Greetings from Iceland

[IcelandExplorer]

Hi all

Just wanted to post a quick introduction. I'm from Iceland and am looking to get my first Explorer. Have had a few SUVs previously, including Land Cruiser 90, Nissan Pathfinder, and my current vehicle MB ML 230 (4 cylinder, manual transmission version of the ML, never sold in the USA if I'm not mistaken). Petrol is bloody expensive in Iceland, about $8/gallon (!), but that makes Explorers really cheap to buy second hand (about a third of what you'd expect to pay for a similarly spec'd Land Cruiser diesel).

So, will be using the forum to help make my mind up on what to get and then to make living with an experienced Explorer easier than it otherwise might be!

Cheers,
IE

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum!

 

[FIND]

Welcome to the site, what are you planning on using your explorer for?

 

[Turdle]

Welcome to the forum. I look forward to your build-

Welcome to the site, what are you planning on using your explorer for?

They build em into snow mobiles --huge floaty tires and stuff-3-4k in metal fender flare work alone. Daddy likes--


http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198577&highlight=icelandic

 

[IcelandExplorer]

Find - I'm just going to use it as general transportation for my wife, myself and our three little ones. Got three girls all still in child chairs so need a wide vehicle to fit three across. I do a fair bit of travelling around Iceland with the family and the Explorer should be very good for that - comfortable and capable for some mild off-roading (nothing too serious though I realize).

And Turdle - no, I won't be building one of these super-jeeps like the one on the picture you posted! These are pretty specialized and expensive to build and maintain. I use a motorcycle for my off-road playtime

One question I'd appreciate your opinions on (previously posted in a different thread with no response):

I'm having difficulty deciding whether I should go for a late model 3rd gen (04 or 05) or a an 06 4th gen (my budget won't really allow for a later model than 06).

I like the looks and various improvements that have been made to the 4th gen, but worry about reliability of the first model year of that generation.

The 3rd gen on the other hand, I can pick up very clean, low mileage examples 04 or 05 (XLT, Eddie Bauer or Limited) for a fair bit less than I'd have to fork out for an 06 XLT. The 04 and especially the 05 should have ironed out most of the early problems (shouldn't they?) but I still worry about the transmission problems many are reporting.

Would very much appreciate your opinions on the pros and cons of late 3rd gen vs early 4th gen - in particular anything relating to reliability (not least tranny issues) and any points on fuel economy would be great as well.