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You must not have heard what Jeep stands for. Just Empty Every Pocket.
And right on queue, Toyota continues to be the best overall value. Quit buying misery. Instead, buy a Toyota and get some of your time back spent on repairs.
My suspicion is the friend with jeeps are still in their honey moon period when the car can do no wrong.
You sound like you've already convinced yourself and are already picturing yourself driving around with the top off and the doors removed.
You want what you want. Go for it. You only live once.
The German culture has a subtle difference from America. If the manual states that you have to bring the car in for adjustments, the owner will bring the car in and the service folks will do what they need to do. You can't gaurantee such behavior in the US market and it's why there is a disparity with German cars.
Subaru actually makes a very good CVT without many of the complaints you get with CVTs from other manufacturers. IMO, it's a significant improvement over many of their auto options from previous years. And the Outback & Forrester are generally reliable vehicles that are both comfortable weekday drivers and, while not rock-hoppers like the Jeep Wrangler, can nimbly handle some moderately gnarly logging roads on the weekend.
As for the Germans, many have issues that no amount of following the maintenance schedule to the letter will fix. I'm one of many who got burned by the early 00s electrical issues that were all too common in VW/Audi then and where the fix is to apparently rewire the entire car.
Family is looking for a vehicle that is "different." Which would be a vehicle that would be good for the long run, say 100-150k miles. The 2017 Audi A4 2.0T or a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon? Audi has supposedly improved with reliability but we won't know for sure until a few years down the road. Friends say Jeep has the worst reliability, but most of the Wrangler Unlimited owners I know have been happy.
I'm advantage to the Jeep I was thinking, is that there are many mechanics who can easily work on them. Wranglers are easier to work on to begin with, and parts are usually cheaper than German parts?
(Yes, I know these are 2 very different vehicles, but looking for something other than a Camry or Accord).
Still don't understand why you limited yourself to those two vehicles. If that's your only criteria, just put some names in a hat, or flip a coin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katana49
I don't see anything "different" about either of these choices. The Audi is a 4 door family sedan, nothing special about it. The Jeep... is a Jeep. Pretty much like the ones they built back in the 60's, only with more plastic.
If you're looking for a different type of vehicle, I think I'd be looking at sport wagons with all wheel drive.
OP said off road once every couple months. OP, are we talkin pre-runner style off road, or creep our way out to a back trail off road/
OP, I wouldn't even call that (100-150) the long run anymore. Newer vehicles should be going twice that without any major mechanical repairs. My 15 year old truck I beat the hell out of every mile sure has. I normally ask a lot of questions to try to help narrow down, but I feel like the OP made such a half-....effort thread, I just want to be condescending.
I had a VW Passat 1998, an Audi TT convertible 2001 and have a VW Touareg 2004.
The Passat had a some issues, from cosmetic (glue dissolving and interior panels falling apart) to fatal (timing belt broke prematurely, damaged valves and pistons but was repaired under warranty). Sold this in 2004 and didn't have major out of warranty repairs (catalytic converter stopped working at year 5 but was replaced under federally mandated exhaust system warranty).
The TT was another story. Some clutch cylinder broke twice ($$$$), AC compressor coupling broke ($$$$$), power windows broke ($$), hydraulic top broke ($$$$$$$$$$), ABS and ESP broke ($$$$), cheap crappy relays broke several times ($$). After the transmission broke I sold it to a junk yard. This thing was a total money black hole. You cannot get out of a Audi dealership shop without a minimum $500 bill and some repairs were several thousand $. Was fun to drive though and looked great!
I would NEVER again own an Audi out of warranty. In fact, I would only lease these things if I wanted one. One average out of warranty repair would pay for half a year of lease payments for a new car in that class.
The VW Touareg is ok. Just had a $4000 bill to repair oil leak, change timing belt, water pump, general service, replace fuel pump, battery and fix air filter box and vacuum hoses. But it is 12 years old and has lots of miles and this was the only huge repair bill so far.
Volkswagens are very reliable vehicles and I have to admit I've become partial to the brand since buying one three years ago. I bought it used and have had ZERO mechanical issues with it. The reliability is better than any used American cars I've owned.
That being said, I owned a Jeep Wrangler before (when they were still real Jeep's, with an inline 6 cyl. engine and a cast iron block, no power windows and locks, etc., etc.) and today's Jeep is more like an off road capable SUV. I can only imagine the maintenance issues have gone up since they have turned into SUV's. However, Jeeps are, at the core, designed for off road use. And my '97 was extremely easy to work on and maintain. I still miss it. They are in no way comparable to a performance type daily driver like an Audi. And Audi has an expensive and lengthy history of maintenance issues.
You are on opposite ends of the spectrum, I would move a little more to center and consider a VW. But thats just me.
If I were looking for something to take offroad but also comfy and civilized in town, I'd look no further than a Toyota Land Cruiser, preferably a 100 series bought used. If you want a bit more posh, look for the Lexus version.
For the Family I think the American car better because it is the biggest size and less expensive maintenance and reasonable and is not as expensive as German
Van Chevrolet or Ford Explorer will be an excellent option
If you were to develop a mission profile for your new vehicle you'd have a much better idea of what to get.
And if you were to later switch from one mission to another, you would need a trans-mission profile.
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If that's your only criteria, just put some names in a hat, or flip a coin. 
OP said off road once every couple months. OP, are we talkin pre-runner style off road, or creep our way out to a back trail off road/ 
