Jeeper here.

I just rented a 4 door in Kona last month. First time I lived with one. It was a 2 week rental.

Hell no. It is too big. It is too heavy and so underpowered.

It is pretty quiet at 60 mph compared to a TJ. This was a hard top. Not as quiet as a car of course but enough for it not to be an issue.

The suspension OTOH was as bad or worse, yes worse, than the TJ. Not sure how they fucked that up. This is for road riding. Don't know what it's like offroad (not allowed by rental). Doesn't matter though. It'd get stuck between two trees or on a hairpin turn on the trails we have in WA.

Turning radius was like a bus. Turning it around on Ali'i was a pain in the ass.

If I were buying a new Jeep I'd get a 2 door JK. No way I'd ever get the 4 door. If you need all that space then just get a Cherokee!

Best way to own a Jeep is to have a different daily driver, then get a used unmodified 2 door Wrangler for weekend fun. If you buy it jacked you are buying someone else's shoddy workmanship.

It's a Chrysler.

I've owned 4 Grand Cherokees over 20+ years and the one I have now is the last one. Mostly unreliable.

Also this.

There's nothing else like a Jeep, and that's why they sell so well. If Toyota released something comparable (like the old land cruiser! but modernized and with a removable top) I'd buy it immediately. So would many others, and Jeep would go tits up.

wife has had a 4 door wrangler for over years and loves it. it is one of the newer supposedly better driving ones but i think to look at it from a purely functional perspective misses the point. it may be big, heavy, accelerate slower than others in the class, and swapping the hard and soft tops is a right pain; but it has a cool factor that a Rav4 or Subaru Forrester just doesn't have.

only 60+K miles but i can't recall it ever breaking down or needing any mechanical repairs.......my n=1

My friend insists on having one - the 4 door model - and it is a POS from a reliability perspective. Looks cool but no way could I put up with the reliability issues and packaging compromises.

I looked into buying one a few years ago.

Pros - you can take the top down, and it looks cool

Cons - virtually everything else


My main cons were noise, extra cost, reliability, gas mileage. If I remember correctly, I don't think it does well in crash tests.

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-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485

My son had one for a while. Be prepared to go deaf from turning up the radio so loud because it's so f'in NOISY!

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I'll be what I am
A solitary man

I sure hope the new Defender is sold here. And not for normal Landie money too...
http://autoweek.com/...ffer-five-bodystyles

 
I'd go cruise one of the many jeep forums and see what owners have to say. I usually join a forum for a particular car before I buy it, check out the FAQ's and the frequent issues stickies and go from there.

I know one person who has a 4 door jeep and he absolutely loves it. Drives it from New Jersey to Moab, offroads for a week then drives home. He does recommend the higher numerical gear set as with the "economy" gears it is a gutless pig. He runs 33" tires with the other gears and says it is just fine. No mechanical or electrical issues for him. He uses it as a daily driver from NJ to NY, no issues.

I wouldn't mind having one but not sure I would want to DD it, more of a fun car, at which point a 2 door might be more fun.

Love mine though it only has 12K on it. Use it as my DD. And unless I'm doing 70+ with the top down and the doors off, it's very quiet. On the flip side- the base stereo sucks and I wish it got better MPG. Still, it's awesome going to the beach and the mountains

  
Over the last few years I have had two of them. Both manual transmission, the only way to drive a Jeep. We traded in the first one that was 2012 I think. It was so under powered. We would be on the expressway and 18 wheelers would pass us on up hills. The later model has the aluminum engine with more horse power, much better. But then Wranglers forte is not for going 80 mph on the expressway. Off road on mountain roads and trails it was in its element, very enjoyable. Gas milage is ok at best, I think on the highway we got about 18 mpg, that front end and big wheels are not aerodynamic. We had the removable hard top that in all the years we had we took off once. My two dogs liked it better than the Xterra Pro we now have. Jeeps are unique and not for everyone. Rent one for a week and see what you think.

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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

Nothing screams mid-life crisis like a middle aged dude driving around town in a jeep with the top down. You get bonus points if you have a ball cap on turned around backwards and the music jacked up.

You get a pass if you are actually off-road somewhere.....but few rarely are and use a jeep (or any 4x4) like they are intended.

