Potential first time Jeep owner

[apb]

Very nice, really like that sublime color too. I currently have the BFG KO2 A/T tires on mine and I don't hear any tire noise on the highway or at speed. I've had mud terrains on other vehicles and could definitely hear them, but these are no noisier than the tires I had on my Charger. Fortunately we get the ZF transmission in the new JL's and it is just as good as it was in my Charger, so the overall ride is very good. Just remember you're driving a body-on-frame, solid axle vehicle so the steering won't be as tight as your Challengers. But I love it, puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.

And since you're keeping your Scat Pack I wouldn't even hesitate if I were you. The first time you're running naked or the first time you take it wheeling on some trails you will immediately know you made the right decision.

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[VNT]

Here is my take.
Note I own 10 cars, so rotate them in and out of service on as needed basis

I have an 17 SRT but use that as a summer car toy. In the winter I drive one of my PTs( 3 are GT turbo sticks, so quite fun and dependable and easy to work on and cheap!), my wife has a 15 Hemi Overland to drive in the winter. Also have a nice 2000 durango and 02 WJ as spares.

In the summer we daily drive 2 of the 3 PT Convertibles and she has her Sahara which she loves, Wranglers were her dream car and we bought it for our 30th anniversary. She loves it, funny watching her get in and out, thank god for the running boards since she is only 5'6" tall. We got the 3.6 auto with the selctrac full time t-case and the LSD.

I liked it so much just got my 20 Rubicon, again 3.6 auto.

If you like the uniquness of your Challenger, you will enjoy the Wrangler. I am sorry but I think my Challenger is the most comfortable car I have ever owned, the SRT leather seats are awesome. So your coming from one extreme, comfy and fast to not so comfy and slower.

The Wrangler isnt uncomfortable, I do rather like the seats, the suspension is not as forgiving but it isnt reallly bad, note my WJ has solid axles and rides about the same.

I would recommend if you dont go Rubicon, get the Alpine, LSD, tech package cold weather group and the LED. If Sahara, I would get the Selctrac full time and the same. If rubicon, get the Alpine CWG, LED.

I like the heated seats, NAV and Alpine and the LED lights. Of course you can ad more ginger bread. To me they are a luxury SUV with more truck like ride with a convertible. also go for the hardtop, you can buy the full soft top for less money off craigslist.

Oh, dont get rid of your Challenger, always add cars to the fleet, never subtract!

If you work for FCa, what do you do? I have done my best to support you folks

 

[cdahl383]

Very nice, really like that sublime color too. I currently have the BFG KO2 A/T tires on mine and I don't hear any tire noise on the highway or at speed. I've had mud terrains on other vehicles and could definitely hear them, but these are no noisier than the tires I had on my Charger. Fortunately we get the ZF transmission in the new JL's and it is just as good as it was in my Charger, so the overall ride is very good. Just remember you're driving a body-on-frame, solid axle vehicle so the steering won't be as tight as your Challengers. But I love it, puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.

And since you're keeping your Scat Pack I wouldn't even hesitate if I were you. The first time you're running naked or the first time you take it wheeling on some trails you will immediately know you made the right decision.

Cool, that's good to know.

I love the A8 trans in my Challenger. It's the best automatic I've ever owned. It's a total beast in Track mode at the track, but then in default mode drives nice and smooth. I don't know if the Wranglers have a sport mode or not, but on the Challengers it's fun.

I'm not expecting it to handle like my Challenger. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't in for a huge surprise. Sounds like it would be a very fun vehicle to drive/own!

 

[cdahl383]

Here is my take.
Note I own 10 cars, so rotate them in and out of service on as needed basis

I have an 17 SRT but use that as a summer car toy. In the winter I drive one of my PTs( 3 are GT turbo sticks, so quite fun and dependable and easy to work on and cheap!), my wife has a 15 Hemi Overland to drive in the winter. Also have a nice 2000 durango and 02 WJ as spares.

In the summer we daily drive 2 of the 3 PT Convertibles and she has her Sahara which she loves, Wranglers were her dream car and we bought it for our 30th anniversary. She loves it, funny watching her get in and out, thank god for the running boards since she is only 5'6" tall. We got the 3.6 auto with the selctrac full time t-case and the LSD.

