Whats so great about Jeeps?

New jeep wranglers don’t seem as durable as slightly older ones but are still amazing off-road when treated well. By the time we were done with our off-road unfitted 2024 Wrangler unlimited, the dashboard was disconnected on the passenger side and was rotating forward and the HVAC controls no longer worked. We went on the exact same trail and did similar stupid things with a 2018 a few years back and it survived unscathed. That said, the newer one was infinitely nicer on the road than the 2018. It’s a give and take it seems.
 
At the risk of getting rotten vegetables thrown at me..
Wouldnt a side by side be a better and cheaper option?
Or are jeeps second/toy cars and not daily drivers?
 
My daily , 1980 cj5.

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At the risk of getting rotten vegetables thrown at me..
Wouldnt a side by side be a better and cheaper option?
Or are jeeps second/toy cars and not daily drivers?
In my opinion, no. And I’ve been in the off-road scene my entire life.

Here in the desert it’s too hot or cold most of the year for a side by side. Too dusty at the other times too. Then you’ve got to load it up on a trailer and unload it at your destination. Then in the meantime you’ve got to have something that can pull said trailer and have somewhere to park the trailer and side by side.
 
Outside of the current Wrangler, I consider the XJ and WJ the last of the "real" Jeep's.

Our current WJ has 185k on it and runs like a top. Sure, it burns oil, but all 4.7's do. Outside of that, it's been the epitome of reliable. Same could be said for my previous WJ that I sold with 250k+ on it (also a 4.7). Before that, another WJ with the 4.0. Again, 200K plus and everything worked. Brakes, tires, fluids and you're good to go.

Now, WK's? You couldn't give me one. Sure, they drive nice but compared to a WJ, ZJ, or XJ the reliability is horrid.

*EDIT* I forgot to mention this before, but I have never for the life of me understood why any rational human would subject themselves to daily driving a Wrangler. Granted, I haven't driven the newest models, but at least up through 2019 they drove like the penalty boxes they are. Absolutely perfect for their intended use, abysmal as daily transportation.
 
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I want a Wrangler but know I wouldn’t use it like intended. We make do with a Grand Cherokee which we use as though it is a station wagon. Ours is 17 years old.
 
Outside of the current Wrangler, I consider the XJ and WJ the last of the "real" Jeep's.

Our current WJ has 185k on it and runs like a top. Sure, it burns oil, but all 4.7's do. Outside of that, it's been the epitome of reliable. Same could be said for my previous WJ that I sold with 250k+ on it (also a 4.7). Before that, another WJ with the 4.0. Again, 200K plus and everything worked. Brakes, tires, fluids and you're good to go.

Now, WK's? You couldn't give me one. Sure, they drive nice but compared to a WJ, ZJ, or XJ the reliability is horrid.

*EDIT* I forgot to mention this before, but I have never for the life of me understood why any rational human would subject themselves to daily driving a Wrangler. Granted, I haven't driven the newest models, but at least up through 2019 they drove like the penalty boxes they are. Absolutely perfect for their intended use, abysmal as daily transportation.
I went to lunch with some coworkers a couple years ago and the one who drove, had just bought a new Wrangler 4 door diesel. It rode terrible, was noisy, and uncomfortable. It also wandered all over the road and he pointed it out. Said the dealer couldn’t figure out why. I’d pass by it in the parking garage and you could see the factory mud tires wearing insanely bad. He put a new set on the front every 6 months.

He doesn’t work there anymore so not sure the current status.
 
I went to lunch with some coworkers a couple years ago and the one who drove, had just bought a new Wrangler 4 door diesel. It rode terrible, was noisy, and uncomfortable. It also wandered all over the road and he pointed it out. Said the dealer couldn’t figure out why. I’d pass by it in the parking garage and you could see the factory mud tires wearing insanely bad. He put a new set on the front every 6 months.

He doesn’t work there anymore so not sure the current status.
So he was running mudders on the street and it didn't handle that great. I am shocked. / sarc.
 
It's jeep weekend at our local beach this weekend, which inspires the question. What's so great about jeeps and their cult like following they have? All I see is a body style that hasn't been changed in 40 years
So I assume we are talking specifically about the Wrangler here then, and not other Jeep models?
 
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So he was running mudders on the street and it didn't handle that great. I am shocked. / sarc.
I gave away my factory KO2’s at 37k - they’d have easily gone 55k - but I was itching to try 315’s in the sand and they have been awesome - rounded by the factory rims - reminds me of the old **** cepek era.
But they ride better and make less noise at 37 psi - and I don’t air down off the pavement …
 
Ah, yes, the factory tires. What a wild tire setup.

This thing steered like a rubber band connected the steering box to the drag link instead of a pitman arm. He was fighting it.

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This is well understood by both the factory engineers and many who purchase them. You won’t unlock the anti sway bar and articulate axles the same with any other system …
 
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