Questions on X5(E53) / Range Rover / X-Terra / Pajero (advice required)

[qetadgzcb]

Good morning everyone..

As the topic reads I've got some(actually tons of) questions about X5(2004-2006), Range Rover(2004-2006), X-Terra(2006-2009) and Pajero(2006-2009). I'm looking to buy one of them but I'm madly stuck in choosing any. My heart actually goes with the Range Rover, or the X5 but X-Terra and Pajero are also side alternatives for me.

My main concern is maintenance while I struggle to choose one of them. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I'm guessing regular maintenance costs(+unexpected failure repair costs) will be like Range Rover > X5 > X-Terra > Pajero. Anyone have any ideas about the actual costs in terms of Dirhams?

Then comes known problems of cars.. Such as the suspension failing on Range Rovers(any ideas how much it costs to get it repaired?) or the X5s falling down to bits after around 150.000km. I don't have any feedback on such problems for the X-Terra and Pajero though(anything?)

Next in line is interior quality. Now I've been used to European cars throughout my life.. I love their design, material/build quality, looks etc.. Considering this, I really love the X5 and Range Rover but X-Terra and Pajero are awful(no offense, just something I'm not used to) on the interior.. I don't know how happy I can be with this issue but still all other factors count on my decision as well..

And finally their off-road performance. In UAE off-road means desert performance so I guess Range Rover will not be really high ranking in the list(though they perform great in the woods).. X5 doesn't really look like you can ever take it off-road? X-Terra and Pajero(especially) are quiet good in the desert(again according to what I've been hearing around) I assume? Also I don't think I could ever take an X5 or Range Rover to the desert(it would hurt to see them ruined there) but I could abuse X-Terra and Pajero happily :)

As you can see I'm in a complete mess and I just can't make up my mind.. I really need advice/suggestions to get rid of this quick sand sort of situation I'm in.. I'd really appreciate all the help..

Thanks to all in advance..

ps. I also had a post on purchasing an E39 earlier to which I got all the help necessary and now with the new year coming up lots have changed thus goes all the above questions..

ps. I'll be posting the same thread on other forums(just to get as many opinions as possible) so don't find it odd if you come across them as well please..

[Bruno]

suspension failure is 2 big words. cost can exceed 15k at some points.

if i were you would go with a 2dr pajero or a FJ. the x-terra is very good but long.

[eoudeh]

go for FJ, my sis had a 2 dr pajero and its :thumbsdown:

[salty]

FJ man as well you could enjoy crusing around in the sand very good car in desert :D tried it my self :)

[salmankk]

Guys although i agree about the FJ drive and engine as i am not a pajero fan, but my friend had an FJ and while dune bashing the car flipped, the worst part is that the FJ is not at all solid on the pillars and the roof basically just crumbled like a pan cake... unless you just want to drive in on road, fj is not a solid desert ride.... no. no.

[salmankk]

suspension failure is 2 big words. cost can exceed 15k at some points.

if i were you would go with a 2dr pajero or a FJ. the x-terra is very good but long.

I agree that Xterra is a better option....

[qetadgzcb]

Guys thanks for all the responses so far..

For the FJ, it'll cost me around 75-80K for a 2008 and I'm not really a big fan of the car.. I mean I can get a 2006 X5 for the same price(approximately).. Both interior & exterior design doesn't really catch my eye at all.. On the other hand, I'm not looking to purchase it solely for the desert, what I need is a good ride which I might take to the desert once in a while(maybe once in 2-3months only). So desert performance is not the key factor in my case..

Pajero vs X-Terra, I'd rather go with the X-Terra I guess.. Both have quite crappy interiors(compared to what I'm used to) but X-Terra has a better exterior in my opinion.. If I were to go with either, I'd compare the maintenance costs before choosing X-Terra over the Pajero.

I see that comments are in favor of Japanese manufacturers, nobody around fancies the European manufacturers ?? :) The only thing holding me from going directly with the X5 is the maintenance/upkeep costs which I have no clue about?