I liked it so much just got my 20 Rubicon, again 3.6 auto.

If you like the uniquness of your Challenger, you will enjoy the Wrangler. I am sorry but I think my Challenger is the most comfortable car I have ever owned, the SRT leather seats are awesome. So your coming from one extreme, comfy and fast to not so comfy and slower.

The Wrangler isnt uncomfortable, I do rather like the seats, the suspension is not as forgiving but it isnt reallly bad, note my WJ has solid axles and rides about the same.

I would recommend if you dont go Rubicon, get the Alpine, LSD, tech package cold weather group and the LED. If Sahara, I would get the Selctrac full time and the same. If rubicon, get the Alpine CWG, LED.

I like the heated seats, NAV and Alpine and the LED lights. Of course you can ad more ginger bread. To me they are a luxury SUV with more truck like ride with a convertible. also go for the hardtop, you can buy the full soft top for less money off craigslist.

Oh, dont get rid of your Challenger, always add cars to the fleet, never subtract!

If you work for FCa, what do you do? I have done my best to support you folks

I agree, the Challenger is an awesome vehicle! I had a 2010 R/T and now a 2015 Scat Pack. My daily driver is a 2019 Challenger R/T right now. Great cars for sure!

I'll definitely get the cold weather package. Our winters in Michigan can be pretty brutal. I prefer the looks of the hard top as well.

I don't plan on getting rid of the Challenger. I have too much fun with it. We have four cars right now. Our daily drivers are a 2019 Ram 1500 and 2019 Challenger R/T. The 2015 Scat Pack is more of a weekend/fun/nice weather car and I also have an old 1972 Chevy Nova. That was my first car actually, fixed it up over the years. I started out life as a Chevy guy and after meeting my wife became a Chevy/Mopar guy as her father worked for Chrysler for years (now retired).

I work in the finance team at the headquarter building. I do tax accounting. It's really exciting work haha! I enjoy working with numbers so it suits me well. I enjoy working with the people there as well, very nice group compared to other places I've worked in the past.

 

[Wabujitsu]

Just to add to what everyone else said, if you order the LSD you will get the Dana 44 rear axle by default, which is an upgrade for Sport and Sahara.

 

[cdahl383]

Another question, do all the rubicon’s come with a red dash? I read somewhere where the orange and green don’t but all other colors do. Not sure I like the red dash, maybe I need to see one in person.

 

[apb]

Another question, do all the rubicon’s come with a red dash? I read somewhere where the orange and green don’t but all other colors do. Not sure I like the red dash, maybe I need to see one in person.

Unless you get the colors you mentioned above you can also opt for the tan/brown/whatever-the-hell-it's-called leather seats that will change your dash color to gray. I believe you can go to Jeep's site and build one to illustrate the dash color changes.

I love it with mine, the red accents and dash with the sting gray look great.

 

[cdahl383]

Unless you get the colors you mentioned above you can also opt for the tan/brown/whatever-the-hell-it's-called leather seats that will change your dash color to gray. I believe you can go to Jeep's site and build one to illustrate the dash color changes.

I love it with mine, the red accents and dash with the sting gray look great.

Yeah I was playing around on the Jeep site and found those two colors come with a gray/silver dash.

I'll have to go to the dealership this weekend and check some out, see them in person, etc. I was leaning towards white or gray for exterior color and prefer the black interior over the tan.

 

[cosine]

i have a 2dr sport and love it.3.6, 8 spd auto is a great combo. plenty of power and the trans shifts smoothly. this is my DD and i've taken it on 2 1700 mile road trips. around town i get 18 - 19.3 mpg. on the highway i get any were from 25.5 to 29.6 mpg. the overall ride quality is not all that bad. intact its smoother than my last jeep which was a 07 grand cherokee that sucks gas on a 3.7l v6 and 5 spd auto. the interior is as simple as it can be and comfortable. the stock radio is great. this year will be the first winter in it and i don't expect any problems even with no lsd.

