If you were offered good money for your 5th gen, would you sell?

I bought a Passport with AWD and it's amazing. It's not going rock crawling by any means but for snow and stuff it's fine. I still have my 4Runner though so will also go with the recommendation to either get a Limited 4Runner or a Passport.

 

I’d get a pristine example of a mid-90’s Bronco, or a K-5 Blazer, or a 1st gen Wagoneer, or a Scout II.

I love my 4Runner, but …

 

Please get the 90's Bronco, then...slap this plate on it:

 

They still putting the rotated 3.5 in these? A royal pain to work on it they are.

 

Now if it was a Vintage Bronco (pre-'76) and add a FJ-40 (pre-'83), last of the imports...

 

Land Rover is owned by Tata, which is an Indian company. The factory in which the Defender is built is in Slovakia.

We had a 2001 BMW 525 wagon that was in the shop every other month. It would periodically stall in precarious places. We sold it and bought a Discovery II, and then 7 years later an LR4, which we drove for another 7 years. They were pretty reliable, and I gotta say, the height-adjustable air suspension was awesome.

 

These more than satisfy the needs of 99% of suburbanites. Love it!

 

I know that I’m supposed to like the first generation Bronco better but I just don’t. It can’t carry enough stuff. Same with the FJ-40. On the plus side, they are pre-OBD. Allow me to finish my sentence above: I love my 4Runner but I prefer a car that can be repaired by any competent mechanic and doesn’t require a “master tech” for any work that falls outside of scheduled maintenance.

 

Newer J35 but yes it is installed transversely.

 

BMW never made a v6. The BMW turbo V8 is used in the Defender. A few Range Rovers used the 2.8 six and a BMW diesel back when BMW owned Rover.

 

Still trying to convince me they are not junk, eh??

 

I purchased a X5 with the M Package, it had the twin turbo V8, a buddy was a wholesaler so I was in it cheap. Purchased it on a Saturday morning, 3 weeks later on a Saturday afternoon some young girl in her daddy's car turned in front of me and it was totalled. Lot's of fun to drive

 

Just passing on my anecdotal experience with a sample size of 3. There were issues back in the “Lucas, Prince of Darkness” days. But any Land Rover built in the last 20 years or so has been of average reliability. So if you consider the average car to be junk, then Land Rovers are junk.

 

One of the principals of the people I work for has his and hers Land Rovers. Hers is a number of years older, his is brand new after trading in a several year older version. She told me that his new one is ALWAYS in the shop, kind of like what BMWs are very famous for.
Sounds to me like you were fortunate with yours. And some people will be. I am familiar with the Lucas electrical terror days.
If the British no longer actually manufacture the Land Rover, that might be a good thing to as the British were also famous for loose hardware and things falling apart.

I have no experience with these manufacturers because I won't purchase their products and "take a chance" on getting a good one.

 

TATA makes one of the worst cars in the world. I would know, I bought their first passenger midsize SUV back in 1991. And all they have learned in the last 3 decades is to make the package pretty. Inside it's still a truck ( commercial carrier) manufacturer. A seized Tundra engine is still in better working condition than a brand new Tata from a showroom floor.
They did buy Land Rover and Jaguar in 2008.
BMW, horrendous realibility over the years. A friend had a 750IL and he said it was his worst decision ever. He also had a Range Rover Autobiography and an Audi Q7 TDI. I have extensively driven the e60 M5. A close gym buddy had it. A hoot to drive on days it would work. I remember one of Xenons stopped working one day and they were $1000 a piece back in 2005 or something. Made up my mind never to buy a German car ever.

 

Ever tried doing the valves on a j series v6? It's about enough to make you want to blow holes through it with a shotgun. Whenever I have someone asking for a quote to do valves I figure it out and then double it in hopes they go somewhere else.

 

Haha. Well, if someone does give me $100K for my 4R, I'll get a newer Audi RS7 AWD.

 

Dang, if someone gave me a hundred grand for my '16, I'd try to buy back the 3 TLC I sold years ago.

 

If I was to sell mine for good bucks then it’s gonna be a new Grenadier Trialmaster .

 

Doug DeMuro did a great review of that truck. He points out great pro's & con's of it:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwKro4JglQY&t=846s

 

If someone gave me $100k for my 4Runner, I'd buy another 5th gen and pocket the remaining $70k.

Some of you guys are

 

You wouldn't buy $70k worth of raptor lights? Pssh, what a rookie move.

 

I'd sell my 4R in a heartbeat if my wife's safety is involved. I don't want my wife driving a 4R on icy rural roads where just bumps will make the vehicle try to rotate andcsungle vehucke accidents are common. Independent suspension with low unsprung mass is just safer on paved roads. The electronic aids on a 5th Gen are dumb as a rock.

 

The Grenadier is cool looking but I am not sure I would be keen on it being assembled in France and it’s not like there are dealers everywhere to help you if you have an issue. I see this being like the smart car made in the same plant …not being built for very long and phasing out.

 

Honda Passport & Pilot was on my not to buy list because;

1) Its direct injection only - Injector failures at low miles is extremely common and they are replaced under extended warranty program that is covered for 12 years/150K miles or something like that.

2) Cylinder deactivation - Needless to say right? Cylinder deactivation and long-term reliability don't go together.

3) Timing belt - Not a fan of this maintenance. I don't think even in 2026 they have hydraulic lifters. I think its still fixed where you have to check clearance.

4) Having 3 clutches in rear driver is not a good thing to my eyes. Not having a differential the AWD engagement is solely based on left and right clutch friction does not scream long term reliability or keeping it cool. I feel like in loose traction scenarios it would generate lot of heat.

5) Me looking at Honda Pilots having minivan ground clearance territory was another big no for us. (But passport has tiny bit better ground clearance in Highlander / Rav4 like clearance).

 

I wonder if these manufacturers will get rid of the start stop nonsense quickly now that Washington has taken that regulation away.

 

Good points I have not followed the mechanics of those items or issues. I guess I just liked V6 instead of some clumsy sounding 4 cylinder turbo. Does not seem like a lot of good choices out there

 

It's been all over the news. This feature is going to be killed!

https://apnews.com/article/climate-...es-consumers-dca74900298e45485987b87c36ac7ef2

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a70350799/epa-eliminating-stop-start-automaker-comments/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/cars/news/2026/02/13/trump-cars-epa-start-stop-feature/88662339007/