Proposed uses: Goin to work vehicle, city streets. Local freeways, and periodic freeway trips to hiking/camping areas.
Weekly: Desert dirt roads, hardpack, washboard roads, soft sand, washouts. (depending on time of year) Mountain roads, rock, gravel, rocks, washouts, altitudes to 10.000 feet, Rock crawling is not anticipated.
Must have sufficient room in the back to haul a family members wheelchair (standard issue, folding) from time to time without folding seats down.
Starting the initial shopping soon. Would appreciate comments. Thanks
You are in the Toyota group, guess what's going to get suggested... But the XTerra should be okay, too.
I would be wary about the Jeep Liberty - the CJ line has a long reputation as a great off-road crawler - but only AFTER you spend several grand beefing it up and adding armor. Stock, they tend to break things fairly easily. Now I know that Daimler is going to try and turn that around, but it hasn't been that long.
Any 2WD one that will be driven off-road at all should have a limited slip differential in the drive axle, and even on 4WD it is a definite advantage to have an LSD in the transfer case and the axles - dirt, sand, snow, gravel is where you inadvertently stop in a soft or slushy spot and get stuck trying to leave.
One off-road stuck avoided is easily worth the cost of the LSD option, even aftermarket. You do NOT want to know what legit tow companies charge for an off-road recovery. And if you abandon the vehicle and walk out for help, it might not be there - or you might find a body shell picked cleaner than a Thanksgiving Turkey when you get back...
Wheelchair - go get a Class-3 receiver type trailer hitch and a hitch-mount bicycle carrier, put the chair on the back of the car. Even if the chair can fit inside the car behind the back seat, it displaces small cargo that you would normally put there like purses and backpacks, groceries, and ice-chests. And it will be a struggle getting it in and out, and you'll likely damage the interior doing it repeatedly.
And the most important reason: If you get in an accident, the wheelchair is big, top-heavy when folded, and hard to secure properly. Hit something hard, and the wheelchair turns into a missile.
Do not use the "Clamp on the spare tire mount" type bicycle rack - the rear door with the integrated tire carrier isn't strong enough to add /any/ extra weight.
Where I get my car work done, there are 3 mechanics, each with many years' of experience. Any time someone mentions Jeeps, all 3 guys say something similar:
"Oh...you like electrical problems that will drive you crazy?"
"If you love electrical problems, why not just get a German car? At least you'll enjoy driving it when it's not broken."
They all acknowledge that Jeep may have gotten over these issues with newer models, but nobody will know that for a number of years. You may be the guinea pig.
If a Liberty is big enough for you, check out a Rav4 or FJ. The 4Runner is kind of in a class by itself on your list, being more of a erally nice, luxury ride (but still extremely good off-road) nowadays.
This long time Jeep owner would take a Rav, FJ, 4Runner, or Xterra, over a Liberty any day of the week. I've had crappy Wrangler after crappy Wrangler, who's only saving grace is the removable top & doors.
If your driving a frail elderly person who required that wheel chair, chances are the xterra's brutal ride would really shake out those fillings. The 4 runner has a better and quieter ride, I thought.
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