You really didn't state what your 'usage criteria' are and I guess it depends on how much you want to spend too. Anyway, here are my .02 on vehicles I would look at:
1) Land Rover LR3/4 - Well, you stated Land Rover so I guess start with that: I have a buddy that went from a Disco II, which he had a constant flow of things fail on it, to a LR3 which has been really reliable for him. He admits that the LR3 doesn't have the traditional Land Rover Safari look and Mystique that his older Disco II had, but from a reliability standpoint it's been great. His only complaint is it gets really poor fuel economy, like 12 mpg if I remember correctly. That's his biggest complaint. I've looked these and LR4's over and they look pretty robust underneath and vastly improved in terms of build quality. Maybe the LR4's get better fuel economy. Land Rover has done really well in recent years and gets a lot of praise for it's vehicles. I have an older Disco and really like it. There's something about driving a Land Rover. If the LR4's are anything like the Range Rovers, this one video alone would be enough to make me buy one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5kBZGVSf3o.
2) Toyota FJ - If you like the 'safari' and off-road look, a lot of people like the FJ's. Might be the perfect size for your wife. Going to a Toyota might be sacralige to a dyed-in-the-wool Mitsubishi guy, I'm not sure. I've looked them over, thought about buying one once, but, to me ....and I know I'm probably going to get grilled for saying this .... the drivetrain looked very light-duty underneath, and the interiors on the ones I looked at were extremely 'plasticy' inside. Cheap plastic and flimsy plastic too, like any knob would break if I touched it wrong. I started to get a rash from all the plastic release agent residue that was getting all over my body just from sitting in it and didn't look back. :drool: That's just me, but I know they have a great following, so I guess it must just be my wrong impression.
3) Hummer H3 - These look great, are well-engineered and can *bring-it* off road! You can get them pretty reasonable these days. But getting a 2010, I don't think they made them in 2010, not sure. I've got my sights set on getting one. It's not a re-badged Colorado like some here are probably going to say. That's a misinformed knee-jerk response you hear a lot. Very few Colorado parts or other parts from the GM parts bin. GM went to great lengths to make what they felt was the best off-road vehicle in it's class and even drove a bunch of them over the Rubicon during the design stages to test the design and refined it more. They ran the Rubicon again after finding the weak areas and none of the H3's broke a single item. There's a fantastic book on the H3 pre-production if you are leaning towards one I would recommend. H2 would be another option, these were built by AM General (not GM) in a partnership arrangement (again, a few good books about them), but I found the H2's to be somewhat clostrophobic inside and poor visibility. My wife wanted one, but after being in an H2 and driving it, she couldn't see crap out of it. But both H2's and H3's have come down in price a lot and both have off-road credentials.
4) Tahoe - I have a buddy who has a relatively new Tahoe and it's really nice! GM quality has really gone up (from what I've seen), and you get a vehicle that can tow, gets good fuel economy and is up in the air. Stout 4x4 stuff too, and parts/service availability just about anywhere. There are 2-dr versions too, which are really cool. Not cheap though.
5) Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland - I'm a huge fan of Grand Cherokees. Some will say, "Oh, they're too mainstream..." Or have certain weaknesses, but what vehicles haven't had a few weak areas? I've had a few and they've been exceptional vehicles and some of the most trouble-free vehicles I've owned, and fun to drive. I've gotten newer ones as rentals and taken them around Colorado and Moab area too. The Overland version is the top of the line model. But even a 'Limited' that has Quadradrive, is a superb off-road machine and super fun to drive on-road or off. Very refined IMO. My wife's current Overland with Quadradrive I, without going into it too deep, has Vari-loc differentials Rear, Center and FRONT! That basically means that you can have all wheels 'locked up' under the right wheel slip circumstances and even if you only had one wheel with traction it'll pull the vehicle out! I've tried it in some really deep snow and it truely works and works nice. You can check out Youtube videos to learn more. In the 4xOverland videos, they tested a Quadradrive II G/C and it was the only vehicle they ever had that would go up a certain steep slope and not even spin the wheels. In other videos they used Land Rovers and G-wagons up the same hills and they would all spin even with lockers. If you think a Montero with a rear locker is nice, how about all axles being locked up?! As far as I know, it's the only 4x4 that has this system. It's automatic and engages with the slightest amount of wheel spin, but on the road it works like a typical open diff. It's not typical ABS brakes Traction Control (which robs engine torque). Plus, the Jeep we have with the 4.7 V8 has neck-snapping power and throttle response and will pass cars effortlessly, yet still gets 17-18 MPG average (city/hwy), while our older straight 6 got barely one MPG more! The Jeep Overlands usually sit an inch taller which is nice. Service and parts easy to get.
6) Suburban - Ok, this is the king of the SUV's. I've known guys who have had these and they basically check off all the boxes other than compact size. If you want to tow a big boat/trailer, it might be the right ticket.
7) Land Cruiser - I don't know what it is, but L/C's just look ugly and ungainly. Low ground clearance. Talk about one of the worst designs in history (IMO), kind of like the shape of a melted dog turd ....what was Toyota thinking?! I think they would have sold twice as many if they would have went the way of a Ford Expedition (taller and more off-road looking). Worse yet, Mitsubishi followed their design path with the Montero 3, which I personally think was a huge mistake. If you look at some of the newer Mitsubishi Pajero's like in Brazil, they seem to be taller more of the stance like a Gen 2.5 from my eye. But I guess some people like the L/C's and Mitsubishi sold a lot of the Gen 3 Monteros, so what do I know?? Toyota generally gets the 4x4 down right if you plan to wheel one, so, perhapes it doesn't hurt to take a look at one for comparison sakes, maybe you can find one priced 'right'. They DO keep their value over time which is nice. I'm not anti-Toyota, I have an older Toyota 4x4 PU that I love.
8) What about a newer Explorer? I used to own one several years ago. It was nice, but I liked the Jeeps better and stuck with them. I haven't looked at Explorers in years, but I kind of like the new design..
Well, those are some of my off the cuff thoughts suggestions. Let us know what you are leaning towards and what you find out in your search....
Good luck!
