4Runner or Cherokee Trailhawk

Hi everyone. Trying to decide between 2022 4Runner and Cherokee Trailhawk. Concerns on the 4runner are the dated interior and suspicion that there will be a new one in a year or so. Concerns on the Cherokee are the build quality and it's a bit smaller.

Will be used for highway commuting and some offroad use primarily on sand.

Any thoughts on pros/cons would be welcome. Thanks for helping decide.

 

Grand Cherokee is the same thing in terms of size, power, and class.

 

Lmao get that Cherokee if you want Chrysler reliability and build quality

complete turd

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

If your comparing them get the jeep

 

If you like fixing vehicles, get the jeep

 

4Runner will be more reliable and worth a heck of a lot more in the future. But go ahead and buy the Cherokee and learn the hard way.

The suspicion of the new generation will be a positive for you. The value and demand for the 5th gen will rise even more once Toyota botches the 6th gen.

 

This ^ Plus, the Cherokee may have better highway manners.

 

There is no way this guy is not trolling us.

 

If reliability is out of the question atleast buy a proper Jeep like a Wrangler.

 

This seems like a nice group. Lots of sarcastic non-helpful, judgmental comments. Appreciate all the replies.

 

Have one. Haven't had a problem ever with it, so from a reliability standpoint, it's been great. As have the 4 other GC I've had. The cherokee/4R is a consideration for a college student.

It's very interesting how these forums go to reply when someone asks for advice is to denigrate the other brand and the OP.

 

The Trailhawk is a very nice looking vehicle. I had it on my radar when I was shopping. I opted for the 4Runner based on reliability and longevity.

I use every resource when researching for a new vehicle. I join forums related to any model I'm considering and read all the past posts to see what issues people have, etc... and I'm one of those weirdos who will walk up to a stranger at a gas station or the grocery store parking lot and ask how they like their vehicle. Along the way, while researching, I asked anyone I met who had either and I NEVER got a single "don't buy the 4Runner" from 4Runner owners. Every single one of them, whether it was less than a year old or 10-15+ years old. All of them loved their 4Runners and highly recommended them.

The Cherokee owners were much more likely to warn me away from them. If it was a fairly new one, they raved about the looks, the power, etc... but a very high percentage - especially if it was a 2-3 year old model or older, said "but I've had to take it in for x, y, or z", or simply said, "run away as fast as you can". I would estimate about 25-30% of Cherokee owners were as dedicate as the total amount of 4Runner owners.

Similarly, the other models I was considering had a mixed bag of "it's great" or "don't dare buy one of these"... but the 4Runner was amazingly the one that had almost a perfect record of responses. The worst I ever got was, when asking about gas mileage, I got a LOT of "let's not talk about that!"... but met MANY 4Runner owners with 200-300K+ miles who said "I will never get rid of this... I love it". That made up my mind.

 

OP, it always seems to be the case when someone asks about a non-forum brand vehicle, sorry. I had over a dozen Jeeps prior to my 4R, and never really had any issues with any of them. I have to say, though, not one of them was a Jeep brand SUV, so I have no basis of comparison for your original question.

If you've had success with Jeep in the past, it seems only you would be able to decide after having test driven both. The 4R has legendary reliability - you'd have to weigh that against the TH, which most likely will have more creature comforts and electronic gadgets.

There is one forum member who's talking of selling his 4R, albeit to his sister, since he bought a JK, but he's into off-roading more than most, it would seem.

 

Why ask people what you should buy? Test drive both, do some research on both and then buy what you like better. Simple as that.

 

As said above the Cherokee might have better highway manners, but the reliability is the concern...my mother had a 2015 new and was the biggest turd she ever owned. It was a trailhawk but with the 4 cylinder and 9 speed transmission. Not a good combo for that vehicle. Has multiple transmission issues, infotainment issues, drivability issues, and guess what...she bought a new 2019 4 runner when it came out and loves it. If you want something reliable with good resale value go with the 4 runner...and if you don’t like it in a few years you can get that money back for the most part. I would prefer the 392 wrangler jeep wise if I had a money tree in my back yard.

