Hi all,

I'm comparing a 98 Cherokee vs a Ford Explorer... Whch is better?:

1) more inside room/leg room
2) more reliable?

Also, anyone have any rants about either SUV?

Thanks

 

I have a 1999 Mountaineer and have been extremely happy but never had a Cherokee. My impression of the Cherokee though is that it is prone to break down/need repair more frequently.

 

I can say from a relyability standpoint, the cherokee is the better choice. The explorer does have a bit more room inside, while both have good engines, the 4.0 I6 jeep engine is better than the ford 4.0 V6 IMO. The Explorer handles better on road, but has no chance againsed the jeep off-road.

 

Go with the jeep

 

If the jeep is the 4.0 I'd say get it, a V-8 I would tend to stay away from. I have friends that have them with both engines and the ones with the 4.0's are pretty trouble free, V-8s seem to enjoy going through trans a little often. Six is a very good engine, been around in one form or another since it came out in 64 as the 232

 

I compared the '94 models and the Jeep was the runaway winner. Even with a six it would run circles around the Ford, although the Ford was decked out nicer inside on the ones I drove.

Had a V8 in mine, sold it because of Gas mileage. Would probably still own it if it had been a six.

RF

 

My father's wife had a '98 G.C., and my grandmother has a '99 Explorer. Both loaded (power leather seats, CD players, full-time 4x4 ,etc.) The Jeep was a V8, and drank a lot of gas. It handled like a pig on stilts. The 4x4 system it had would "bind" when cornering, which drove me absolutely nuts. It went pretty good in the snow, but the really seemed heavy when trying to steer or stop in slippery conditions.

I've driven the Explorer less, but here are my observations on it: the full-time 4x4 is seamless on dry roads, I've never driven it in slick conditions. With the V6, it seems to burn less gas than the Jeep, but I really can't say. The 5 speed automatic seems to get confused sometimes, and downshift a little harshly. The handling isn't great, but much better than the Jeep.

As far as comfort, I was never able to get the driver's seat in the Jeep how I wanted it. It didn't go back far enough, and the seatback wouldn't come close enough to vertical for my taste. I thought the back seat in the Jeep was tiny, too. The Explorer driving position is a bit better, for me, and the back seat is a bit bigger.

Neither one had any major problems, as far as I know, but both have seen the inside of a shop.

I'd strongly recommend against a V8 version of either. For a commuter, I'd probably go with the Explorer, but it I wanted to off-road, I'd get the Jeep and make sure it has a t-case you can take out of 4x4.

 

I dont know what kind of differences there were from '98 to '02. My fiance owns an '02 grand cherokee with the 6. I think it is a great engine. The truck is very comfortable to drive. Far more comfortable than my navigator. Hers is a 2wd. It handles very well for a truck. It actually feels like a car when you drive it.

With all that said, based on my limited experience I would go with the explorer. I promise you that you will have electrical problems with the jeep. The power windows break. You cant replace a broken part, you have to replace the whole motor. The brake lights constantly burn out. When the check engine light came on the code showed major and minor vaccum leaks. I figured it would be a common problem so I joined a few jeep forums. I was dead wrong. I found that there were a ton of different problems that could cause it, and there was no way to tell which one it was. Generally speaking I have found that Ford has specific problems. Look around the boards. When somebody says they are having a specific problem or code everybody points to one or maybe two fixes. On the jeep board there were many fixes. That points me to a problem with build quality. With Ford there is usually a specific design problem or suplier issue. Once the problem is found it can be fixed. With a jeep it comes down to how the car was assembled, not design or supplier issues that are common. This is huge if you are a do-it-yourselfer with limited income.

 

The 02 is the newer style Grand Cherokee. From 93-98 The Grand Cherokee was introduced and Boxy, From 99-04 it got more rounded, bigger, and a new 4.7 V8 and tranny. Now there's there new HEMI GC.

I have experience in owning both, and overall I'd say that I like the Grand Cherokee better. Overall interior is much nicer in the grand, the power is better (especially the V8), and I liked the ride in the Grand better (unibody). The things I didn't like was the heavy stearing, heavy brakes-which seem to always need replacing if you keep with the Chrysler parts, and over the years,the used ones develop a lot of creaks and rattles.

The explorer was a good truck. Didn't have many problems, rode pretty well, and had decent power. The things I didn't like was the plastic interior, wobble feeling when going around turns (felt tipsy), interior noise, and the noise from the engine. Basically it was easy to tell this truck was based off the ranger, but overall was pretty decent. Nowadays I'd say it'll be just as creaky and rattle as much as the Jeep.

I've wheeled both of them pretty hard and neither of them left me stranded, so I'll call it a tie granted the Grand has better clearances.

Good luck!

 

I bought my wife an '03 Grand Cherokee ltd. We shopped it against Ford and Toyota. I was leaning toward the Toy but she said too harsh, too trucky for her. The Cherkee has turned out to be a winner. Zero problems in 40k mi. Great ride and handling. (never goes off road.) She had a 94 GC that was crap by comparison, went through two limited slip diffs, and a list of other smaller problems. This one has been a great vehicle.

 

Jeep Rocks

 

I had both an 96 Exploer 4.0L (rwd) and a 2003 Jeep GC 4x4 w/ the 4.0L.

The xplorer pulled my boat better then the GC ever did. IMHO explorer had more room. Both 4.0L are really reliable motors. If I was to snag one or the other I go Explorer. The GC is on a uni-body frame

 

My observation is that the CG drivetrain is more reliable. If it has the 4.0 anyway. What really irks me is that you can't get anything to hold together on the Jeep. Unless it never leaves asphalt, by the time it reaches 100,000 miles the exterior trim will be loose, the back door will rattle, the grille will be flopping around, the headlights will be pointing down at a steep angle, the door panels will be loose, the center console will be floating around, and the message center will be flashing messages about light bulbs that ARE NOT bad!!!???

For me it would be a toss up?????

 

I forgot about that one. Unless you have a high tolerance for dinging indicators of problems that don't exist, stay away from GCs with message boards down in front of the gearshift. (I think it was only the Limited's that had these.)

 

A friend had both at the same time. When I bought my Explorer, I asked him his opinion, and he said the Ford hands down. The Jeep had a lot of plastic parts, many of which broke, and some electrical problems too. One big issue I had was that the Jeep mounts the spare tire in the cargo area, wasting lots of space.

I wasn't a fan of my Explorer though either...