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Past JK Owners How Much Better Is The JL On Road?

Vegas_Sirk

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Now that a bunch of you have the JL's and have been driving them for a while, how much better is the JL on the road and especially on the hwy (ie long drives) compared to the JK/U. One of my biggest gripes about my JKU is that on long Overland style trips it wears me out, so I'm curious really how much better the JL/U would be.

I know a lot of people are going to be excited since they own a shiny new JL but please put excitement aside and be as realistic as possible.
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Redwrangler

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For us, the difference is huge when comparing our ‘17 Sahara JKU to the new ‘18 Sahara JLU. The JLU acceleration is quicker and we had the 3.73 gears in the ‘17. Although we never had a problem with the 5-speed auto, the new transmission is much nicer. Better acceleration, smooth gear changes and knowing what gear to be in during city driving. The JK always wanted fifth gear as soon as possible. Noise level while driving on the highway (70+) is much less now. A lot less actually. I never cared too much in the JK because it was like our previous ‘12 Jeep JK 2dr., but the JL is much nicer. Still having a little wind noise around the front doors (mirrors?). The driving position is great (6’1”/265) and everything is within easy reach. I preferred the window switch location higher up as in the JK, but I am getting used to the lower location.

Back to the road noise. It is much quieter than the JK, but if we are driving more than a few hundred miles, we take our Grand Cherokee Overland. The GC is hard to beat for extended trips!

I hope this helps.
 
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Vegas_Sirk

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For us, the difference is huge when comparing our ‘17 Sahara JKU to the new ‘18 Sahara JLU. The JLU acceleration is quicker and we had the 3.73 gears in the ‘17. Although we never had a problem with the 5-speed auto, the new transmission is much nicer. Better acceleration, smooth gear changes and knowing what gear to be in during city driving. The JK always wanted fifth gear as soon as possible. Noise level while driving on the highway (70+) is much less now. A lot less actually. I never cared too much in the JK because it was like our previous ‘12 Jeep JK 2dr., but the JL is much nicer. Still having a little wind noise around the front doors (mirrors?). The driving position is great (6’1”/265) and everything is within easy reach. I preferred the window switch location higher up as in the JK, but I am getting used to the lower location.

Back to the road noise. It is much quieter than the JK, but if we are driving more than a few hundred miles, we take our Grand Cherokee Overland. The GC is hard to beat for extended trips!

I hope this helps.
Thanks thats good feeback. How is the steering? The JL was suppose to get the new Hydro steering so did that tighten things up? or still a lot of play (on the JK there was about an inch of side to side play). Also still like driving a kite in windy conditions?
 

Redwrangler

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Thanks thats good feeback. How is the steering? The JL was suppose to get the new Hydro steering so did that tighten things up? or still a lot of play (on the JK there was about an inch of side to side play). Also still like driving a kite in windy conditions?
I don’t see a lot of difference in the steering being “tighter” than the JK, but I never really noticed any problem on the JK. The JLU does seem to have a little tighter turning circle though.

My experience in Wranglers is that they require you to “drive it” all of the time. The live axle and large square shouldered tires are not exactly conducive to characteristics of driving a regular automobile. I guess to me it is a Jeep thing!:bandit::cwl:
 
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Vegas_Sirk

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My experience in Wranglers is that they require you to “drive it” all of the time. The live axle and large square shouldered tires are not exactly conducive to characteristics of driving a regular automobile. I guess to me it is a Jeep thing!:bandit::cwl:
Yea I was fine with the "Jeep Thing" when I got it, but after 5 years of it and someone who takes lots of 3-8 hour road trips snowboarding, snowmobiling, hiking, camping etc its getting old. If they can make SA full size trucks drive nice why not the Wrangler? I guess I need to go test drive one.
 

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Redwrangler

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Yea I was fine with the "Jeep Thing" when I got it, but after 5 years of it and someone who takes lots of 3-8 hour road trips snowboarding, snowmobiling, hiking, camping etc its getting old. If they can make SA full size trucks drive nice why not the Wrangler? I guess I need to go test drive one.
A test drive would better explain to you the difference in the old vs new. The JLU is a much better Wrangler.
 

$uicide$hift

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If they can make SA full size trucks drive nice why not the Wrangler?
They can but that would mean independent front suspension. If they want to keep the Jeep's off road capability the way it is IFS is out. Not that IFS is not capable. It has it's purpose. It is just not going to give the same capability the Wrangler is known for.
 
