Do they still have solid front axle? If so the ride will never be great.
The reliability of Jeeps in general is near the bottom of the barrel. But people love their Jeeps.
I had a CJ-5 and Grand Cherokee.
School Me on Jeep Wrangler
- Thread starter kballowe
- Start date
The reliability of Jeeps in general is near the bottom of the barrel. But people love their Jeeps.
I had a CJ-5 and Grand Cherokee.
We've had a '21 since new and really like the car. Sport 2 door, 3.6, 6 sp manual, soft top only w/ only options being larger wheels & tires and A/C. Mostly the Wife's and nice weather use only. Offroad mostly limited to beach and gravel roads, which it excels at. In the ~13K miles we've driven, no problems at all. Easy oil changes. I added OE mudflaps and the composite side steps, Waxoyl, Carhart seat covers ($$ but extremely durable), and the best mod ever a stop/start eliminator.
As folks have said, the manual set up isn't great. The shift knob is large and awkwardly shaped, your knuckles foul the reverse collar, the clutch is light and numb and the throttle isn't progressive, but more on that. That said, It isn't horrible, and I'll take a manual in this car anyday. The ride is what you would expect and mid-corner bumps can be exciting.
The throttle was very touchy at initial tip in, not linear at all, I always felt I was abusing the clutch. What is interesting is that after we had the clutch recall done, the throttle was much, much better.
At the end of the day, they are fun vehicles but not terribly practical as a daily. It all depends on your use case.
Our favorite summer configuration, sometimes its just to hot to have the sun beating on you.
As folks have said, the manual set up isn't great. The shift knob is large and awkwardly shaped, your knuckles foul the reverse collar, the clutch is light and numb and the throttle isn't progressive, but more on that. That said, It isn't horrible, and I'll take a manual in this car anyday. The ride is what you would expect and mid-corner bumps can be exciting.
The throttle was very touchy at initial tip in, not linear at all, I always felt I was abusing the clutch. What is interesting is that after we had the clutch recall done, the throttle was much, much better.
At the end of the day, they are fun vehicles but not terribly practical as a daily. It all depends on your use case.
Our favorite summer configuration, sometimes its just to hot to have the sun beating on you.
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We'd love to have you!
I second this.
Jeeps are the most useless vehicle that are the most fun to drive. I absolutely love mine, but admit it is a weekend toy, as I have a company vehicle for my weekly duties.
Get one and have fun!
One sentence that effectively sums up the 3 pages of posts in this thread.
With a soft top all you need is one drunk walking by your venicle with a pocketknife and your week is ruined. Plus much more wind noise, they are colder in the winter months, plastic windows can be a pain.
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OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
If the budget allows (and I know you said no 4-doors, buuuut) there's also the 392 Wrangler, though it's stupidly priced unfortunately.
35 years of owning Jeeps and that has never once happened anywhere I have lived.
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
You don't go to the fun bars apparently.
With your limited information there is no best engine or top type. Buy what you like and will enjoy the most.
Another vote for the Sunrider if you want the hard top. Basically the best of both worlds, plus the removable factory panels are about the dumbest thing ever -- storage is a significant issue unless you carry nothing on the trail. Yeah, they give you a fancy bag that's supposed to go behind the rear seat, but in practice this works poorly with camping gear
Someone sliced the soft top rear window on my 89 jeep around 1997…
Not a Jeep but we have to put soft top cars inside the shop at night.if we leave them outside we are guaranteed to have sliced tops in the morning.
Back to the original question. The last good jeep was the 04 model year. The 05 and 06 , 4.0 ate cams. I would not buy an 07+ myself unless they start putting a 392 in a 2 door with a manual
Right....not a fan of those. But I am a school administrator and have seen plenty of teachers and staff cars vandalized. Mine has never been touched. Which surprises me a little bit. LOL.
Dang. I wish you had told me that everything past 04 was no good 21 years ago. Just think of the risk I have taken!
I owned a 1999 TJ Sahara from 2002 to 2023, when I replaced it with a 2021 Sahara 4xe. This year the electric coolant heater died but was replaced under the hybrid system warranty. Aside from that no issues except for a few recalls.
I haven't made any significant modifications aside from an AEV/Bilstein steering damper and a Quadratec dead pedal. My dealer gave me a set of new 17" Rubicon take-offs which will replace the mall crawler 20" wheels later this year.
I will note that a good dealer can make a huge difference in the ownership experience; some Jeep dealers are beyond incompetent and if I didn't have a great dealer I'd likely be driving something else.
I haven't made any significant modifications aside from an AEV/Bilstein steering damper and a Quadratec dead pedal. My dealer gave me a set of new 17" Rubicon take-offs which will replace the mall crawler 20" wheels later this year.
I will note that a good dealer can make a huge difference in the ownership experience; some Jeep dealers are beyond incompetent and if I didn't have a great dealer I'd likely be driving something else.
Not the 4xE. They are at risk of bursting into flames, again
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
My rear hinges are rock/shell chipped - should have put guards on them - but zero rust on the 2020 JLU …
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
My Freedom/hardtop was all hard surface white - a bit too bright inside … So, bought a black closed cell foam kit that killed the glare and provides some temperature/noise buffer …
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
Had a PowerWagon for 17 years - a JLU is a luxury SUV compared to that Dana/leaf spring iron
Oh, just two ducks stayed …
(wife/daughter)
