Which SUV would be the best overall choice? The Jeep Grand Cherokee, Isuzu Rodeo,Nissan pathfider/ X-terra, or Toyota four-runner.

Any and all help would be helpful.

What are you using it for?  What's your price range?

It's going to make a difference in the answer.

Toyota and Nissan are going the be built the best and hold their value better as well.

I have a 4Runner in the latest body style.  With a V8 it's a great truck.  New Pathfinder is supposed to ge a nice truck, but I would not buy any car in the first year of a new model/design, too many bugs.

Jeep is a good offroader, but will not hold resale as well as Toyota or Pathfinder.

I would avoid Isuzu, better options, quality and value with the other Japanese brands.

Some people love the Honda Pilot, but it is not a serious off road truck like the ones on your list.

The price range is from $10k to $18k. Also I don't need to buy new a good used deal will be great.
As far as off-roading that will be very light offroading,some but nothing like the Rubicon.

Quoted: The Jeep Grand Cherokee, Isuzu Rodeo,Nissan pathfider/ X-terra, or Toyota four-runner.

Jeep Grand Cherokee,

It's nothing more than a crapbox on wheels with no resale value, as with all Chryslers.  My dad's boss had two GC's, and had nothing but problems.  He has had two GMC Envoy's and loves them.

Isuzu Rodeo

Can't find one new, Isuzu has now discontinued them and only sells the Ascender now.  Being down to one model means that Isuzu IMO is in some serious financial trouble and can't really do its SUV lines right now.  IMO maybe they need to stick to their heavy trucks-what I think it really does best.

I've not heard much about Rodeos.  

Nissan pathfider/ X-terra,

Nissan has been trying to make their new models look like ass, and the Pathfinder and Xterra are no exception.  I would maybe try to go with the Supercharged Xterra but like the Rodeo, I don't know a whole lot about Xterra/Pathfinder.  IIRC they share the same running gear.  The older(before 05) Xterra's look cool, as I said, Nissan has been trying their darndest to ass-ify their vehicles.

Toyota four-runner.

They are probably gonna be your best bet, aside from the Rodeos.  vmax84
has an older 4Runner.  You might want to ask him, but I don't know exactly what model year you're looking for.  The new ones are nice, but they are damn expensive.

I might reccomend a 98-04 Chevy Blazer.  

I wouldn't go with any Blazers older than the range I say here, my sister had a 96 and it started sh$tting the bed at 100K.  The 2000 LT my family just got rid of was not very problematic, aside from a power window issue, and a fuel gauge/sending unit issue that makes the fuel gauge give an incorrect reading.  

Hope this helps.  

The Jeep will be less expensive used than the Toy or Nissan, are good in the dirt and will be cheaper to repair and cheaper for parts.  They do not age well, so high miles will a bigger deal on this truck.

Older 4Runners had cramped seating, were under-powered and had head gasket issues on the 6 cylinder engine.  I would avoid anything prior to 1996.

Older Nissan Pathfinders were and are extremely reliable and pretty comfortable to drive with a very nice 6 cylinder engine.  This would be my pick in the price range you mention.

Quoted: The price range is from $10k to $18k. Also I don't need to buy new a good used deal will be great. As far as off-roading that will be very light offroading,some but nothing like the Rubicon.

You're going to need to look around, then.  

Off road, none of the other options will come close to the Grand Cherokee.  A Land Rover Discovery would, but good luck finding one in that price range.

If you need to do any towing, then look at V8 versions of some of the trucks.  That will toss out a few of your choices.

I wouldn't, in that price range, worry too much about a vehicle holding it's value.  Most of the value is lost when it's driven off the lot.  After a year or two, they'll all start depreciating at a rate closer to each other.

In general, my feeling is that in cars, Japanese and German vehicles are usually best.  But in Trucks, I think that it's American first.  Some SUV's are really 'Trucks' and others are really 'cars'.  Everything you have listed, I feel is a 'Truck'.  The aforementioned Honda Pilot is a 'Car' (IMHO, of course).

Whatever you get, look for a mid-to-late model year for that design - the bugs will have been worked out.  And look carefully at the options that you have.  In the Jeep, for instance, the V8's are nice, and will give better towing capacity and performance, but the 4.0 I-6 is a tank that will run forever.  In a used car, reliability at a high mileage is pretty important.

Also, remember that some 'luxury items' are things that you might have to fix.  Power windows, door locks, etc, are all nice - but when they break, it's a spendy repair bill, while the manual versions tend not to break and are easily fixed if they do.  This is of particular concern in Az heat.

There's a lot to look at - with a used car, it's less a game of original specifications than it is a game of the actual shape of the vehicles that you're looking at.  

Quoted: ...The aforementioned Honda Pilot is a 'Car' (IMHO, of course).

In fact the Pilot is not even a car, it's a mini-van; based on the Honda Odysey.   yikes.

Stay away from the Jeep and Isuzu.

That leaves two choices. Of the two, I'd choose the Nissan.

Quoted: yeah skip Isuzu, they are on the way out. I went to my isuzu dealership to get some parts and they told me they dropped the isuzu dealership. Not good. I don't think Grand Cherokees are very reliable.

Jeep is like the rest of ChryCo, nothing but sh#t.  

Avoid the Grand Cherokee.  I had nothing but trouble with mine (troubles began at 40000 miles).

When I got rid of it I looked at the Four Runner and the Pathfinder.  Got the Pathfinder because I didn't fit well in the Toyota.  I'm 6'4".

The Pathfinder has given 82000 trouble free miles.

I bought a brand new JGC.  4x4.  Had it in the shop about 12 or 13 times in the first year.  At that point, I realized it had no long term reliability, and dumped it.  Bought a BMW 528i,  which I can take most places that others drive their suv's  (Think Hun Farm and torrential rainfall)

Of your list, the pathfinder or the 4runner.  Nothing else to discuss.

TXL

Quoted: I bought a brand new JGC.  4x4.  Had it in the shop about 12 or 13 times in the first year.  At that point, I realized it had no long term reliability, and dumped it.  Bought a BMW 528i,  which I can take most places that others drive their suv's  (Think Hun Farm and torrential rainfall) Of your list, the pathfinder or the 4runner.  Nothing else to discuss. TXL

+1

I used to work as a tech at a Jeep dealer.

The GC is a capabe vehicle, but very unreliable.

The regular Cherokee is the most reliable modern Jeep, followed by the Wrangler IMHO.

Most of the techs drove Cherokees [including myself, at the time], or Toyota cars/ pickups.

I say Toyota first, Nissan second.