 

[Razz589]

cdahl383 like you I have never owned a Jeep and joined this forum to learn more about the new Wranglers. I was going to purchase a JLUR and planned to put a lift and tires on it. This was going to be a secondary night and weekend pleasure vehicle however just yesterday I test drove a 2020 JLUR for the first time and was quite surprised at how unrefined it was. Pulling out of the dealers lot onto the 4 lane highway, the 4 cylinder Rubicon moaned and groaned as it went through the gears on its way to 50 miles an hour and all along I was tugging side to side on the wheel to keep it from wondering out of the lane. In addition I noticed that the door strap was poking me in my left leg throughout the test drive. My wife sitting in the passenger seat didn't say much, however she later opened up and had a very similar opinion. And while I have sat in a few Wranglers over the past 6 months, driving one made me feel like I was piloting a small Cessna plane with the close proximity of the windshield and all the engine noise. If the vehicle I test drove had been used I would have thought something was definitely wrong with it.

I get it and agree that Jeeps are cool, iconic and off road worthy, but my gut feeling is that 90% of them stay on the blacktop until they are accidentally driven through the corner of the lawn while backing out of the driveway. Quite honestly my Wrangler was going to fall into that same mall crawler category as well. After my initial test drive, I am of the opinion that for a sticker price north of $57K I was expecting a much more refined vehicle and would probably never purchase one as a daily driver. I still may buy one as originally planned, however I will probably search for a used one to justify the purchase price being more in line with the vehicles lack of refinement.

If you haven't test driven a JL I would strongly suggest doing so before you place an order.

 

[cdahl383]

cdahl383 like you I have never owned a Jeep and joined this forum to learn more about the new Wranglers. I was going to purchase a JLUR and planned to put a lift and tires on it. This was going to be a secondary night and weekend pleasure vehicle however just yesterday I test drove a 2020 JLUR for the first time and was quite surprised at how unrefined it was. Pulling out of the dealers lot onto the 4 lane highway, the 4 cylinder Rubicon moaned and groaned as it went through the gears on its way to 50 miles an hour and all along I was tugging side to side on the wheel to keep it from wondering out of the lane. In addition I noticed that the door strap was poking me in my left leg throughout the test drive. My wife sitting in the passenger seat didn't say much, however she later opened up and had a very similar opinion. And while I have sat in a few Wranglers over the past 6 months, driving one made me feel like I was piloting a small Cessna plane with the close proximity of the windshield and all the engine noise. If the vehicle I test drove had been used I would have thought something was definitely wrong with it.

I get it and agree that Jeeps are cool, iconic and off road worthy, but my gut feeling is that 90% of them stay on the blacktop until they are accidentally driven through the corner of the lawn while backing out of the driveway. Quite honestly my Wrangler was going to fall into that same mall crawler category as well. After my initial test drive, I am of the opinion that for a sticker price north of $57K I was expecting a much more refined vehicle and would probably never purchase one as a daily driver. I still may buy one as originally planned, however I will probably search for a used one to justify the purchase price being more in line with the vehicles lack of refinement.

If you haven't test driven a JL I would strongly suggest doing so before you place an order.

I just test drove one last weekend. I noticed right away there was much more wind noise from around the windshield and definitely looser feeling steering. But, I was sort of expecting a more unrefined feel as I know that's kind of what Jeeps are all about. I knew it wouldn't steer as tight as my Scat Pack Challenger. I figured it would have more wind noise having the shape of a brick.

I noticed the 4 cylinder was kind of noisy but it did have good power. I never felt like it was underpowered at all. The ride was actually much smoother than I thought it would be. There's quite a bit of room in the back for my kids and plenty of room way back there for cargo or carrying the dog back there.

I initially was set on a Jeep Rubicon, but then I came to my financial senses and realized I'd never really take it off road that much, and only needed something that was a little better in snow during the winter compared to my Challenger. I liked the Sport Altitude at first, but after seeing them in person, I wasn't as impressed. I actually prefer the looks of the Sport S now with the silver wheels.

