I know two generations of Pathfinders, three generations of Wranglers and that Cherokee is a piece of shit. Nissans loosen up and get rattly. They also start to get pretty demanding of mechanicals. Nissan never really understood that the transmission should be tougher than the engine and their 2nd gear can be problematic. Don't know about the slushbox. Probably put 20,000 miles on a girlfriend's '99 pathfinder and I gotta say - driving it felt a lot like piloting a Huey gunship. The connection between the wheel and the road just wasn't there and the thing felt like a giant bomber bloating over the road. Wranglers, on the other hand, never tightened up. If you're talking the ones that are jeep-sized as opposed to the ones that are Chevy Suburban-sized, go with a 4-cyl. The 4cyls feel like nimble little mountain goats while the 6cyls feel like big wheezy trucks.