My 1980 Jeep CJ-5 that I got when I was 16 was the best vehicle I've every owned. So many good times and so easy to fix and work on. They don't make them like that anymore.

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Yep, except for the backwards cap. That's the neighbor. The music isn't jacked up either because if it's too loud you're too old. And, as noted above, the stereo sucks. My wife much preferred this option over the 2 seater that wouldn't fit the kids and the newer model of her.

We have a 2014 Unlimited. Bought initially with the knowledge that resale is so good, that I could dump it a year later and not take a massive loss. Turns out I like it way more than I thought I would. It's just a fun vehicle even as a daily driver. Impractical but super fun. We'll be keeping it for a while, I think. In-class comparisons are worthless here. None are really comparable in terms of what a Jeep is meant to do. It is its own class, which is why they sell and resell so well.

Get a new one , or one with the new engine design -- much better than the pre-2012 ones. No mechanical problems yet. It's only got 30k miles on it, but I have the option to purchase a fairly comprehensive Lifetime warranty from Mopar for about $2500. Thinking I'll likely pass but they allow purchase of it well outside of the 3/36k warranty period.

It's not overtly loud (even with the soft top). You can easily carry on a normal conversation on the highway. It's no sedan and if you prefer a "cadillac" ride and creature comfort, look elsewhere for sure. It's a Jeep and you'll know it every time you drive. Most bigger tires will stiffen the ride further. Do yourself a favor and at a min. opt for power windows, the bluetooth package and 3.73 gears. I also added leather seats - perforated to reduce swamp ass in the summer. This was my first American car purchase in 25 years. I'd buy another Jeep at this point but time will tell.

I've owned a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited for ~3 years. It's a Sahara with hard top and all the bells and whistles. It's a Jeep, not a Cadillac. With that said, I have driven mine on 16+ hour trips where it's all highway and no complaints other than when it's windy you must remember you are actually driving a square with wheels. I have also driven many hours on fairly rough dirt roads in the middle of no where with absolutely no issues.

I live in a small town without a long commute, so in the spring, summer, and fall I have the top and/or doors off most of the time. In the middle of the summer when it's the hottest, I either run with top on and no doors, or have top off with a sunshade...or I leave everything on and run A/C because I don't like sweating my ass off in dress clothes. I installed a winch in my garage where I can take off and put back on the hard top in less than 5 minutes without any help. To store it, I simply crank it up close to the garage ceiling and pull in under it.

I have only encountered one major maintenance issue in the years I have owned a Jeep - I had sludge build up in the heating and cooling system. It was a known issue and was covered by Jeep in full to get fixed. I was out a vehicle for a few days, but was given a loaner for free so no complaints on that. Outside of that, just normal routine maintenance - maybe I've just gotten lucky.

My Jeep has a 6 cylinder engine and yes, the power is not awesome, but I knew that going in. I drive comfortably on major highways 70-80 with no issue and I live in an area where no road is flat. If I wanted to drive fast, easily and smoothly, I wouldn't have bought a Jeep Wrangler. As far as sound goes, when the hard top is on, it's not what I would call super quiet; however, I wouldn't categorize it as loud either. Again, it's not a Cadillac or some other luxury car. Gas mileage isn't great, but it's not horrible (depending on your perspective I guess). It certainly isn't a Prius - thankfully.

I wouldn't buy a Jeep if you never take the top and/or doors off - there are smarter choices out there and you are paying a premium for the ability to go topless. It is by far my favorite vehicle ever purchased. I never would have been able to convince the wifey to buy one if it wasn't 4-doors as we have two kids. I've owned a 2-door back in the day as well, and to say it is a PIA to get in and out of the backseat of that is an understatement.

I have a 13 JKU Sahara with over 43k. No problems, love it. Have a winch in garage to remove hardtop which takes less than 15 minutes to remove/install.

It is the best for triathletes. Built to get dirty and easy to clean. Seats in back fold flat and hitch racks are perfect addition.

Took it off road first month I had it with a jeep club. Totally stock and was so much fun.

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I miss you "Sports Night"

Nay!

I've been doing a lot of research on car buying and manufacturers. The only brand with a lower overall reliability rating is Fiat.