I'm just going to lease this for one year and they have excellent deals on them right now through work, so I think I'm going to just pull the trigger on a Sport S and see how it goes. The Jeep Grand Cherokee would likely be a much better vehicle for what I do, but I think I would kick myself if I never got a Wrangler when I had the chance with such a good deal. Right now I'm set on a white Sport S with the hardtop, headliner, and technology package. I'll be eligible to place my order soon within a week or two, so we'll see. I may go to another dealer this weekend to sit in a few more and maybe go on one more test drive.

 

[cdahl383]

Nice.
I agree, if you're rarely planning on taking it off road, a GC is probably a better choice. But once you have a Wrangler, and take it on some trails, that might change.

I doubt I'll take it off road much, maybe a little up north next summer, but I really love the looks of them and I know I'd regret not getting one when I had the chance. Worse case scenario if it just ends up being not for me, I only have it for one year. And complaining about driving a new car for one year that you may not entirely like is really a first world problem, in other words I won't be complaining at all.

The Grand Cherokee is really nice too. I could get a Laredo 4x4 with the Upland package for about the same price as a Sport S 4 door with the options I want. They're nice and comfy looking, but they sure don't scream "COOL" like the Wranglers do. So I think I'll give it a shot and see what it's all about. I had fun driving it on the short test drive we went on. I just felt like I was in a little indestructible tank haha!

 

[cdahl383]

i have a 2dr sport and love it.3.6, 8 spd auto is a great combo. plenty of power and the trans shifts smoothly. this is my DD and i've taken it on 2 1700 mile road trips. around town i get 18 - 19.3 mpg. on the highway i get any were from 25.5 to 29.6 mpg. the overall ride quality is not all that bad. intact its smoother than my last jeep which was a 07 grand cherokee that sucks gas on a 3.7l v6 and 5 spd auto. the interior is as simple as it can be and comfortable. the stock radio is great. this year will be the first winter in it and i don't expect any problems even with no lsd.

Cool! Thanks for your input!

Have you driven yours in any snow yet? I'm wondering how the part time 4WD system works in the snow. I've only driven RWD or AWD cars before in the past. I've read where you can engage 4Hi below 45mph on crummy surfaces like snow, mud, etc. But when it gets dry out again you should go back to 2WD again. Not a big deal to me, just something I'll have to get used to.

 

[KIVO]

I initially was set on a Jeep Rubicon, but then I came to my financial senses and realized I'd never really take it off road that much, and only needed something that was a little better in snow during the winter compared to my Challenger. I liked the Sport Altitude at first, but after seeing them in person, I wasn't as impressed. I actually prefer the looks of the Sport S now with the silver wheels.

If you are a car guy, you buy something in the first place for what it is capable of, not necessarily for what you do or will do with it. Owning a high HP car doesn't necessarily mean you do drive it around with the fun pedal completely floored at all times, do you...?

As for the Wrangler - I once sold my JK, and did seriously regret it afterwards. Having owned mostly sports cars of all kinds, that says all, no

 

[cdahl383]

If you are a car guy, you buy something in the first place for what it is capable of, not necessarily for what you do or will do with it. Owning a high HP car doesn't necessarily mean you do drive it around with the fun pedal completely floored at all times, do you...?

As for the Wrangler - I once sold my JK, and did seriously regret it afterwards. Having owned mostly sports cars of all kinds, that says all, no

Haha good way to put it! Surprisingly I've never gotten a ticket yet in my Scat Pack (knock on wood), but I have been known to lay some pretty long black patches on the back roads near my house. I think I have over 150 passes on it at the dragstrip too haha! So I do use it for what it was intended for to some extent, but 90% of the time, I'm just cruising at or slightly above the speed limit with my family. I bought the Challenger because I loved the looks, it sounded great, it was fast, handled great, and was just plain cool! Looking at the car got me excited!

I feel the same way about these Wranglers. The Grand Cherokee is a great vehicle and looks good as well, but it just doesn't excite me as much as the Wrangler does. When I think Jeep, I think of the Wrangler and that old school front grill that has been around forever. I think it'd be a lot of fun to drive one for a while. I'm also positive it will do better in the snow than my current Challenger R/T lease haha!

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