[Bruno]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

You said it... The maintenance on the German cars will kill the love. I'll opt for the Japanese options since they do take the beating of the desert. Tbh all the Japanese cars mentioned above look, feel, drive bad. But the maintenance id good and these vars are better in the desert. Fyi the x5 Is a pain in the ars to drive in the desert so this won't help u much

[Ozimandius]

The Xterra is Japan's answer (well, almost) to the Wrangler, the same way the FJ is. 4.0 engine, dull but functional interior. So the trade-off in your decision would be your preference for on-road or off-road.

I've driven the Pajero 3.0 and it sucks monkey balls, I'm not sure about the 3.5 or 3.8, but one would assume they perform better, especially the SWB/2 door ones. Also, the Xterra will cost you less than the Mitsu in maintenance and parts, plus they have way better after sales service and support.

Have you considered a Nissan Patrol/Nissan Pathfinder? I believe the Land Crusier will be above your budget though.

[qetadgzcb]

[SIZE=1]You said it... The maintenance on the German cars will kill the love.

I guess you've just made me realize my biggest fear of these cars.. Honestly speaking, I just don't like the looks & drive of the Japanese alternatives I've listed as well but I guess those are the only options I've right now. I just don't want to end up paying ***loads of money to regular maintenance/unexpected failures and decreasing my life quality in return.

So the trade-off in your decision would be your preference for on-road or off-road.

Also, the Xterra will cost you less than the Mitsu in maintenance and parts, plus they have way better after sales service and support.

Have you considered a Nissan Patrol/Nissan Pathfinder? I believe the Land Crusier will be above your budget though.

I don't really care too much about the off-road performance but I prefer the looks of the X-Terra and since they have lower maintenance as you stated, I'd definitely prefer the X-Terra. Most of the results for X-Terra I get on Dubizzle don't have leather seats btw, why is it so rare for these cars to have leather seats? And there are actually few of them on sale..

X-Terra is like a smaller Pathfinder and I guess it has rather aggressive looks compared to Pathfinder so no, I wouldn't consider Pathfinder. Though I like the looks of Patrol, they're quite too expensive and over my budget(a search on Dubizzle with 2005+ & < AED 80K returns just a few results and they all have high mileage)(just as Land Cruisers are). What I have in mind is something between 60K-80K actually.

[Mustafa K.]

hi qetadgzcb
i was reading this thread and i understood that u want a 4x4 car that's good lookin and good interior and dose not coast Much for the maintenance like the X5 or Range Rover My opinion is Infiniti FX35 2007-2008 its all u want i think and u can get a 2007-2008 with 80k and with good mileage :)

hope i was helpful and good luck

[qetadgzcb]

hi qetadgzcb
i was reading this thread and i understood that u want a 4x4 car that's good lookin and good interior and dose not coast Much for the maintenance like the X5 or Range Rover My opinion is Infiniti FX35 2007-2008 its all u want i think and u can get a 2007-2008 with 80k and with good mileage :)

hope i was helpful and good luck

Mustafa thanks a lot for the suggestion.. Their prince range is similar to the X5 & Range Rover for 2005-2006 models (60K-80K) and on the exterior they sure do look good(quite simple on the interior though).. For off-road they are practically useless but I can just live with that I guess :) In terms of reliability I simply have no idea but I thought their maintenance/repair costs would be really high as it's actually the high-end versions of Nissan.. Any ideas about it??

[Mustafa K.]

about the coasts of maintenance or repairs im sorry i dont knw but im sure other members can help u with that

[BigLion]

As an X5 owner (since August :D) I've not experienced any problem that was that expensive to put right - with a lot of BMWs you should get part of the 5-year servicing warranty, as long as you are able to fit the service in with a time that suits AGMC (better if it was from AD motors, I'm sure)... just had brake pads done and it costs about 1,000+ for the pads themselves, which I thought was high - I have 20" wheels which would be crap for the desert, but also the tyres cost from 900 dhs each; replacement door handle carrier was 300 dhs - that's about it for the first half-year.

[SHkater]

From what I've heard, Mitsubishi parts and maintenance cost is ridiculously high for a japanee car and its a really bad offroader. I believe you should just go ahead with the Xterra since repair costs wont be too high and I believe is not a bad offroader.