 

What's the price comparison between a Cherokee Trailhawk and whatever 4R you've decided is similarly equipped?

 

Off his meds, I think.

 

If you are providing this for said college student, you're very generous. I gave my daughter in college a very used 1983 Jeep CJ-7...

 

You asked for opinions in reference to compare 2 vehicles on a 4Runner forum, if you don’t expect the other to get shit on by some, you might want to try a different media to get your comparisons from.

How many Jeep owners on this forum you think? I am sure we can agree that it’s a small percentage.
My thoughts on Jeep of today, It’s not my Cherokee Sport of the old days, and I haven’t liked what they offered since. Wranglers, I looked at the sticker on one of those back in 2016, I haven’t checked a Jeep price since.

good luck, and go ask about 4runners on a Jeep forum, I bet you get more positive feedback, and it’s not because the people are nicer.

 

Besides the interdimensional overlords, nobody has mentioned that most 4runners owners will need to deal with the needle bearing issue.

The needle bearing issue and overlord issue may be related though, so that might only count as one problem.

Also, folks who have previously owned 800hp or whatever dodge rams and such usually complain about 4runners when they buy them. They can’t deal with the horrible 4runner gas mileage, and the fact they can’t tow their houses with it.

 

Joining a forum and asking for feedback and advice might qualify as doing some research.

 

I just don't get how you can compare the 2, the Cherokee to me looks like a crossover. Hell my wife's subi outback looks more "offroad". I think the Cherokee is more comparable to the forester. Aren't they like a throw way car after 100k? Meaning they start have issues and decrease in value to next to nothing...

Just buy a 4runner, tacoma, fj cruiser, land cruiser, lexus gx..etc etc

 

Well, coming to a 4Runner forum asking if a Jeep is better is just like going to a Jeep forum and asking if a 4Runner is better then the Jeep. What do you think the out come is going to be on both fourms? The opposite sites are going to say the other is shit.

 

Don't care for the seven small rectangles grille. Looks kinda like oversize buttons on the 4R dash.

 

Not sure why the possibility of a model change would affect your assessment of the current model. That said, which is more important out of the concerns you've mentioned - build quality and size, or model 'freshness'? As for me, I have no personal experience with Jeeps, and a ton of experience with Toyotas. After close to 1.5 million miles on Toyotas, and 600k of those miles across three 4Runners, I won't consider anything else. Can't advise you on the Jeep, though.

Oh, and I REALLY like my 2019 TRDOR.

Happy hunting!

 

Here's a place you can go to that will help you with your decision making:



Keep an eye out for aliens inserting implements in your rectum.

All the best,

 

Very helpful. Thank you for your reply and experience.

 

Thank you to those who tried to be helpful. Some very helpful replies.

I didn't think it was hard question and certainly not a troll. I didn't ask which one to buy or which one is better. Just thought some of you might have experience with the Jeep, know someone who had one, or maybe thought about buying it yourself, and had some constructive thoughts on it compared to the 4R you bought. If you don't, it's ok to scroll past.

To those who think "what do you expect, you're on a 4R board"; "buy one and find out" or "it's a jeep, its crap", perhaps you have too much of your identity wrapped up in a vehicle. It's not a competition.

 

We have had about a dozen 4WDs= a half dozen Toyotas (our P/U went over 300K miles), a Bronco, a Jeep Cherokee, a Scout, a Subaru, 4 Nissans, and a Dodge. I drove many others in 20+ years as a Wildlife Biologist, for the Feds. Plus, more than a few 2Wds. We currently have a 2014 RAV4 AWD (~25K miles) and a 2019 SR5 "Runner" with about ~25K miles. The 4Runner is the BEST car we've ever had! The RAV is our second RAV. My FJ40s were better off-road, and the p/u did hauling better; the full-size Bronco towed better but the 4Runner is the BEST car we've had!

Hands down, the worst vehicle we have ever owned was the Cherokee! Cost more in repairs for the year we had it than the payments totaled!