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Vegas_Sirk

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They can but that would mean independent front suspension. If they want to keep the Jeep's off road capability the way it is IFS is out. Not that IFS is not capable. It has it's purpose. It is just not going to give the same capability the Wrangler is known for.
Not a 100% true. The Power Wagon is Solid Front Axel and is very capable all while having very nice road manners.
 

Grindhouseknives

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The JLU is on a whole different level that my 2007 JKU. My JKU was an early build Jan 07 and had the 3.8 (which was a dog for sure) The JLU is much faster. The 3.45 gears help that for sure but the motor has a lot more pep than I was to. The steering is great. It doesn’t wander and there’s not much play in it at all. I have Sport S. I only have issues with it in corners because I don’t realize how fast I’m going. The wind still whips it around a little bit but that’s to be expected. It’s still shaped like a brick!
The noise level is greatly reduced but I have a hard top know and my JK was a premium soft top. I had a 6 sp in my JK and the new 6sp is so much nicer and the shifts are a lot more crisp.
 

$uicide$hift

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Not a 100% true. The Power Wagon is Solid Front Axel and is very capable all while having very nice road manners.
Never drove one let alone drove one side by side with the new JL to give any perspective on the difference in the way it handles. I would need to drive one more than a test drive to have an opinion.
 

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Vegas_Sirk

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The JLU is on a whole different level that my 2007 JKU. My JKU was an early build Jan 07 and had the 3.8 (which was a dog for sure) The JLU is much faster. The 3.45 gears help that for sure but the motor has a lot more pep than I was to. The steering is great. It doesn’t wander and there’s not much play in it at all. I have Sport S. I only have issues with it in corners because I don’t realize how fast I’m going. The wind still whips it around a little bit but that’s to be expected. It’s still shaped like a brick!
The noise level is greatly reduced but I have a hard top know and my JK was a premium soft top. I had a 6 sp in my JK and the new 6sp is so much nicer and the shifts are a lot more crisp.
Yea I have seen a lot of people say the 8-speed transmission has made the V6 come alive compared to in the JK. Its also good to hear you say the wandering and play has been reduced.
 

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Anyone that says the JL rides worse than the JK smoked their lunch. My JL on 35" E rated Toyo MT's rides better than any stock JKU by far. There is no comparison and anyone that says otherwise, is just lying or in denial or both.
 

K9Jeeper

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I’ll be honest with you, the steering and ability to keep it in a straight line is the same as the JK. Still wears you out a little. Still the same Jeep in that regard.

Suspension, is noticeably better.

Interior is a lot for comfortable.

Noise is a little less noticeable.

Don’t expect a huge departure from what you know with the JK, other than it is somewhat more livable on a daily basis.

All in all, I still love it, and have been DD Wranglers for years.
 

jaldeborgh

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I’ll be honest with you, the steering and ability to keep it in a straight line is the same as the JK. Still wears you out a little. Still the same Jeep in that regard.

Suspension, is noticeably better.

Interior is a lot for comfortable.

Noise is a little less noticeable.

Don’t expect a huge departure from what you know with the JK, other than it is somewhat more livable on a daily basis.

All in all, I still love it, and have been DD Wranglers for years.
Full disclosure, I've never driven a JK, I am transitioning from a 2011 BMW X3. I picked up my JLUR yesterday and from a driving dynamics it is much more truck like than my X3. The steering is numb and not precise, the suspension shudders when you hit a mid-sized pothole, under medium hard breaking the vehicle is a little squirmy and the V6 engine is not nearly as smooth as the straight 6 in the X3. All of this I anticipated given the basic design of the (any) Wrangler and I accept that it's unreasonable to expect it to be as refined as an X3, so I'm not in the least upset. From a quality and creature comfort standpoint however, the Jeep is great. The Uconnect system, I did opt for the upgraded version, is really much better than my BMW, the seats are roughly comparable but are more manual, the Wrangler is very tight (no rattles) and the wind noise isn't as bad as I'd been fearing but it is not as hushed as the X3, above about 40mph. My conclusion, with only 100 miles on the clock, is the JLUR is without question an acceptable daily driver, my wife also took it for a short drive and generally liked it, positive first impression, with the exception of climbing in and out, which I will address quickly.
 
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