Again with the cassete adapter.

My mother owns an 08 RX, so serene and luxurious. This is the best highway cruiser IMO.

I'd pick the GX and throw an aftermarket XM unit off to the side. I wouldn't fault you for any of them

Cheers

06isDriver

well, I'd go ahead and cross the RX350 off the list unless you want a car body with a lower ride height. I think the ML is also based on a car frame.

The GX470 and the Sequoia will be your only two options you have listed that are truly a body on frame truck design. This allows for a higher tow ratings and increased ride height.

The Sequoia will be a bit bigger than the GX, but the GX will be far more luxurious. We've owned our GX for more than 2 years and wouldnt trade it for a thing on the market right now. Its luxurious, has excellent ride quality, can tow 6500 lbs, gets 17mpg~, and is truly capable off road.

It's gonna be a night and day difference between that overpriced Jeep dune buggy and Lexus workmanship. I'm not trying to knock you, but I cant believe people are paying 40k+ for a "new" old military vehicle with just basic civilians upgrades to it.

Tennisjr

Having owned several of these vehicles I can tell you this is a two car race; the RX and the GX. Between those two it comes down to personal preference; the RX is going to be more car-like and the GX is going to be more truck-like. Unfortunately, if your frame of reference is a Jeep then truck-like may well have bad connotations.
I drove a new RX last week as a loaner when my GX was getting some work down. It is a smoother ride than my GX. I did not like it. My GX rides like a truck, but like the most luxurious truck you will find. Had a Land Rover LR3 which also had a similar ride: truck-like but refined at the same time. Had the Land Rover been more reliable I'd still have it. The GX combines the best of both worlds. It is VERY reliable, is not a poser off-road, but swaddles you when driving. Just my opinion but I would go for the GX.

aimcat

We are ok with a truck ride. All we have had are trucks - husband always keeps a truck. I originally came from owning a GMC Envoy for 12 years. It had a good ride. Only sold because after 12 years of it I was very "tired" of it!
Leaning more toward the GX.......I think we might like the taller height and little bigger. Anyone see 95k miles being an issue? We are trying to work out a deal for them to include it having a 90k service done for OTD price of 22,500 - would that be an ok deal?

Tennisjr

Mileage should not scare you if 90k service was done. Timing chain is the biggie. These vehicles can run for many, many miles. Good luck!

JeepinLaw

I have owned an RX and now I have a GX. I think they are the best choices on the list.

Like others have said, the RX is more car like, smaller, but still very capable. The highway cruising and gas mileage are much better in the RX.

The GX is more truck like, bigger, more capacity in everything. Gas mileage is rough. Highway ride is ok.

Just my .02

aimcat

What is realistic gas mileage I can expect from the GX? I am use to about 14 - 16mpg. Ive never owned ANYTHING gas efficient so I have no idea what that is like!!! LOL

IanB2

I'm getting 13-14mpg on mine with 265/75/17 AT's, I get the feeling I'm a bit lower than average, so just what you're already used to.

JeepinLaw

I get 16 with about a 75% highway / 25% in town mix.
I got 23 with the same mix from my RX.

RickC5

We get 16-17 around town (mixed) and 18-19 on long highway trips @ 75 mph.

In your posts so far, you haven't mentioned what you intend to use your new(er) vehicle for. If you ever intend to take it off-road, the RX really isn't a good choice. Having driven both the GX and RX, I can also state that the RX is much more car-like than any of the other vehicles you mentioned, including less ground clearance.

aimcat

The vehicle use would be mainly daily driver to work, road trips, basic things like that. We do not go off road much at all. We live in southern Virgina and we get snow but nothing terrible but its nice to have a capable 4x4 when you do need it as we have a bit of a steep driveway that it helps even if its just a little snow.
We have afew places to go off road here other than maybe some private farm land. Although I cannot say we will NEVER go off road it would not be the vehicles primary use.
We like SUVs. I have always had an SUV, my family has Tahoes, 4runners, I had an Envoy. While all far and away from the Lexus I just prefer an SUV.
We went to a Jeep thinking it would be so awesome being able to drop the top in summer and enjoy the open air, however the cons outweight the pros with the Jeep already after owning it just a short time. I have also been reading a lot of bad things about the new 3.6 engine we have. It scares me a little I just dont know about reliability even with it only having 17k and under warranty will it really hold out another 100k.

Crispy3M

As most have said here, the GX would be a good option for you.

As for the Sat Radio, I am in the same boat as you. I could never go back to commercial based radio. You can purchase a Vais Tech SL3X or the like which will integrate seamlessly with your existing HU in the GX. Don't get me wrong, it's FAR from perfect. The manual is terrible, it's not user friendly, every time Sirius or XM do a channel lineup change, the unit will cause you a headache and I personally have found the sound lacking. Having said all that, it does get the job done and is certainly better than not having Sat Radio at all. It also beats the 'car kits" IMHO as you will never see the Vais unit, it just plugs into the back of your existing HU.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Chris

aimcat

Thank you Chris for the info on the Sat radio.

Can I throw a curve in here and ask a question - today I was presented by another idea from my husband....he said what about a newer 12 kia or Hyundai suv for about the same money and less miles? I immediately said EWWW! But I want to know is a lexus still far superior over those vehicles as well even though newer?

danmm7

My advice is.... go test drive a newer/new Hyundai SantaFe and then go drive a used RX350.
Look at the interior materials, road noise, ride quality, brake feel, etc.
YOU will be the best judge on which car is superior.

Reliability may be a little better with the Lexus, but Hyundai/Kia will come with nice 10yr/100k miles warranty if you buy new. Last few years, the Korean brands are showing very few problems. Most owners love their Korean cars, especially given what they pay for them. No wonder you see more and more of them on the road.

However, If you care about resale value - go with Lexus.

My guess is, in the long run, the Lexus will show better built quality (less body rattles, noises, etc)
However, you will end up driving an older/aging car, with less features (Sat Radio, iPod) if you pick the used RX over a loaded, newer Santa Fe.

4x4/AWD ... the RX350 is NOT better than the Hyundai since the RX awd system is very basic and not very capable. For your needs, in the snow, both options will be 100% great if you invest in a set of good snow tires.

If i had to pick between Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe, i would always pick the SantaFe. They share a lot of the components, including engine, AT, awd, but the Hyundai brand seems to use more expensive, upscale interior materials and does not feel/look as cheap.

Both of the Korean brands do NOT offer anything that is in the GX470 class, so there is no comparison there. The GX470 is lot more truck/suv than the Kia/Hyundai, period.

Again... go test drive all the options. Pay attention to the details, listen for road noise and check the ride quality around town and on the freeway.


Personally, before we got our GX470, i test drove more than 10 different SUVs, including brand new SantaFe, new Kia Sorento, used Acura MDX, RX350, Honda Pilot, Infinity FX35, ML350, 2008 Tahoe, Lexus 2002 LX470 and newer Grand Cherokee Limited. The 2007 MDX was the only other option that we considered vs the GX470. I liked the MDX because of the nice interior, the handling & AWD (SH-AWD system) and all the toys it came with. I wish it had a V8, but it did not and it was kind of pricey too. The GX470 we bought is a bit older, it had ~100k miles then, but it came with perfect maintenance records and still drives/feels/sounds like a new SUV....now with 115k miles. It's built like a tank!! Only issue - it is gas thirsty when driven around town.

All the other SUVs had different 'issues' we did not want to live with.... too small, too noisy, too cheap inside, underpowered, not reliable, too old, bad MPG...etc, etc, etc