Is v6 Cherokee or 3.6r Outback best for me
 

This is not a question on which is most capable off road, or which is a more true off road vehicle....
I am looking for advice on my specific situation.

Here is the deal.

I live in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma on about 2 miles of pretty bad "gravel" roads. If it rains its just slimy mud....some is sandstone rocks....some is washboard...its just not nice. lol.
Once I get to pavement, I have an hour+ commute to town. 22 miles @ 65....drop daughter off at school in small town....20 miles of interstate at 75....another 20+ miles on highway at 65ish.
Overall its a boring drive.
I also make 10hour + drives once a month
and 3 or 4 times a year I will drive to Nebraska and back in a day...about 15 hours.
once or twice I will drive to like Colorado or something on a multi day trip to see family.

My wife has a medical condition and driving is hard on her....this would NOT be her primary vehicle...its mine....but when she is with me....the smoother the ride the better.
She has a memory foam cushion that helps a lot.

We have a mini van....which is great on the pavement...but the 2 miles of gravel is destroying the suspension and its just not make for this.

Looked at trading in on a Wrangler....I happened to need a rental car, and rented one...after an hour, I knew that was NOT the answer.

I drive about 30k miles a year. I will be buying something with 50-75k miles on it already....will probably put 100k+ in next 3-4 years.

So...I think I like the looks of the Trailhawk best. I think the cherokee in general is just cooler than the Subaru.
I will NOT buy a 4cyl of either
I feel like the Outback would last longer more trouble free...but I dont know if that is a legit thing or just an impression that I have.

What say you? (I am posting this in both the cherokee forum and the outback forum to get best responses) Thanks

While I don't have any personal experiences with either the KL Cherokee or a new 3.6 Outback, I've owned 5 Subarus total and currently still own the grandfather to the 3.6 Outback (an 2005 3.0). I'm also a member of a few Legacy/Outback groups.

​​​​​My advice - buy a low mileage used Outback. If you want the extra displacement of the 3.6, look for a 2010-2014 model as they still had five speed automatics versus the current CVT (so did the 05-09s which in my opinion are the best cars Subaru made). Subaru as of late have been riddled with quality control issues and I do not trust a CVT to outlast a more traditional gearbox.

The Outback is a bigger car too, so consider that.

My 05 has been an absolute tank. It's gone through so much hell but just keeps kicking with 195k miles. I just drove it from Rochester NY to southern Maryland, put an ARB bumper for my XJ in the back, and then drove back all in one day. It's a great jack of all trades kind of car.

Good luck.

I recommend using carcomplaints.com to get a feel for which vehicles report the most and worst problems, and which years to avoid.

I think anyone reading that data would avoid the KL all together. Some years of the KL are particularly terrible, but none of them are good. In fact the data shows that all of the FCA 4x4 products are bad bets over the last 10-15 years.

If reliability over the long term is important, I would look at the BEST VEHICLES list on the homepage, and consider those choices as a starting point. Chrysler/Jeep doesn't have a single vehicle on that list, for any year. I doubt they will anytime soon. Way too many transmission, engine, and TIPM problems across their lineup (spanning many many years).

I am not a fan of Subaru's but in your case I think it would be a better choice. Subaru's have proven to be more reliable than Fiats.

Are those the only two options?

I'd be looking at a Tahoe, or similar.

get on turo and rent both and drive them and see what you like ,I am a jeep guy but in this case I would recommend the Subaru off the info you provided

I've got a 2014 3.6R Limited and I've never had a single problem in five years. It's comfortable on moderate washboard and has more than enough power. I average 19.8 mpg in mixed driving and often wish I would have gone with the four cylinder (gas is expensive in California). Mine has the five-speed with paddles. They're not Lamborghini dual-clutch quick but they're handy when you need to downshift while descending a mountain pass. Also, the safety stuff (EyeSight) has saved me from more than one accident and the adaptive cruise, in my opinion, is the best on the market. I drove a WKII and KL Trailhawk but chose the Subaru and do not regret my decision for a second.

Of course, I've got my XJ which is actually my daily driver. The Subie is a date car, lol.

I've read that the Subaru H6 is a bear to replace spark plugs on. (Haven't dealt with one myself though.) At least it doesn't suffer from the head gasket problems that 4-cylinder models did some years ago. That engine is an old design, heavy on gas for its power output, and is being phased out in favor of turbocharged fours in new Subaru models.