A long time ago my ex bought a Jeep purely on emotion. It was almost as expensive to maintain as the Land Rover he bought for the same reason.

Because it looks cool or has a reputation for being cool is pretty much the worst reason to buy any vehicle. It won't be very cool when its at the mechanic.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Living in Colorado I really want a Jeep until I test drive one. It steers like a boat, is really loud on the highway and is very under powered for anything but off roading.

Good comments everyone, much appreciated!

We owned 2 Jeep Grand Cherokees, both 2000 models. Both had non-stop electrical and A/C issues. In fact, the A/C wouldn't really ever cool the vehicles.

I love mine. I have 3 cars to choose from and most of the time I choose it. I did a little work on it including 3.5 inch lift and 35" tires for offroading (desert/rocks). Even with those still take it on road trips. I noticed mine handles better after the suspension change.

Reliable? Ha ha. My experience with Jeeps was watching a roommate. He bought a used one. Shortly afterward he bought another. He used the second one for parts to fix the first one. He had to fix his jeep so often that in the open parking lot he had an array of tools sitting outside next to where he parked. After a while his tools were stolen and as much as he liked the idea of driving a Jeep, he decided it just wasn't worth the hassle. He did manage to put up with it for half a year, so you have to give him credit for determination. Meanwhile, my Subaru, which I drove all over the mountains, never saw the inside of a repair shop.

Old topic, but I'll bite.

I traded in my lease of a 2015 silverado 1500 and bought a 2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

It's awesome. Soft top in summer, hard top in winter. Soft top comes down in a couple of minutes.

Manual transmission (which I wanted), power windows and locks. Alpine sound system.

Small transmission problem under warranty--can happen to any car.

I do not miss my truck at all. I hope to do some off roading next summer, maybe go to Black Hills for a few days.

It's my daily driver, but we have other cars that fit other purposes (3 drivers in the family).

I have the hardtop headliners, its not a quiet as a mercedes, about the same as our VW.

I have a 2015 Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock edition, I bought it because I love the colour (Anvil) and it's the only one they had on the lot on that colour. In general I love it. It's my daily driver but I don't drive a lot, 16000 kms since buying it in July 2015. We also have a Subaru Outback, a Golf R and a Mini so the driving gets split up a good bit between all three vehicles. The Outback has the baby seats so that one probably gets driven the most. In winter though and if it's just me I drive the Jeep (The Golf and Mini are stored). The HR edition has a few bells and whistles that I appreciate, Alpine stereo, some off-road specific things like axle-locks and sway bar disconnect, better body styling etc. It came with both a hard top and a soft top but I generally just keep the hard top on and remove the freedom panels periodically. We get nasty winters here, snow on the ground from November to April, I also take it off-roading with my son who's 5 and thinks it's the coolest thing in the world (He also loves my 'race car' equally as much I think though), I constantly am making trips to the dump in it and tow a utility trailer regularly with all kinds of stuff so I do use it for utility purposes as well.

You know what you are getting with a Jeep, I drove it 5000 kms within the first three days of buying it and loved it, yes it's noisy, loud, rough etc but you know that if you are looking at one. Mine came with the larger BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires so those are pretty loud and rough, I swapped those with Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs and it made a huge difference in road feel and noise but still have an aggressive tread.

I've had no issues with reliability, mechanical or electrical but that may be due to the lack of driving it. I did buy a lifetime bumper to bumper warranty with paint and leather protection so that gives me some piece of mind. A good thing with Jeeps is that the aftermarket is huge and you can basically replace anything on the Jeep with either Mopar parts or third party. I like to keep everything Mopar though and have done a few modest upgrades, nothing crazy.

Anyway feel free to PM me if you have any questions. What I wrote above is probably not that helpful!!

I have the Willy's-- it came with a few upgrades, but nothing like yours.

I would have loved the Hard Rock, but it was too much $$. Could not justify the lockers, etc. I've got 3.73, limited slip diff. Like it came with black wheels and grill. I have the gobi.

I will be switching my stock mud tires for a bit taller Duratracs. Maybe a lift at some point, but in the mean time I'm having fun adding things. Next up are some headlights.